Page 134 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Her heels dug into the ground mid-step. She should havekept going, but the fire rushing through her veins made her pivot once more. The manticore remained motionless; a statue of golden defiance, with the burning intensity of his eyes the only sign of his irritation.

An unexpected urge overtook her – to challenge him, to provoke him, just as he’d provoked her by treating her like an underling. Byforgettingher.

“You believe you’ll catch me if I run, don’t you?” She raised her voice to ensure the babble of the stream didn’t drown out her words.

At his core, Mikhail was a predator. And for a predator, there was no greater temptation than the thrill of the chase. In his eyes, she was prey – smaller, slower, weaker.

A heady impatience burned within her, urging her to see how far she could push him – simply to irritate him by beating him at his own game.

The barb of his tail tapped the ground in a lazy motion. “I’m certain I’ll always catch you,” he said, the confidence in his tone like fuel on the fire.

That was the final straw. With a leap, she bounded across the stream, hopping over stones protruding from the water’s surface, and took off towards the thick underbrush in the distance.

Her stomach flipped when the lion roared and lunged after her. The soft grass muffled her footsteps as she plunged into the bushes, squinting to shield herself from the branches. Without looking back, she darted between the trees that stretched ahead of her.

The heavy thud of paws resonated behind her, sending another jolt through her body. Her ears rang – not with fear, but with exhilaration. She had no intention of losing to Mikhail.

A fleeting glance over her shoulder nearly cost her the lead. She tripped over a fallen branch, stumbling. The manticore wasonly metres away now, his form a blur of power and speed.

Amelia veered to the side, scrambling up the steep slope of a nearby hill. Her soles slipped on the loose dirt, but her light frame helped her regain her footing as she grabbed the branches of overhanging trees for support.

From the crest of the slope, she looked down and saw the manticore had paused at the bottom. His massive frame wouldn’t fit through the dense trees lining the incline – not with his current size. To climb, he’d have to shift to his human form, sacrificing speed. If he went around, he risked losing her trail.

With a single mighty leap, he cleared half the incline, landing on the only patch wide enough to hold his weight.

Damn it.

Amelia ran again. The dense forest gave way to an open meadow, offering no cover. Her eyes darted to the leafy canopy of the nearest tree. She seized the trunk and scrambled up with a skill honed from childhood summers in the countryside. Her hands found purchase in the bark, and her thighs propelled her upwards with surprising strength.

Within moments, she was concealed high among the branches. A strong breeze swept through, mixing her scent with that of the forest.She curled up on her perch, peering through a narrow gap between the leaves.

She held her breath when the manticore emerged from the lowland. He prowled around, as if sensing her presence but unable to detect where the wind carried her scent from.

It was a matter of seconds before he found her.

A shiver crept across her back. She was as motionless as marble, but her senses picked up every change in the air.

Her hands burned, as if the fire coursing through her began to seep through her skin. She shifted her weight and lifted one palm from the branch, inspecting her fingertips. She suppressed a gasp. Just beneath the surface, a black glow radiated, scatteredwith silver specks within its translucent essence. She glanced at Mikhail at the exact moment he raised his muzzle towards her. His golden eyes pierced through hers, causing the dark energy to boil with even greater intensity. Her body vibrated with life.

Without thinking, she leapt from the branch, aiming for the manticore’s spine. Before she could land on it, he pulled back, but her sudden move granted her that crucial second to run her palm through the fur between his chest and his front paw.

He snarled as if she had stabbed him with a knife.

Good God…She had just deliberately hurt him!

“Mikhail!”

He lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Her back hit the grass, and something sharp, like the edge of a stone, dug into her thigh. A weight pressed down on her chest, but it wasn’t the manticore – it was Mikhail, lying over her in human form.

He braced himself on his elbows on either side of her face, lowering his gaze to his T-shirt. The fabric was sturdy, but the white colour quickly reddened with blood.

“That hurt,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” Amelia began to lift his T-shirt to examine the wound.

He stopped her with a shake of his head.“On the contrary. I think that’s exactly what you wanted.”

Electricity surged through her body as his fingers clamped around her wrist like handcuffs. He raised her hand and held it between their faces.The black glow intensified.