Page 63 of Ruthless Alpha Beast

It’ll be behind me, I’ll be vulnerable.

No, I know what has to be done.

I need to fight.

The glow from its shadow illuminates some of the forest floor.

I slide my hand over a dark rock, and a deafening screech floods my eardrums as I grasp it in my palm.

It’s heading for me again. The screams get louder.

The smoke is just above my face.

Then with one swing, I hurl the stone. It goes through the smoke and punctures something more solid.

The beast screams.

This scream is different from the ones before.

Move Tara.

I get to my feet and start running. It’s only seconds before I feel a heavy weight slam into my back.

I fall. The ground scrapes my hands and face, and then, suddenly, I’m moving again. I’m being dragged.

My nails claw at the dirt, ripping up chunks of grass as I kick and thrash.

But the monster’s grip is strong.

Its claws are cold and formless, dragging me with a force that feels like I’m being pulled through outer space.

It turns me suddenly, my world flipped upside down as I scream.

I can’t even see its face, just a blur of shifting shadows through the darkness and those glowing red eyes.

It makes a sound that’s deafening.

“Let me go!” I yell, my voice cracked as I twist beneath its claws.

Its mouth is wide, jaws open as it goes for my neck.

I twist. Slamming my free foot forward, I hit something hard.

My vision is too blurred to understand what I hit, but it’s enough to make the creature hiss. It’s a horrible guttural sound.

I wince.

The creature’s grip loosens, and I rip my body free, scrambling forward in the dark.

Please, I’m not sure who or what I’m begging to, but there has to be something.

There’s no way I can get out of this on my own.

My chest burns, breath coming out at a pace way faster than my hands and knees can take me.

I glance over my shoulder at the monster shifting its form, the smoke knitting itself back together.

Its red eyes glower at me through the dark.