Page 41 of The Hunt: Emerald

MURDOCH

Pain is nothin’. Not anymore.

“PLEASE ST— ACKKK!”

I tear free o’ the last Alpha, crunchin’ on ’is bones an’ tossin’ ’im aside wit’ a ragged snarl, blood streamin’ from me open wounds. Me breath comes in ’arsh, broken gulps as I stagger past the hundreds o’ dead foes, lookin’, feenin’ fer me next kill.

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!KILL!

Me bones creak an’ crack as I walk aimlessly t’rough the forest, searchin’ mindlessly fer sumtin’ tu sink me teeth intu.

Yet… a primal thin’ beyond words… a longin’, aneedfeathers in me mind. An ancient instinct older than reason. A faint, flickerin’ o’ sumt’in deep inside me fightin’ like a risin’ wildfire.

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

A roar rips from me t’roat, shakin’ the trees. The few alphas t’at ’ave been foolish enough tu block me path are already dead… but sum’tin’ nags in me brain… piercin’ me ’ead an’ me ’eart, causin’ me tu feel immeasurable pain… theonly pain I can fathom int’is dark space…

“AAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO”I howl from the deep crevices o’ me chest. Me vision narrows, tunnelin’ red. The wolf in me… thebeast, shakin’ wit’ unstoppable hunger fer blood. Fer vengeance…but vengeance fer wat?

T’ere are no words left, no memories. Jus’ an endless, gnawin’ need tu destroy.

I move t’rough the forest like a shadow, a walkin’ nightmare. Limbs slick wit’ blood, jaws stained wit’ flesh still clingin’ tu it, claws draggin’ t’rough earth an’ broken bodies. Anyt’in’ that moved, dead.

Maddened, I run t’rough aimlessly, eyes bloodshot an’ crazed, lookin’ fer sumth’in, but fer wat? The forest floor is bathed in blood an’ dead, decayin’ bodies…wat am I searchin’ fer… who… why?

I dinna knowwatI want. I jus’ want it…

I burst t’rough the last line o’ trees, breathin’ raged, eyes catchin’ any sign o’ t’at t’in’ t’at’s naggin’ me. I stumble tu a stop in a clearin’, body shakin’, wen sumt’in wafts ova me…

A scent.

Like the beast I am, I lift me nose inthe air, takin’ a long, deep wift o’ the sweet, sharp, wild, an’ earthy aroma t’at wraps around the deepest parts o’ me like a warm embrace. Me head snaps up. Me pupils dilate befer slinkin’ tu slits. Me chest heaves as instinct surges.

MATE.

A feral, guttural growl rips from me t’roat.

“AAAAWWWWWOOOOOOOOO!!!!”Me body lunges forward befer t’ought can follow, tearin’ t’rough brush an’ stone, followin’ the trail like a starved predator.

Every step sends fresh agony t’rough me soul, but I canna stop. In fact, the further I run, the stronger the scent becomes, pullin’ me deeper intu madness, deeper intu obsession.

I need that scent.

NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED!NEED! NEED!

NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED!

NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED! NEED!

T’at scent floods me brain like a drug, deeper t’an any poison I could eva take in. It fills evera broken part o’ me mind.

MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!

MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!

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