Page 6

6

“I’m not your—” I don’t get to say the word prey as part of my terrified protest. Not when Val easily jerks me off of the trail only to shove me back against one of the large trees beside it. My feet scramble in the leaves and debris, and I can’t help the way I’m trembling from both cold and fear.

“Poor princess,” Val snarls against my ear. “You’re so cold, aren’t you? Though I think some of your shaking isn’t just from the cold. I like to think I’m contributing to some of it, too.”

“Y-you’re so fucked up,” I murmur, my hands grasping against the tree for something—anything I can use as a weapon.

Val chuckles, a soft and menacing sound, while lifting his hands to cradle my face. “To be fair, I absolutely gave you a choice,” he’s quick to remind me. “I told you we could stay in the cabin and I would be the best you’ve ever had. But you know what?” He shifts until he’s gripping my throat in his fingers. My hands fly up to his wrists, and I wrap my fingers around them as I meet his gaze in the moonlight, my eyes wide.

“Don’t,” I murmur, heart racing. “I don’t want—” He cuts me off when his fingers tighten, restricting my air as he slides into that sweet spot under my jaw that makes my vision go fuzzy. All the embarrassing thoughts running through my head remind me they’ve never gone away. “Val don’t!” When he doesn’t let go, I dig my nails into his wrists, my scraped palm stinging.

“Think you can draw blood?” he asks oh-so-sweetly. He steps closer, until our bodies are pressed together, and leans in close like he’ll kiss me. Except, my mouth is open and occupied as I gasp for air, so I don’t see how he even can.

Before I can think further, Val shows me that he absolutely can. His lips brush against mine, teasing me as he tastes every desperate grab for air that he can from me. He nips at my lower lip and tugs on it with a low growl, his fingers still so fucking tight. Suddenly he releases the pressure on my throat, though he doesn’t remove his hands, and I finally manage to suck in much needed oxygen as I sag against the tree.

I don’t see it coming when Val takes advantage of my somewhat relaxed stance. Maybe I should’ve, and my oxygen deprived brain just isn’t noticing everything it should in this state. One hand leaves my throat, gripping my jaw, and he yanks my face up toward him before crushing his lips to mine.

A low growl leaves him, vibrating against my tongue, and when I answer with a soft whine, he eats it up with pleasure. Belatedly, I realize I’m still gripping his wrists, so my arms are nearly crushed between us with how hard Val is pressed against me, keeping me in place.

Keeping me trapped .

“I could devour you happily. Every part of you, until there’s nothing left but bones.” His voice is soft against my ear, but the words send a full body tremble through me that possibly isn’t just from the terror. Though I’m definitely terrified by that statement, and it makes me wonder if Val is a fucking cannibal or just royally fucked up.

“But I don’t want to kill you,” he goes on, still ignoring the dig of my nails into his wrists. “If I kill you, then this is all over. You won’t get to be ours , and I won’t have every opportunity to remind you of how much I want you whenever I want, and whenever you need.”

“Y-you’ve sort of ruined that,” I gasp against his lips. Val pulls away to look at me quizzically, and I bite down on my lip as my head spins, still a little off from the oxygen deprivation. “If I get away from you two, I never want to see you again.” I try to put as much commitment into the words as I can, and I hold his gaze as I throw the words at Val.

But he just looks at me, the questioning look becoming amusement as he twists his hand away from one of mine. “Is that what you think will happen, Noa? You think you can so easily escape the consequences of your actions? Princess, you’ve been ours from the moment you showed up at our Haunt instead of Grim Descent and refused to leave. Oh, we tried and tried to make you get the message. We really did.”

He pauses to turn my hand over in his, finding the scrapes and cuts from rocks and bark. “I didn’t take you for being clumsy.” There’s disapproval in his voice, like I injured myself on purpose.

“It’s dark! I don’t know these woods!” I gasp indignantly. “And by the way?” I flex my fingers, though he doesn’t let go. “Why didn’t you tell me about the trail cameras before I agreed to this?”

Slowly, expectantly, Valentin turns his gaze up to mine to gaze at me balefully. It takes me a few moments to realize why, and it makes me feel so stupid about all of this.

“Because it was on purpose,” I murmur, answering my own question. Val takes his phone out of his pocket and shines the light at my palm, revealing the smeared stains of blood and raw spots to his eye. None of it is serious, and I curl my fingers against my palm just to deny him what I can. “You wanted me to do this, didn’t you?” Jerking away from his grip as he puts the phone back into his pocket, I shove against Val’s chest as hard as I can when my eye catches the shape of something tucked into his pocket. “You wanted me to pick this option. For me to run from you so you could chase me. You lied to me!”

