Page 74 of Venomous Kiss

After wiping the axe on his lifeless body, I rest it on my shoulder and turn in the direction Lilith ran, listening for her. She couldn’t have gotten far—my little caterpillar is tired.

She’s been out here for a good few hours, and soon daylight will come, and all bets will be off. She’ll be hunted and killed without a second thought. The hope is to always kill the prey before daylight breaks, and most times, we do. But I think my caterpillar has finally grown her wings and is ready to fly.

Now she’s a butterfly.

How is it possible that, even covered in mud and looking defeated in every way, she is still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen on this earth?

Walking in the direction where I saw her run off, a surge of fear hits me. She could die. Shaking that thought from my head, I glance down at the ground and try to make out her footprints. Even though the darkness makes them hard to see, the ground is wet, so they stand out more.

“Reon.”

I stop at the sound of Arlo’s voice. He walks up to me, cracking his neck with his mask back on, and I see that his arm is bandaged. That mask means a lot to our Society; you see, the first ever Lord was disfigured. It was his idea to cover his face, and being a Lord, everyone followed, much like we do today. Then the Hunt came, which was perfect for the broken glass masks.

“Did you know this was his plan?” I growl, my hand tightening on the axe’s handle. One wrong word and I will swing and lop off his head, so he had better answer me right.

“No, he didn’t tell me.”

I focus on him, and his eyes are firmly on me. “You wouldn’t have told me anyway.”

“No, you’re right, I probably wouldn’t have. She is the chosen.”

“No, she’s not. She is Soren’s way of getting back at me for his sister. It’s as simple as that.”

“What did you do to Maya?”

“Nothing. I called it off with her and told him to go fuck himself. I don’t want his sister. I want my Caterpillar.” I smile as I turn to look out at the woods.

“She told me you call her that.”

I glance over my shoulder at him. “What else did she tell you?”

“I like her. It’s a pity she has to die tonight.”

“She won’t die if I can help it,” I state, starting walking away.

“I have a feeling it was all a setup for you anyway. We were told to let you take the kill. He wants you to kill her,” Arlo calls out to me.

“That will never happen. I’ll kill him before he can touch her.”

“I was afraid you would say that,” he states, and then he runs at me and tackles me around my middle, knocking me to the ground where she fucking stabbed me.

Fuck! Arlo has some power in him.

A scream rips through the air, and we both freeze. I take a second too long due to the pain that shoots through me, and he reaches for my axe.

Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

I pull the axe away and kick him in the gut. He goes flying back, and it gives me enough time to stand and lift the axe. “I’ll take off your head, Arlo,” I threaten.

He starts his crazy laugh, and I wonder how he ever became a therapist. He is fucking loopier in the head than the rest of us.

He bows and waves his hand at me. “At least I can say I tried.”

“Did you?” I ask as I hear her scream again. “Fuck you. If you get too close to me again, I’ll aim for your neck like I did to Hank.” I take off in a run in the direction I heard her scream, and I slow when I don’t see or hear anything.

Where is she?

What are they doing to her?