Page 52 of Cruel Love
I needed to accept that I was going to die here in the forest, and mybody was going to get eaten by wild animals.
Despite Ms. Milligan spending years training me not to think about myparents, I’d always held onto a sliver of hope that one day, I’d find out who they were, and what happened to me to wind up at Peartree House.
It looked as though I would never know.
Rubbing my ankle, my body trembled when a light breeze brushedover me. A light sheen of sweat coated my skin, and now that I wasn’t running, goosebumps erupted all over me. I didn’t know how long I sat there, shivers wracking my body, and I couldn't stop thinking about my impending death. Would it be quick? Would I be ripped apart by wolves so they could fight over my lifeless body? Or would it be slow and painful?
One thing was certain. I would die alone.
When twigs snapped somewhere in the distance, my entire bodyfroze as panic struck me like a bolt of lightning. I held my breath, listening raptly to the forest, and trying to decipher what had caused the twigs to snap.
Had the animals come for me already?
Or was it James, intent on shooting me?
Adrenaline surged through me when more branches rustled. Feargripped me in its vices, but my will to live, and not die a painful death suddenly kicked in, and survival instinct took over. I quickly unbuckled the other shoe, and swiped my tears away, my fingers leaving dirty trails on my cheeks.
I needed to move.
Slowly, ignoring the throbbing in my arm from the gash, and trying tomake as little noise as possible, I got to my feet, hissing softly from the pain radiating through my body when I put weight on my ankle.
I wouldn’t be able to run, but if I went slow, I could limp, and try to find a way out of the forest. Besides, if I went slow, I could be careful to not make any noise anddraw attention to myself.
Gritting my teeth with every step I took, and doing my best to not letfree the cries that wanted to escape, I hobbled further into the darkness, my heart rate spiking when footsteps echoed behind me.
Too terrified to look over my shoulder for fear of seeing the devilchasing me, I sent out another silent prayer.
This time, it went unanswered.
The footsteps grew louder, outpacing my small, feeble steps. Wolf ormonster, they were creeping up on me, and I was powerless to stop them.
By now, adrenaline was pumping so fast that it was a miracle I didn’thave a heart attack right there on the spot, which would have been preferable to being ripped apart.
My bare feet - now bloody from the cuts caused bynature’s elements - caught on another fallen tree, and I fell forward, only just managing to bring my hands up in time to stop from smashing my face on the ground.
Air whooshed out of my lungs, and a pained choke escaped me. Withmy head buried in my hands, I lay as still as a statue, hoping whatever was hunting me wouldn’t find me.I stayed in that position, not daring to move, and breathing as quietlyas possible to not alert anything or anyone to where I was. When a few minutes passed, and the forest fell silent again, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.
Certain the coast was clear, I managed to get myself to my feet,pausing once again to check for sounds.
That was when I realized my mistake.
I shouldn’t have moved.
A hand wrapped around my mouth preventing a scream from leavingme, while another hand wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled back against a hard chest as a familiar scent engulfed me.
“Caught you, Mouse,”James whispered, amusement lacing his voice.
Never in my life had I been as scared as I was right then. Clawing atJames’ hands, I managed to rip them away from my mouth.
“Pl…please don’t kill me,”I pleaded, my voice shaky where terror waschoking me.
His hand gripped my throat as he buried his head in the crook of myneck and shoulders, and inhaled deeply.“I wish I could kill you, Willow. Maybe then I’d be able to get you out of my damn head.”
His lips brushed gently over my skin, eliciting tingles down my spine,and despite being terrified, butterflies began to dance low in my belly when James pressed his hard bulge against my ass.
“Do you know how far I got before I realized what a stupid fuckingmistake I was making by letting you go?”