“Lied is a strong word. You didn’t ask me anything about what might be out here. I thought you would. You’re so smart , Noa,” Val praises as he leans in again to cradle my face in his hands. “You’re so good at escaping, at finding a way out. I thought for sure you’d do something I didn’t expect.”

“Something you don’t expect?” I drop my fingers from his wrists, holding my hands at my sides. My fingers are numb with cold and my hand aches from my falls, but I’m not done. I’m certainly not beaten, and most importantly, I am no one’s prey . “I can give it my best shot, though.”

Without warning I lunge forward so our bodies are pressed together with his forearms awkwardly pinned to my shoulders. My left hand goes out to find his pocket, and when he realizes what I’m doing, he snarls and yanks away from me.

But he’s not quick enough. I manage to palm the knife just as he jerks back, and when he reaches down to check for it, a self-satisfied grin curls over my lips. “What do you think?” I ask, pulling the small hunting knife out of its sheath and holding it out between us. I toss the leather case back to him, and to my surprise, he catches it even in the dim moonlight. “Was this unexpected enough?”

“You’ll hurt yourself, princess,” Val warns me slowly with his hands up and fingers splayed. But he doesn’t try to step toward me. He just waits, and I wish I could see his expression more clearly to figure out if he’s serious, amused, or afraid.

Though I definitely doubt he’s anywhere near terrified of me. Even with a knife.

“You mean I’ll hurt you ,” I correct as I sidestep the tree trunk with my heart pounding loudly in my ears. “I have no intentions of hurting myself, trust me. I’ve put way too much work into getting away from you for two damn nights in a row.”

When he opens his mouth to reply, I decide to do something he hopefully really won’t expect. I whirl around and stumble into a run, not caring about what’s on the ground and hoping that somehow, by some miracle, I don’t trip over something.

I make it all of five steps before Kieran steps out from behind a large tree and effortlessly catches my hand that’s holding the knife. He drags me to him, ignoring my howl of protest, and twists me so I can’t stab him as I kick at his legs in an attempt to get him off of me.

“I’m done chasing for the night, Val,” he informs the other man. “Stop letting her take your knives. And you ”—he looks down at me, disapproval heavy on his face and in the twist of his lips as he frowns—“don’t be a child. Running with a knife out here in the dark is a very quick way to impale yourself when you fall. It’s irresponsible.” Before I can stop him, he wrestles the knife away from me, then shoves me staggering backwards.

Right into Val’s grip that encircles my waist and shoulders.

“I’m going to reset some of the cameras that were off,” Kieran remarks casually. “So you can have your fun with your prey .” He looks over me as he says it. “But I did just as much as you, so when I get back, she’s mine.”

“You’ll have to ask nicely,” Val snaps, baring his teeth in a feral expression of possessiveness.

Kieran just fixes him with a look , refusing to justify the taunt with an answer. Then he slides the blade into the back of his jeans while pinning me with his glare. “You won’t like testing me like you do him. It’s mine now, and it’ll stay mine. Besides…”—he tilts his head, a humorless smirk on his face—“I don’t think you’ll have enough time to come up with a plan to get away from him and get the knife from me. You’ll be too busy with him. ” He nods at Val, then without another word, he pivots with his phone out and walks away from us and into the woods.

“You’re awful,” I hiss, when he’s out of sight. “You’re literally—” Val spins me around mid-sentence, prompting me to gasp reflexively. But before I can stop him, I’m once again pinned to the tree by my throat. “Stop!” I shriek, frustrated and terrified and ignoring how my body reminds me we’ve discovered a new kink.

But now is certainly not the time for awkward realizations about myself, no matter how hot Val is or how hot my blood in my veins is as it roars in my ears.

“Stop?” he parrots, leaning in close to me so our bodies are pressed together. “You chose this. You knew the consequences of not outrunning us. Poor thing ,” he purrs. “My poor, feral princess. Besides, I did you a favor by ending your escape.” He grabs the front of my hoodie and twists to pull me onto my tiptoes, his face illuminated by moonlight so I can see his smirk.

“Why’s that?” I demand, my hands grabbing at his wrist.

“Because from the start, you were going the wrong way. You’re only getting further from the road and the convenience store we stopped at. Not closer.” His smile is almost apologetic as my struggles cease for a few seconds as I take in the information.

If he’s right, if he’s telling the truth, then all this really was for nothing. My throbbing hand and stinging, scraped knees could’ve been avoided if I’d made a better decision tonight. “Fuck you,” I spit instead of giving him a reaction he’s looking for. Without hesitating, I kick out at him, and my foot connects hard with his knee and causes it to give.

