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“Drive.”

He lowered the window as she turned her attention to the road and eased back into traffic. The delicious pounding of her heart triggered his hunger, but he needed to get her somewhere isolated.

Seeing her purse on the ground, he lifted it to his lap and sifted through the contents. The cash went into his pocket while her phone and the rest of the useless junk went out the window.

“You won’t need that anymore.”

A tear rolled down her cheek as the color bleached from her fingers gripping the wheel. Her chaotic thoughts rushed into gibberish as her mouth remained locked shut. If she could talk, she’d be blabbering through negotiations that would not work, begging for him to spare her pathetic life and bargaining with things that did not interest him. He didn’t care about herchildren, husband, or pets dependent on her, so he compelled her silence.

Her chin trembled, desperation fracturing her thoughts as she entertained silent ways to appeal to his compassionate side. People would do anything to escape their worst fears. How unfortunate for her that he became incapable of empathy long ago. Only hedonistic emotions associated with hunger and his unsatisfied need for revenge interested him now.

“Turn there into that parking lot. Pull around to the back.”

She had no choice but to follow his command, and when she could drive no further, he ordered her to stop beneath the shade of the trees.

Pushing the gear shift to park, he unclipped her safety belt. “Get out of the car.”

She waited by the door as he walked around the vehicle. Despite his compulsion, she trembled violently.

“Come.” He led her into the woods, stopping when they were far from civilization.

Jerking her forward, he pushed her back against the trunk of a tree and tugged at her clothes. Her breathing accelerated, and more tears fell as he ripped open her blouse and clawed away her bra.

When she whimpered, he paused to study her out of sheer curiosity. The scent of her fear perfumed the air, and her rushing heartbeat called to him like a tribal drum lured the rain.

“Hush, now,” he soothed, lowering his voice and tracing his elongated claw delicately over her cheek as her breath punched past her teeth in petrified puffs. “I’m not going to ravish you.”

Nostrils flaring rapidly and breath skipping, she met his stare with terrified relief.

Cerberus grinned, exposing the full length of his viper-like fangs, which enhanced her fear even more. Humans were so stupid.

“I’m going to eat your heart.”

A strangled gasp escaped her throat as his clawed fist punched through her chest, tearing through the flesh, piercing the muscle, and yanking the organ free from the surrounding capillaries and bone.

Her body dropped to the forest floor like a useless bag of flesh as he bit into the tender tissue, still warm from beating. Closing his eyes, he savored the delicious delicacy.

Unfortunately, not long ago, his diet consisted of much smaller game—millipedes, beetles, arachnids, and whatever other insects he could compel into his mouth. Those tiny night crawlers had been his only sustenance for centuries, sustaining his atrophied body as much as the effort to compel them depleted his withered strength.

He’d since become somewhat of a foodie, as the mortals would say. He went to great lengths to find the most organically fresh nutrition to maintain a proper diet that kept him at the peak of his strength.

Gnawing into the cooling heart, he licked atthe blood that trickled down his fingers to his wrist. He could have just fed from her vein. He could have even let her live. But why limit himself?

He was hungry, and she was a weak, nothing of a mortal. Just as simple humans thought nothing of the animals they slaughtered, he wasted no time considering the irrelevant feelings of his food.

CHAPTER 8

“Can I get you another beer?”

Dane stared at the cute bartender, debating if he should find a place to crash or just keep drinking. Pushing his empty bottle forward, he motioned for a refill.

He hadn’t slept, had barely stopped running, his mind was going a mile a minute, and he was no closer to forming a plan. What the hell was he going to do? He had no place to go, no family, no home, a dog tied out front, and a meager amount of money in his pocket for food.

The television on the other end of the bar replayed a clip of politicians rambling about the upcoming election. It had been so long since he thought of this world or those who governed it, he didn’t recognize any of the names or faces on the screen.

His life had narrowed to the scope of a primitive peephole where secrets were protected bylaws, and faith was a pillar of judgment. Now, that life was gone.

“Here you go.” The petite brunette bartender slid another beer forward.