Page 15 of Wild Life

Leaves rustled harshly ahead, sending a shiver down the back of my sweaty neck. I glanced around, searched for the source of the disturbance.

It was probably nothing. Perhaps just a bunch of birds. All landing within the same vicinity. Flapping their wings against the foliage. At the same time.Right?!

My heart hammered against my rib cage.

A shadow eclipsed my periphery. I gasped, whipping my head in its direction, only to find more brush.

IknewI had seen it.

Someone was here.

Cautiously, I eased backward, praying my footfalls would go unnoticed by whatever jungle spirit was waiting to lure me into a cave and sacrifice me to the gods.

The rustling resumed, more violent and organized this time, heading in one direction—straight for me.

I sprinted away, harsh flora striking my skin as I ran as fast as I could. The fabric of my pants crackled loudly with my strides.

Tears streaked down my face.Itwas closing in on me. Its crashing footfalls were loud, like it was right on my heels.

Then, suddenly, it stopped. All of the sounds behind me, they were no more. I looked back, finding nothing, and came to a stumbling halt, panting to pull oxygen into my starving lungs. My legs burned, unable to support me properly. Using a tree against my back for support, I gripped the sides of my waist to ease the cramping.

My nervous system wound down and heavy tears streamed down my cheeks. I was eight years old again. It was the day my parents died. And like back then, I wanted my parents to wake up and take me home from the scary place. Years later, and still, no one was coming to take me home.

My shoulders shook with sobs.

Through the pools in my eyes, silver glinted in the distance. In a split second, the apparition flew toward me, and the sound of splintering wood rang in my ear as loud as my scream.

Yet, I never registered the impact of the object.

I tilted my head to the side. A knife was embedded in the bark, centimeters from my ear.

In a flash, my neck was restrained, and my gaze snapped forward again.

Him.

Cryptid’s searing gaze glimmered wildly with feral need.Hunger.If looks could kill, his would have granted me a rapid death, leaving my carcass behind for him to devour.

His face hovered so dangerously close that my skin burned from his hot, heaving breaths. Short and quick, like a tiger when the adrenaline hits right before they were about to strike. He was the predator, and I was his prey.

My lungs ceased to draw in air. I feared that the slightest noise would trigger him.

His foreign touch moved roughly down my shoulders, holding me still.

His nostrils flared before he leaned in, grazing the side of my neck with his nose, right above my throbbing artery. The hair on his jaw pricked my skin, and the slight suction of his inhales tickled me as he memorized my scent like a skilled hunter.

It wouldn’t have been smart to break free, to fight him. That was a sure way to die. Fight or flight? My sympathetic nervous system triggered neither. I stayed rooted in place with no plan other than to dig my fingernails into the trunk behind me to alleviate the constriction in my belly.

Freeze.

I shut my lids, willing consciousness to float away from my body. A defense mechanism. Separate the metaphysical from the physical to survive. Neither my mind nor my body could escape his domination. Instead, it perfused every part of me, from the blazing heat radiating from his flesh onto mine to his consuming scent of fresh rain and leaves. My eyelids felt heavy, and my chin drooped, head lolling to the side as intoxication overpowered me.

I was jolted back to life when he slammed my back hard. My eyes flew open, redirecting my awareness to the savageness that imprisoned me. Thick fingers gripped my rib cage. He held my focus, erasing all sounds around us except the ragged cadence of our breaths.

Every sweat-covered muscle of his was flexed, prepared to attack, when his hands lowered to my hips, making room for my breasts to graze his torso. The shallowest inhale scraped my nipples against his bare body. All of him was solid, from the arms that caged me in, to the firm thighs that pinned my legs, to the ridge that prodded my belly.

The beast lowered his head, his lips hovering over mine.

Would he kiss me? Or consume me?

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