To my surprise, Val lets himself fall. For a few brief moments I wonder if I’ve discovered some miraculous Achilles’ heel, or if something weird is going on, but that train of thought evaporates when he uses his grip on me to drag me down to the dirty, wet ground with him.

“You want to get free? Fight me for it,” Val growls as he holds me by the front of my hoodie. “If you escape me now, Kieran isn’t here to stop you. Come on, Noa.” He leans in and clicks his teeth together close to my face. “ Fight me. ”

Even though I know I shouldn’t give him what he wants, the adrenaline and terror coursing through my veins has me too worked up to stay calm and relaxed. Or, well, at least less frantic than I could be. But that disappears and I lunge for him, shoving him back as I try to go for his throat the same way he likes to grab mine.

To my surprise, I succeed. Val tips over until he’s on his back with me over top of him, my eyes wide as I stare down at his mostly dark figure in the darkness. “Good girl,” he praises. “That’s my good girl?—”

“Don’t call me that!” I demand, feeling a bit more confident when I’m the one on top with my grip on his throat. “Don’t you ever—” He flips us suddenly, his arms coming up between us and ripping my hand off of his throat as he does. Seconds later, I’m on my stomach in the dirt with him draped over me. In this position, it’s hard to do anything to fight back because I need my arms to keep my face out of the dirt while he presses against my back and hips.

“Don’t call you good girl ?” Val asks wickedly in my ear as I pant and writhe. “Funny. I thought you liked that. But maybe you’re just not in the mood, hmm?” One hand curves around my waist and he yanks me back against him so our bodies are pressed together as much as they can be, given our position.

“So you’d rather be my filthy little slut, then?”

The words catch me off guard, but I can’t ignore the bolt of electricity that slithers down my spine. “Your… What did you just say?” I demand, looking to give myself a moment and not really needing him to repeat himself. I’m just not sure how to take those words, or how to react to them.

“You heard me, Noa. But I don’t mind saying it again. It seems you don’t want to be my princess tonight. You don’t want to be our good little girl. I’m telling you that’s fine. Because clearly if you don’t want to be good, then you want to be a filthy”—he nips the shell of my ear and I flinch in surprise at the sharp, almost painful sensation—“ feral ”—this time his other hand comes to rest on my lower back, though I’m too stunned and still too trapped to move—“needy little prey.”

Without hesitating, he grips my shorts and pulls them down my thighs before I can stop him, despite my yelps of protest. “Valentin!” I shriek loudly, one hand leaving the ground to grope back towards him. My fingers brush his shirt, then his shoulder, and when he buries his face against my throat, I only manage to tangle my fingers into his soft, thick hair, causing him to growl against my skin.

It occurs to me, in some stupidly calm part of my brain, that if either of us is feral , it’s him. His growls and even his movements scream predator , and I remind myself that this is not the time to find it sexy.

“Stop!” I gasp, trying and failing to get out from under him. My pulse races, prompting me to work harder to get free, and I whine in my throat when I feel his hand curl over my waist and slip between my thighs. “ Val!” I can’t use my other hand to fight him. Not when I’m using it to brace myself against his weight.

“You don’t want me to stop. I think you’re just upset about how much you know you’ll enjoy this, princess.” He brushes his fingers teasingly along my slit, pulling a shudder from me that I would’ve rather kept to myself. “See?” he huffs happily. “You know you want me to breed this pretty pussy of yours with your knees in the dirt in the middle of the woods.” He can’t keep the excitement out of his voice, and I just groan in frustration as my fingers tighten in his hair.

“You’re the worst.” My voice is soft, but he chuckles anyway and shoves two fingers into me without preamble, pulling a sharp, surprised sound from me.

He wastes no time scissoring his fingers inside of me, eagerly fucking me open on them. “Better relax,” he growls against my ear before he nips it again. If he even feels how tightly I’m gripping his hair, he doesn’t seem to care. But I’m sure that it has to hurt.

Maybe he’s into that, my brain unhelpfully adds.

“Because I’m not waiting for you to remember how much you love it when I fuck you with my cock, Noa.” I meet his words with a strangled cry when he adds another finger, and I grit my teeth together to try to prevent anything else from escaping my lips.

But I hate that he’s not wrong with his arrogance and his irritating claims. I do love it when either of them fucks me. Frankly, I probably love it too much, all things considered. Embarrassingly, I can feel my body heating with anticipation, and I can absolutely tell when his fingers can thrust in and out of me much more smoothly, lubricated by my arousal.

