Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

EVER

I t was dark. Slivers of moonlight peeked down through the trees above, but it didn't illuminate much. Everything around the manor was a blend of black, twisting shadows, and there was no telling how far they stretched into the distance. I'd walked for two hours before I was even attacked.

How much further had I been dragged after I was knocked out?

Without time to contemplate, I rushed across the porch, flew down the stairs, and raced into the trees. I didn't even have time to get my bearings. I had no plan, other than to get the fuck away from the manor and Corvin Dupont. I would use every second of my twenty minute head start to put as much space between me and him as possible.

Pumping my limbs as hard as I could, I weaved through the trees and stumbled over the uneven underbrush. My heart jack-hammered in my chest, and I was so focused on running, on surviving, that I could hardly think about everything I'd seen and heard.

Corvin was a vampire, which should have been impossible, but I'd seen enough to make me a believer.

It was probably all the horror movies I'd watched, or the time as a teen I spent wishing mythical creatures were real, that made the information easier to digest. He was a monster intent on capturing me, on sinking his fangs into me, and I was the prey trying desperately to get away.

If I was honest, the odds weren't in my favor, but I refused to give up or slow down. If I was going down, I was going to give it everything I had to get away. If it still wasn't enough, then I would have to accept my fate as the monster's pet.

My lungs burned and my muscles ached, but I kept running, not worrying about which direction I was headed. Distance was my number one objective, masking my scent being the second. If I could find some kind of water, maybe a creek or a stream running through the woods, that would definitely help to throw him off my scent. That was, assuming vampires could track using their sense of smell.

At this point, I wasn't sure what all he was capable of, and I didn't want to find out.

"Son of a bitch," I hissed between gritted teeth as I frantically checked my pockets. It appeared they'd taken my phone when I was dragged to the mansion too, so there was no chance in hell of calling for help.

Go fucking figure.

I ran for my life, wondering how many minutes had already passed and how many more I had before the vampire Lord would come looking for me. The smallest, most deranged part of me wanted to be found. I wondered what he would do with me, how he would use those fangs to torture me.

Would it hurt? Would I wish for death? Or would I... enjoy it?

"Fuck!" The ground disappeared from beneath my feet and I fell through the air. The next thing I knew, my boots made contact and a spray of cold water soaked my clothes. I stumbled on shaky feet and pitched forward, landing in a stream.

Yes! A wave of relief washed through me, drowning some of my panic. I could hardly believe my luck, but there it was, like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

This was good, very good . Corvin wouldn't be able to track my footprints or my scent in the water. At least, I hoped. I knew how predators worked in the wild, but Corvin was a very different kind of animal.

I decided to cross my fingers and hope that he was no different from a coyote or a bear, clinging to the hope that I would manage to get away.

I was exhausted, but a new burst of energy had me scrambling to my feet and wading downstream in the almost knee-deep water. My clothes stuck to me, my boots heavy as I sloshed around, moving quickly but trying to limit how much noise I made. My haggard exhales were louder than my movements, and I tried to catch my breath.

As I hurried through the water, my mind raced and my heart slammed against my ribs. Hope and doubt clashed together in a brutal fight, consuming my thoughts, jacking up my adrenaline. I thought about my mother and how pissed she would be at me if I died in the woods, how much she'd lecture me if I survived. They were quick, fleeting thoughts that were immediately swallowed by my determination to keep going.

I dug my hands into the soft bed of the stream, coating my skin in a thin layer of mud that I hoped would be enough to smother my scent. I did everything I knew to do, treating the vampire like any other predator I might encounter in the woods, but one question remained: Would it be enough?

Would all this be enough to save my life? Or would it all be for nothing in the end?

A hundred yards or so down the stream, I climbed out onto the opposite bank, and kept running. I was drenched, rivets of water dripping from my clothes, my feet squishing in my shoes. I strained my eyes against the darkness, trying to see anything through the trees, but all I could see were more woods.

Fuck.

"Everett," a faint voice carried on the wind, shocking me so badly I nearly tripped and fell.

Goosebumps crawled over every inch of my skin, my blood running cold, but I kept moving. There was no way he'd caught up that quickly. No way.

Images of his robed servants moving impossibly fast through the trees danced through my mind, and I swallowed hard. If his servants were that fast, the vampire had to be even more so.

Fuck. I was in trouble.

"You're going to be the perfect pet for me." More words floated through the air, wrapping around me. It was impossible to tell which direction they came from; They came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

I was losing it. I hadn't even been lost in the woods a whole day and I was already losing my mind. This was why no one ever came back sane. They all lost their minds being chased to death, or tortured by the insane vampire Lord.

Why did I ever think I was different? Why did I think I would come out of the woods unscathed when no one had ever succeeded before?

"I can't wait to sink my fangs into you," the voice sing-songed around me.

I whimpered. I'd always considered myself humble, but it was painfully obvious as I ran for my life that my ego would be my biggest undoing. I'd thought I was invincible, but really I was weak, completely defenseless against a goddamn vampire, and I was going to die.

I pushed harder, running with every shred of energy I had left, pumping my limbs and gasping for air. I held onto hope that the trees would begin to clear, that I would reach the edge of these never-ending woods and somehow be close enough to the truck to get away, but no matter how far I ran, all I saw were thick tree trunks and tangled underbrush.

A rustle nearby made my hair stand on end, and I looked partially over my shoulder in time to see a figure shooting through the dark. His pale hair was unmistakable, even in the darkness, and I screamed. Corvin was closing the distance between us, moving faster than any human or animal I'd ever seen.

I hardly had time to brace myself before he slammed into me and we both went flying, skidding across the ground. We narrowly missed a bulging root sticking up, and when we came to a stop, he was pinning me down, a wild, feral look on his face.

"Please," I begged, losing every ounce of my pride. "Please, don't kill me. Let me go. I have to go home; My mother will worry. She'll come looking. I can't... please..." Tears stung my eyes, fear paralyzing my tongue. My breaths came faster, and I worried I would hyperventilate.

I kicked and thrashed beneath him, but a cold hand came up to grab my neck, squeezing just enough for me to still.

"A deal is a deal, pet," he said, tsking his tongue. "I kept my word and gave you a head start. Now, it's time to keep yours."

I opened my mouth and closed it again, his tight hold on my throat cutting off the words I wanted to say. What could I even say to change his mind? I'd begged, I'd pleaded, and it hadn't made a difference. Lord Dupont clearly wasn't the bargaining type.

"Lord Dupont…Corvin," I said, my voice strained. "I'll give you anything you want. Money, more servants, anything. Just, please, don't keep me here."

He lowered his face so that our noses were nearly touching, his dark gaze burning into mine through the dim light. A low growl rumbled in his chest, and his body tensed against mine.

"There is nothing you could offer me that I would want more than you, Ever Briggs," he said, dipping his face lower to breathe in the side of my neck. " Nothing could be better than this."

In a swift motion, he shoved my head to the side, exposing the tender skin of my neck before he sank his fangs into it.