Page 135 of Dark Souls

My feet barely touched the ground as I moved with the grace of a wild panther but with the desperation of a sacrificial lamb. I skidded to a stop before my body collided with a stone wall covered with sharp wooden spikes. It reminded me of the one Luka had been tied to by the Knowltons.Shit.A dead end. I turned quickly, my red eyes adjusting to the blanket of darkness and thick fog that only added to the maze’s difficulty of trying to find another route.

Suddenly, a tall figure crashed around the corner, coming face to face with me down the narrow passage. Although he wore a black balaclava, concealing his face, he was way too slim to be Heathen. My eyes widened when I realised in a moment of sheer panic that I had forgotten my disguise and was now pretty recognisable to anyone who got too close.

We were in a stand-off as we glared at each other through the heavy mist and I braced myself into a fighting stance when I noticed his unsheathed nails, sharp and vicious. He was one of my kind and, from the look in his scarlet eyes, only one of us was continuing through the maze.

He lunged first, his clawed hand swiping through the air towards my face and I spun on my heel, a hiss escaping my lips as I summoned my vampiric strength and agility, darting beneath his arms and slashing a gash across his back with my own fingers. He was fast to counteract it by wiping me out from under my legs and throwing himself on top of me, wrapping his hand around my throat to rip it out. Even though he was double my size, he was no competition for my royal sangura blood as I punched him in the throat, causing his grip to loosen. I managed to get one of my boots between our bodies and kicked him as hard as I could in the stomach, which sent him flying. An agonising scream left his open mouth as his body landed on the spiked wall, impaling him completely. His masked head drooped a moment later, showing he was well and truly dead.

A chilling roar echoed in the distance and I knew in my bones who it belonged to.Heathen. A small smirk played on my lips, knowing he was in hot pursuit and giving me the only warning he’d allow that he was coming for me. I scrambled to my feet, not giving that vampire a second glance and racing back the way I came until I found an alternative route. That fae was right. In here, it was kill or be killed. And it was fucking addictive.

My skin glistened with a sheen of anxious sweat as I weaved and spun in different directions down the winding labyrinth, feeling like it was leading to nowhere. I leapt over the traps, pitfalls and open ditches with ease but soon came face to face with another member. A shifted wolf. It stood firm, snarling with feral rage before charging at me head-on. I stood my ground, waiting for the very last second to bolt into the air and land on its back, locking my arms around its furry neck. The grey beast thrashed aggressively from side to side to throw me off. I squeezed its neck with all my strength, waiting to hear the lethal crack, but it slammed itself against the stone wall, trapping one of my legs between its enormous body and the thorny brambles. I let out a cry at the pain as hundreds of thorns lodged in my thigh, causing it to burn my flesh. In one swift move, I reached down into my other boot, grabbed my knife and slit the wolf’s throat. The wolf fell to the ground, half on top of me, and I kicked it off with my good leg.

Gritting through my fangs, I ripped the brambles out of my thigh and pulled myself back to my feet.

‘Motherfuckingchrist. This is so much fun!’my devilish sidekick chuckled in my mind.

A bubble of demented laughter inflated my chest as I stepped over the wolf’s corpse and walked forward with a slight limp, my mind still completely fixated on the demon hunting me. My hand gripped the wall to keep my balance as I checked over my shoulder. She was right. As wrong as this was, it was most definitely fun.

Another earth-shattering roar shook the maze, causing my heart to leap in my chest when I realised how much closer he was. Sensing my demon soulmate was closing in, his presence a dark caress on my skin, my flight instinct kicked into gear once again as I blurred through the maze to get ahead.

I could see the chapel roof a short distance away, and I felt a wave of hope wash over me that I must be closer to the finish line, but it was short-lived when my foot disappeared into a thick tar substance I hadn’t noticed pooling on the ground. When I attempted to lift my foot out of it, it only spread higher up my boot, causing me to sink further into the sludge. I swore loudly, bending down to free my boots, but the slime was now thigh high. Reaching up, I grabbed some of the ivy to haul myself out. I froze when another body came hurtling round the corner.

Ah, fuck.

The man skidded to a halt, his purple eyes narrowing as he took me in, clocking that I couldn’t move or defend myself right now. He lifted his hand, sending a ball of electrical current my way, zapping me in the chest as I screamed in pain. I felt like I was being burned alive when the sparks spread through my veins as he twisted his hand in the air as though he was ramping up the intensity of his magic. Way to hit a chick when she was already down.