Naturally, he notices too. How could he not? Lifting his head, he suddenly pulls his fingers from my pussy to grip my chin, smearing my skin with my wetness. “I love you like this,” Val informs me. “Desperate and dirty and so fucking wet for me, even though you want to deny it. You should run from me more often, Noa. Out in the woods like this. Maybe next time, I’ll even let you take a weapon. Do you know why?”

Without waiting for me to answer, he kisses me harshly, biting my lower lip and demanding entrance to my mouth. He doesn’t give me an option. Not with his grip on my chin so tight and his mouth so full of coercion and sharp, perfect bites.

I’m panting when he finally pulls away, and it feels like my hand in his hair is the only thing anchoring me to the ground and stopping my brain from spinning away like a cloud. He lets go, but I barely notice. I’m too busy relearning how to breathe to realize he’s no longer holding my face. Instead, Val gently pries my fingers free from his hair, causing me to drop my hand to the dirt to give my other arm a break it’s definitely grateful for.

“What are you doing?” I pant when I feel him sit up on his knees behind me. But when I try to move, he’s quick to splay his fingers across my lower back in a warning.

“Stay,” he tells me sharply. “And to answer your question…” Suddenly both of his hands are on my hips, and he teasingly slides his cock against my slit, getting it wet with my growing arousal. I don’t have time to do anything except curl my fingers in the dirt and part my lips as a thousand incoherent protests try to bubble over my tongue.

But I don’t get the chance to voice any of them. Val slams into me without mercy, not stopping until he’s as deep as he can go. My arms give out, folding easily, until my hips and ass are in the air while my shoulders and face are in the dirt.

That doesn’t seem to be part of Val’s plan, however. He growls softly, his fingers tangling in my hair and jerking me upward until I’m forced to turn and look at his face in the moonlight. “When I chase you, it makes me all the more eager to claim you. To own you, to breed your holes until you’re dripping and unable to go anywhere. I want you to remember who you belong to, and I want you covered in enough of my marks so everyone other than Kieran knows to stay the fuck away from what’s mine.”

My mind is too far gone already to even reply to that. Especially since it takes me an embarrassingly long time to digest the words and their meanings. My first reaction is excitement. My thighs tense, and my stomach tightens in anticipation of him making good on his words.

My second reaction is horror . Because this is so fucked up on both sides. Him for saying it, for wanting it, and me for not being horrified first, turned on second.

Or, even better, not turned on at all.

“Nothing to say, princess?” He starts moving, fucking me with harsh, thorough strokes that cause his hips to slam against my thighs. He adjusts his grip on my throat, letting me brace myself on my arms once more with his fingers wrapped around my neck.

Choking me really does seem to be one of his favorite hobbies, which should be way more concerning than it is.

I should be terrified. I should be screaming for Val to stop, to let me go, or looking for an escape while he’s somewhat distracted.

I definitely shouldn’t be rocking my hips back into him, meeting his thrusts and causing him to sink deeper into me. I’m ready and into this enough that while the pain from him not really preparing me isn’t enough to distract me, it’s definitely there.

And it’s not a bad thing like it should be. The edge of too much, too big, too fast, is a burning ache inside me only fueling the pleasure of it. Soon enough, I’m gasping around his tightening fingers while my fingers flex and dig into the dirt under us. I don’t even register the cold anymore. Not with his weight blanketing me as my blood races and boils in my veins.

I have to get a hold of myself. I really need to think straight, instead of just being dazed and on the verge of whining for more.

Thankfully, his grip prevents me from saying anything embarrassing when he presses his middle finger and thumb into those spots just under my jaw. I cry out in both discomfort and anticipation, knowing by now how quickly my vision will go spotty and I’ll feel the dizzying heat of oxygen deprivation in my entire body.

Sure enough, he doesn’t let go as he fucks me. His words continue, praise and filthy promises falling from his lips like rain while he holds me tight and fucks me so hard I see stars.

That, or I’m seeing stars from oxygen deprivation. It could be either one, quite honestly. I know I’m getting close to losing consciousness from the way my brain is focused on the wrong things, and how I can’t quite tell if my eyes are open or closed when black spots dance in my vision.

“You know what I think?” Val’s purr reaches my brain, and I whine a response I’m not sure actually makes it past my lips as I gasp for a breath I can’t draw in. “I think you like this more than you thought you would. Hell, you’re more into this than I expected. Look at you , Noa. You should be ashamed of yourself. On your knees in the dirt, getting bred by a serial killer and basically begging for more. Don’t you feel like such a filthy little slut, princess?”

