Page 19 of The Sanguine Selection
My anger returns, stifling much of my common sense. “I will get away from you!”
Wolf-man snickers. “You think so, little one? Well then, how about I make you a deal.” He points at a pair of trunks not more than twenty yards away. “If you can make it past those two trees before I catch you, I’ll let you go free.”
An unladylike snort escapes, my fury still fueling my reactions. There’s no way in hell he is letting me go, but this could be my only chance to actually run away from him. With this thought, I harness the rage ready to boil over inside of me, and I take off.
The beast grunts, surprised at my easy acceptance of his game, but I have no plans to play by his rules. Soon enough, I veer sharply to the left. My smaller size makes it easier to turn, but the wolf-man towers over me by nearly two heads, his body built for speed and the harshness of our brutal winters.
In no time, he’s close enough to touch, and his claws snatch at my clothes. With a growl of my own, I squirm out of Papa’s warm coat, leaving the thing behind me empty handed. The wolf-man howls, and I nearly stumble at the haunting sound.
I refuse to look back, pushing my body to the limits to get away. The wind blows across my frame, biting into my skin with the absence of Papa’s jacket, adding another hindrance in my valiant effort to escape. Everything around me fights my progress. The barren tree branches scrape my skin and catch on my hair while the snow sucks down my feet.
A scream clogs my throat as tears threaten to spill from my eyes. All I want is to be back home, safe with Papa. This final thought breaks the dam, and I sob for the one person I’ve leaned on my entire life, who's now gone and can’t save me.
Blinded by my tears, I crash into something solid. Arms envelope me, and a familiar scent wafts into my nostrils.Papa.My cries come harder as relief courses through me. My father’s alright and has come to help me, but when I pull back, it’s not Papa’s kind gaze that looks down at me.
It’s the ruby-red stare of the other monster.
“Hello, love, where are you running off to?”
My body shakes, overwhelmed with the crushing realization that I’m not free, I didn’t escape, and Papa isn’t here at all. Instead, it’s the creature who drank my blood that holds me—and he’s wearing Papa’s coat, meaning I’ve been nothing but a pawn in their game.
On cue to this thought, the furred man steps into view, human looking again, thick beard dotted with flakes of snow. My anger long since drained away, leaving me limp in the other man’s hold. Tears continue to spill down my cheeks, and I wonder if I look as pathetic as I feel.Did I ever stand a chance?
“Pretty girl, don’t cry,” the blood-drinker croons. “I’m going to make yousing.”
My insides twist as he yanks my back against his chest and wrenches my head to the side, sinking his sharp teeth deep into my neck. One hand strokes my breast before clamping down hard, squeezing me there until I scream. As promised, I do sing, but it’s a broken, garbled song of pain and despair.
“Stop, p-p-please!” I feebly try to push him off me but it’s like trying to move stone.
The bearded man laughs at my expense, a cruel declaration of his intent to hurt me even more. For now, though, he seems content to watch his friend suck the very life from my veins. “Spread her, Elias, so I can fuck her while you drain her. I want to see the spark extinguish from her eyes when she dies, and then, I fill her corpse up with my cum.”
Elias laughs. “You always come up with the most twisted ideas, Bandar.”
Elias, the evil man holding me, lifts me into the air as if I were nothing but a child, and Bandar steps forward, wrenching my legs wide to fit his massive frame between them. I’m sandwiched between the two monsters, pinned in a way that ensures I can’t escape, and I know… my death is now inevitable. I punch him as hard as I can and he barely notices, my knuckles stinging from connecting with his rock-hard body.
Bandar pushes my dress upward, revealing the most hidden part of me.No. No. No. I cry out and cringe with embarrassment, my thighs trembling with the force I exert trying to close them, but the Bandar easily counters my effort. He leans forward, aligning something long and hard at my secret spot. I jolt with recognition.
I know what that is and what he’s about to do, and I fight with renewed force.Fuckisn’t just a naughty word…it’s an act.A terrible act that will tear me asunder, but what does it matter with Elias at my neck, drinking the very life force from my body?
Bandar positions himself at my center, a smirk still stretching his face, but howls in pain when he leans forward to nuzzle my breasts.
I blink in confusion when he pushes off me. Now off-balance, Elias unlatches from my neck, and we both tumble backwards into the snow. “You fucking idiot dog!” he shouts, keeping his hands locked on my upper arms to ensure I can’t get away. “What’s your fucking problem?!”
Bandar looks at me, eyes blazing with fury. “She burned me!”
This seems to arrest Elias, who stares down at me while I look back helplessly, shaking my head. “I d-d-didn’t!”
“The little bitch must be wearing silver!” At Bandar’s snarled words, I raise a shaky hand to Mama’s necklace, still hidden under my dress exactly where the beast placed his head against my breast.
Elias notices my reaction, reaching inside my gown to finger the heavy silver pendant, a speculative look on his face. “Leave her tits for me then while you fuck her cunt raw for daring to burn you,” he hisses, and then resumes feasting from me without warning, his touch almost savage.
Bandar contemplates his friend before shrugging and falling on top of us both, sinking Elias’s teeth deeper into my neck. Pinned once more between the two of them, I struggle against their hold.
“Hurry,” Elias splutters, and droplets of my blood splash onto my face.
Everything inside of me slows, and I know I’m close to death as Bandar once more positions himself to tear my body in two. I close my eyes, too weak to do anything else, and pray that I die soon, when a shout echoes into the night.
“HALT!” To my surprise, both my captors freeze. “You’re in direct violation of The Selection! Release the female and step back.”
