Page 13 of Monsters Carve Thrones

No answer.

Something in the air felt… different, like static before a storm. I pushed back the sheets and stood, my black silknightgown clinging to my skin as I stepped barefoot across the tile. The villa was too quiet. The ocean beyond the windows rolled with steady, dark waves. A thrill curled down my spine.

And then I saw something that made me suck in a breath. On the glass patio door, there was a smear ofred. My lipstick, drawn in a crude little heart.

My pulse spiked.

Oh, shit.

I turned slowly, my heart pounding now. Before I could call out for him again, a sudden shadow darted behind one of the open bedroom doors.He was hunting me.

A grin spread across my lips, involuntary and wild as I picked up on the softest creak of a floorboard. Then silence.

Another creak.

And that’s when I bolted.

I tore down the hallway barefoot, nightgown fluttering around my thighs, hair flying behind me. I ducked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking it with trembling fingers. My breath was ragged and sharp as I backed away from the door, listening.

Silence.

Then–a knock. It was soft and playful, triggering goosebumps along my skin.

“Hey, lovely,” Rafe’s voice was low and teasing. “You can try to run, to hide… but you won’t get far. I’ll catch you, little doe.”

I pressed my hand to my mouth to stifle the gasp. Another beat of silence… then the handle jiggled, turned and stopped against the lock.

And then, a deep chuckle, followed by a hard bang on the door. I flinched.

He was loving this.

I backed toward the narrow window, open just wide enough to slip through. My blood thrummed as I climbed onto the ledge, my heart pounding so hard I could barely hear. I dropped to the outside ground hard, the shock of sand hitting my palms barely registering before I was up again, sprinting barefoot into the trees behind the villa.

The jungle swallowed me in seconds. Branches whipped across my skin, twigs cracked beneath my feet, and the humid air sliced through my lungs like a blade. My heart thundered, not just from exertion...but from the thrill. The kind that curled around my spine and whispered,he’s coming.

A shadow moved. A blur behind me.

I heard him break through the underbrush with no attempt at silence, and I pivoted fast, ducking low, my elbow slamming up into his ribs as he lunged.

He grunted, stumbling.

I spun, kicked, missed.

He caught my ankle mid-air. “Not bad,” Rafe growled, yanking hard.

I crashed backward, twisted, and rolled onto my knees before he could mount me. I swept his legs out with mine and scrambled to my feet, breath ragged. “You taught me too well,” I panted, a wicked grin slicing across my face as I darted deeper into the jungle.

His dark, thrilled laugh followed after me. “Oh, baby... you’re gonna regret that.”

I didn’t stop. I vaulted a fallen log and scraped my thigh on a jutting root, blood hot in my veins. I could feel him closing in again. He was bigger, faster, stronger, but I had agility. I had fire.

Was this what a deer felt like when it ran for its life?

I cut sharply left, ducked under a low-hanging branch, then feinted right–

But he was already there.

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist and yanking me back hard. I snarled, twisting, slamming the heel of my palm toward his face.