43. Abbey

43

ABBEY

Abbey lay in her bed feeling lonelier than she ever had in her life. She could hear Solon's deep breathing, coming from the floor at the side of her bed. He had taken one of her pillows and a spare blanket and he was sleeping down there, just a few feet away.

He might as well be miles away, Abbey thought sadly. It seemed that though the big Monstrum was willing to save her and keep her safe, he wanted nothing to do with touching or holding her anymore. She ached to feel his warm arms around her, to bury her face in his fur and breath in his Bonding Scent…but no—he had Renounced his Claim in her, whatever that meant—so now they were nothing but strangers.

At last, after tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep…

"Abbey? Where are you, babe? I'm coming for you…" The horribly familiar voice echoed in her ears and Abbey looked around frantically, searching for the one who was calling her…the one who was stalking her.

She knew instinctively that she was in danger—knew that if the man who was looking for her managed to find her, he would kill her.

He has a knife! He wants to stab me—to cut me into little pieces!

Her heart thudded in her chest and fear crammed an icy fist down her throat. Away—she had to get away from him! She had to hide—but where?

Suddenly, she was running down a long hallway, searching everywhere for a hiding place. But every door she tried wouldn't open and all the time she could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer.

Abbey knew he was gaining on her—soon he would catch her and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing at all. Major was gone and she was alone—all alone with a killer on her heels.

She was going to die if she couldn't find someplace to hide but there was nowhere…nowhere to go…nowhere to hide and he kept getting closer and closer…