Page 147 of Undisputed Chaos
The wind whipped my hair back from my face, cool against my fevered skin as I pushed myself faster than I'd ever run before.
All I knew was the exhilarating sensation of freedom.
Noah's restraining hands were gone, the immediate danger left behind, nothing but open forest ahead.
My white sundress fluttered around my thighs, the fabric catching on branches as I plunged into the wooded area beyond the clearing.
Behind me, I heard Adrian's voice, low, taunting, and utterly calm.
"Running, angel? Where do you think you're going?"
I didn't look back. I couldn't. Something deep had awakened insideme, recognizing the apex predator at my heels and knowing only to flee.
Yet beneath the terror bubbled something else, something dark and forbidden that made my heart race for reasons beyond mere fear.
A thrill that whispered through my veins with each pounding footstep.
The trees enveloped me, dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves as I ducked beneath branches and leapt over fallen logs.
For a girl who rarely worked out beyond casual walks, I moved with surprising speed, fueled by adrenaline and that strange anticipation pulsing through my veins.
"I can smell your fear, angel," Adrian called, his voice closer than I expected but still not directly behind me.
He wasn't running; he was pacing himself, stalking me through the woods like a wolf tracking prey, bloodied knife still clutched in his hand.
"But we both know you're not really afraid of me."
His words sent another surge of adrenaline through my system, pushing me deeper into the woods.
I darted between two massive oaks, my breathing ragged, my legs beginning to burn with exertion.
My cardigan caught on a branch, and I yanked it free without stopping, leaving pale blue threads behind like breadcrumbs marking my flight to freedom.
"You can run all you want," Adrian's voice echoed through the trees, somehow both menacing and seductive as it wrapped around me. "But we both know how this ends. I always catch what's mine."
A clearing appeared ahead, a small grassy area bathed in afternoon sunlight. I burst into it, the sudden brightness momentarily blinding me after the filtered shade of the forest.
My pace slowed as I scanned for an escape route, the trees continuing on the other side of the open space.
I knew I wasn't really trying to escape.
Some dark, hidden part of me, one I'd never acknowledged beforemeeting Adrian, wanted to be caught. Wanted to feel his strength, his power, his absolute possession.
The thought was exhilarating, sending a flush of heat through my body that had nothing to do with running.
"Why are you running, pretty girl?”
Adrian's voice came from directly behind me now, close enough that I could feel the low vibration of his taunts.
"Is it because you saw what I'm capable of? What I'll do to anyone who tries to take you from me?"
I spun around, my chest heaving with exertion, to find him standing barely five feet away. He'd moved with impossible silence, covering the distance between us without me noticing.
The knife was gone, tucked away somewhere, but Noah’s blood remained, dark and accusing against his skin and clothes.
His green eyes burned into mine, wild and hungry and utterly focused on me.
"Or maybe," he continued, taking a slow step forward as I instinctively stepped back, "You're running because you liked seeing it. Because it scared you how much you enjoyed watching me hurt him for you."
