Page 7 of Scavenger's Oath

But she just trembles, mud caked on her knees, sweat on her flawless skin, plump lips slightly parted.

“You'll be mine, little doe,” I tell her, voice low and full of promise. “If you try to escape, I'll hunt you down. You try to fight; I'll tie you up. And if you even think about biting me again, then I'll gag that pretty little mouth of yours. You got that?”

Her breath just hitches like a wounded animal. So I slam my fist against the bars, watching with satisfaction as she jumps.

“I said… Do. You. Got that?” I snarl, louder

Her head bobs in the faintest nod.

I sigh, dragging my hand down my mask-covered face.

Guess I'll have to be satisfied with that answer.

She won’t even meet my eyes now. I choose to believe it’s because she’s trying to act obedient and not that she’s terrified of what might be under my mask.

Adrenaline is still running hot through my veins so I can imagine it’s pumping through hers as well.

She'll be much safer in here. Protected from the vicious world out there. I’ll look after her, she just needs to be obedient and resist the urge to try and run. To try and leave me.

Bitterness creeps into me at the thought. My fingers tighten around the bars and squeeze the rusty metal before I push off and step up to the cell door.

The sound of the cell door clicking open feels louder than it is—sharp and final in the silence of the holding room.

She flinches as if she thinks I’m here to punish her. Her eyes dart to the door before returning to me.

I grit my teeth and step in slowly, deliberately letting the weight of the moment settle around us like thick smoke. She’ll learn not to fear me.

She’s curled up in the corner, arms wrapped tight around her knees, all big eyes and shaky breaths.

Fuck, she’s beautiful. Fragile. Watchful. I can see the rise and fall of her chest, the flare of her cute little nose. The flutter of her lashes as she keeps her gaze locked on me as if she’s staring down a predator.

She’s not wrong. But where’s all that fight gone?

I crouch in front of her, close enough that her scent hits me again—sweat, dirt, and something soft underneath. Something sweet.

I smirk, letting my gaze drag down her petite body, slow and lingering.

“You got no idea how lucky you are, little doe,”I murmur. “Could’ve been someone else that found you. Could’ve been worse. Way worse.”

My throat closes up at the thought. But she doesn’t answer.Of course she doesn’t. Doesn’t even move. She’s just frozen, like a bunny in the clutches of a wolf.

I kinda like that.

It seems… submissive. She hasn’t even screamed once since I got her inside.

She’s learning. She’ll be mine in no time.

I reach out and brush a strand of that shiny gold hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. It feels so silky. Like something that doesn’t belong in my hands.

She jolts as my fingers brush her skin, her breath catching.So responsive.

Her reaction shoots straight to my dick, lighting something up inside me—some twisted sense of protectiveness tangled up with hunger. I want to tear her apart and cradle her in the same breath.

“You’d be dead by now… or worse” I murmur, voice low. “You wouldn’t have lasted a week out there. A girl like you?” I click my tongue. “Too soft. Too sweet. They’d eat you alive.”

My fingers are drawn to her soft skin again, trailing gently down her cheek, over her jaw, across her throat.Her skin is so fucking soft. I can imagine sinking my teeth into the warm flesh, marking her pretty skin like she marked me.

“You’re safer here,” I whisper, breath hot in my mask as I lean closer. “Safe with us. With me.”