His magic abruptly stopped before I could rip a stone from the wall and catapult it at his head. I panted hard, opening my eyes to see his own purple irises dilated with horror. My gaze travelled down to the hole in his chest. His body fell forwards a moment later and there, standing behind him, was the shirtless, bloodied body of my demon mate, holding the warlock’s heart in his clawed fist. He was wearing his balaclava again, but by his sheer size, black vines exposed and soulless eyes, I knew it was him. And my god, he was the sexiest and most petrifying thing I’d ever seen.

He clicked his neck to the side in that Heathen/Luka way before lifting half his balaclava up his face to reveal his powerful jaw and those razor-sharp fangs. He casually took a large bite out of the bloody heart. My arousal heightened at the heinous act. He was so fucking feral and I loved it. But I still wouldn’t give in. No matter how much I wanted to be caught by him, I also wanted to make him proud. To give him the chase he craved.

My hand brushed against something metal on the stone wall and my head whipped around to see it was a strangely placed handle. I pulled the lever quickly and two stones moved away from the wall, just big enough for my body to squeeze through, providing me with an escape. My feet were still stuck in the slime, but they started to come loose as I used all my strength and the vines to help tug the top half of my body through.

And then I felt it; the sharp pinch of his talons on my waist as he gripped the top of my leather trousers and attempted to pull me back. I thrashed and kicked with all my might to wiggle myself through and escape him, but when I felt the leather tear down my legs, I froze. What the fuck was he…

OH MY GOD.

‘Yes, that tongue is back!’

My eyes rolled to the back of my head the moment I felt his forked tongue between my legs, wetting my underwear to my skin. I moaned uncontrollably as his claws dug into my ass cheeks, spreading me wider so he could bury his half-exposed face into my pussy. My fingernails raked through the dirt as I tried to crawl through the secret passage, but he held on tighter, going to town with that fucking demon tongue against my clit. Even with the barrier of my underwear, every swipe was so powerful, the orgasm in me built with rapid speed as I looked over my shoulder to see only the stone wall around my waist. The fact I couldn’t see him or what he was doing to me only made it hotter.

“This pussy is mine,” he growled from behind the wall, his words muffled against my skin and I let out a pathetic whimper as I struggled to pull myself away, fighting my desire to stay exactly where I was so he could keep doing the most sinful, delicious things to me. “You can run from me all you like, Snow. But my cock will still end up in here tonight.”

I gasped as his tongue entered me and started fucking with the promise of what his cock would do very soon. The orgasm exploded out of me without my permission as I cried into the darkness of the maze. When his tongue flicked over my clit, it prolonged the ecstasy that little bit more.

“I could claim you right here, right now, and there’s not a thing you could do about it,” he growled and unknowingly ignited my competitive nature. As soon as I felt him sit back, his hands exploring my ass, I kicked out violently, hitting him in the stomach with force and giving me the small window of opportunity I needed to fit the rest of my body through the wall. I squealed with delight when his arm snapped through the hole, attempting to grab my foot, but missed by just an inch as I hauled myself to my bare feet. I laughed loudly, feeling completely unhinged when his frustrated roar echoed over the wall.

“Come and get me, you crazy demon!” I shouted, turning on my feet and zooming away in only my thong and torn top. Holy fuck, I’d never felt so alive.

The path led to a moonlit clearing where a life-sized statue of a naked woman dominated a small courtyard, its smooth stone cool to the touch. I slammed my back against it when I heard rapid footsteps coming this way. With my chest heaving, eyes scanning the multiple openings in the maze that led there, I waited with bated breath and my blade still in one hand. My body was trembling with equal parts terror and desire. The pounding of feet slowed as they approached, sensing there was no need to run anymore. They’d found their prey. I knew it was him. His dark energy pulsed through the maze, a palpable hum resonating deep in my bones, drawing me toward him like a magnet.

Emerging from the shadows with his towering form and menacing eyes like pits of black fire through the slits of his mask made my knees nearly give way at the sight. A traitorous longing spread through my body and straight to my pussy, pulsing and throbbing with anticipation at the promise of pleasure and pain.

When his eyes met mine, he paused. His chest was rising and falling and every muscle in his defined torso rippled beneath the black vines and magical, demonic tattoos.

“Mine now,” he husked, victory in his tone.

“I’m not yours. Not until you make me yours. And I won’t give up without a fight.” I smirked, raising my blade between us in warning. Gods, I loved being a brat. And there was no way in hell I’d let him win so easily. By the look of pride and excitement in his shimmering eyes, he knew it too.

He tugged off his balaclava, revealing his true form, and released his wings, spreading them wide like a fucking peacock. He was so beautiful. Worried he’d be seen, I instantly looked around for other members.