The shame from his words only adds to the burn between my thighs, and he definitely knows I can’t answer. Though a second later his grip loosens, allowing my brain to gain back the blood and oxygen it needs, so I don’t actually black out.

“Breathe, Noa,” Val murmurs against my shoulder. “Just breathe for me. You’re going to come so hard, princess. And when I’m done fucking your pretty little cunt, maybe I’ll carry you back to the cabin and let Kieran do the same. Maybe when you’re dripping with our cum and unable to stand up without it dripping down your thighs, you’ll be too embarrassed to run away from us. What do you think, hmm?” He nuzzles my shoulder, then grazes his teeth against my skin when he manages to stretch out my hoodie enough to bare most of my shoulder to him.

“You’re the worst,” I finally pant, and I get a soft laugh that I feel just above my shoulder blade in response.

“Nah, I don’t think so. You’re just upset by how much you like this. How much you like me .” He shifts slightly, and I realize he’s been still for the last few seconds, ever since he let go of my neck, though his cock is still buried inside me. “Take a breath for me, because I’m not letting you breathe again until you come.”

“W-what?” I yelp, trying and failing to twist around to glare at him. “You cannot— ” His fingers tighten threateningly on my throat before letting go.

“Deep breath, Noa. Be grateful I’m still giving you the chance.”

Fear and anticipation war in my chest and I shudder as I lean forward as much as I can in his grip. But I really do need the air, so I take one deep breath and let it out, trying to grant my body as much of a reprieve as I can. On my second breath, Val’s fingers constrict the veins in my neck once more, and the uncomfortable feeling is almost immediate. It burns in a way, especially when I lean into his hand with a whine and parted lips.

“That’s right, just enjoy it.” He pulls out just to slam back into me, causing all of my captured air to exit my lungs in a yelp. That only makes him chuckle, however, and he doesn’t stop. Nor does he slow down. Over and over he fucks me, and this time he bites me as well, his teeth grazing and nipping at the skin of my upper back.

The seconds tick by so slowly that it feels like we’re here for an eternity. Rationally, I know I can only last a minute or two of him clamping off my oxygen, so it can’t be as long as my brain is promising it is.

Embarrassingly, my fears about not being able to come before I black out are unfounded. Somehow when he does this, it works me up so fast it should be illegal. So, before I know it, I’m trembling and leaning most of my weight into his grip on my throat when my arms start to buckle.

“Look at you,” Val growls, his words slurred and rough. “Just fucking look at you, Noa. On your hands and knees for me in the woods while I breed your perfect little cunt. You should be glad we like you, and not just because it means you might get to live. Nah, that’s not the real reason.” He thrust into me harder, pulling a breathy sound from my abused throat. “You should be so grateful to us because no one else on this entire planet could satisfy your depraved needs, you know? But don’t worry, Noa.” He sounds almost soothing for a moment, but his words are undermined by his fingers being so tight that I’m definitely about to black out.

“I’ll always be here to fuck you in all the ways you need. Over and over and over .” He slams into me again, then once more, and my orgasm hits me suddenly with the force of a Mack Truck. I can’t make much of a sound, though I certainly give it my best try. Not only that, but I nearly shake myself apart under him as I ride out my release.

Val groans, then snarls against my shoulder, before I once again feel the sting of his teeth on my skin. But it’s not just teasing this time. Instead, he bites down hard enough that I scream with it. Or try to, anyway. He bites firmly and keeps his mouth on me, like some kind of predator holding on to their mate while they fuck them. He holds on like he needs to, all the while rolling his hips into mine as he comes for what feels like forever.

My arms give out just as he lets go. Thankfully, Val is fast enough to catch me before I faceplant on the ground. He sits up, finally letting go of his mouthful of my shoulder, and distantly I can hear his soft, pleased laughter.

“Just relax,” he purrs, his other arm wrapping around my waist. Carefully he sits back, pulling me with him, and manages to keep his cock buried in me while he arranges me on his lap with my head back against his shoulder. “Relax, princess,” Val says again, his fingers reaching under my hoodie to graze my skin. “It would be a shame if you actually blacked out, you know.”

“Why?” I manage to gasp in the middle of panting for air. “Because you want to insult me more?”

“Insult you? I’ve been complimenting you. And no. That’s not quite it.” His fingers curl over the sides of my face, holding my chin in a tight grip. “If you’d blacked out, then Kieran wouldn’t get to play with you.” He jerks my face to the side, where Kieran is leaning silently against one of the bigger trees. “And that wouldn’t be at all fair to him.”