13. Harper Leigh

Where the fuck did the other one come from? I had seen a brief glimpse of guy number three earlier in the evening. I studied the four of them before sense reminded me I was on borrowed time.

It wasn't long before I heard branches snap, but I didn't look back. I was so close to freedom. "Whoever catches you first gets to fuck you." The words echoed in my head as I continued running, my aching muscles pumping. Being ravaged by the four men was the least of my problems.

Deep inside, I knew if they caught me, it was the end. There was a real possibility that they would kill me and I would end up just like my friends. Dead. My body left in the woods for animals and insects to scavenge. They wouldn't allow me to go back to my peaceful life and pretend like it was all a nightmare, something my brain had conjured from watching too many horror movies.

And they definitely wouldn't let me go to the police. Would the authorities even believe my story? The entire scenario was so far-fetched. Receive an invitation to a haunted house, fight for my life, survive a pool of acid and fireballs, have my virginity taken by a gun . . . Kill my frenemy and boyfriend. It was probably better if I didn't tell anyone what had happened.

The trees enveloped me, removing me from the world and clearing my thoughts. All I had to do was make it to the gas station. That was what Jack, the man who wore the horned mask, had said. It was the shop I had been turned away from earlier, but if she saw the condition I was in, surely she would take pity on me. I looked like hell, with cuts, bruises, and burns covering my flesh. Landry's blood still coated my skin, the rain unable to wash all of it away.

If I managed to live, the first thing I wanted to do was take a scalding shower and scrub all evidence of the night from me.

My heart pounded beneath my ribs, the blood roaring in my ears, muffling everything else as I focused on the only thing that mattered. Survival.

The shop had been fifteen minutes down the road. How long would it take for me to run there? An hour? The muscles in my legs screamed at me as they pumped, taking me closer to my destination.

Lightning crashed overhead, and thunder shook the ground. The thicket provided me with shelter from the worst of the rain and the wind. What remained of my clothes was soaked and the weather should have chilled me. Despite that, the adrenaline that coursed through my veins kept me warm, urging me to run faster.

My lungs burned as brambles snagged my skin, cutting into me like a knife. I didn't dare stop, even though I couldn't hear footsteps around me any longer. Small branches caught in my hair and whipped at my body. The ground was slick from freshly fallen leaves, and I slid, my feet sinking into the mud.

Despite the thunder and ragged breaths, I thought I heard a twig snap to my left. I pivoted as fast as I could to the right, slipping. I landed on my knees, mud covering my legs and hands. A stick broke behind me, and I righted myself, not caring about my clothes. Just run. It was the mantra that kept me going, even though my body begged me to slow down.

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of me from the left side, and I stumbled to the hard ground. I scrambled to stand again, but vicious hands grabbed my ankles, yanking me closer. When lightning streaked across the sky again, I glimpsed the monster that had me in his clutches.

It was the one whose mask had a butterfly dripping blood–it was both beautiful and terrifying. He was responsible for the burn on the side of Landry's face after he dragged him from the room earlier. I didn't trust my chances with him. Erebus would use me, but keep me safe.

This guy? I had no idea.

A scream ripped from my throat as I kicked at him, determined to be set free. The sound was born out of horror and frustration. As soon as I heard it. I knew I had potentially given away my location.

My heel landed against the mask with a thud, and the man's grip loosened. I struggled to get to my feet and take off again. From behind, his voice reverberated through the trees. "That's right, cher. Struggle. Show us how strong you are and how much you want to live. Maybe it will make Minos take pity on you."

Take pity on me? And who was Minos? Fuck them. The darkness that had been brewing inside of me begged to be set free. If I could, I would have sliced all of their throats for putting me through what they had. The chance of me taking down all four of them was slim. Instead, I focused on the only thing in my control–running.

Running until my body pleaded with me to stop, my side cramped from lactic acid. Running even when my limbs shook from the excess adrenaline and the ground rumbled beneath my feet. Running even though my arms and torso had abrasions from the shrubs and thorns in the thicket.

Strong arms wrapped around my torso and clutched me like a vise. "Let me go," I growled, pressing my nails into my assailant's arms like claws. I tried tearing at the skin beneath the wet fabric, but was met with a dark chuckle.

"I'll never let you go, little nightmare. Thanatos was right. Show us how much you want to live. Fight me, and my brother might let you walk away."

Erebus' voice was a balm to my soul, whatever fragments were left of it. "Fuck you," I said as I continued to struggle against him.

My front collided against the bark of a tree, irritating the skin of my chest. He pressed against my back, his warmth radiating into me. "You've already done that, remember?"

"I hate you," I whispered, my eyes stinging. I had been so close to escaping. Was my face wet from sweat, tears, or the rain? I couldn't tell.

His hand closed around my throat, and he squeezed gently, a reminder of who was truly in charge. He unbuttoned my jeans with his opposite hand, and his palm cupped my pussy. "That's not the truth, and somewhere deep inside, you know it."

His lips brushed along the column of my neck, coming to rest on my shoulder. "You wish you could hate me, Harper. You wish that your body didn't like the things that it does."

His fingers pushed the fabric of my panties to the side, and he thrust one finger inside me. It was still tender from earlier, but I whimpered at it sliding in and out. "The chase, the fear. It turns you on, just like me."

For emphasis, he rolled his hips, pressing his hard cock against my ass. "You should thank us for setting your demons loose to play. A man like Landry could never satisfy you," he whispered before biting down on my shoulder. Pain lanced through my skin before he flattened his tongue against the wound, soothing the sting.

My cheeks heated from his words and the sound of his fingers plunging in and out of my arousal. "Never," I responded, even as my thighs clenched, something deep inside me coiling tighter. Every pass of his hand hit a spot that made my body sing.

"Mmm. Really? If you had married Landry, what would the future have held for you? Sex you scheduled every Friday night where you stared at the ceiling, thinking of anything else while you waited for him to finish fucking you? A white picket fence?"

His teeth seared my skin again. "Admit that he never made you feel like this."

I kept my mouth shut, my hands digging into him, and stifled the noises growing inside of me. Even when my walls contracted around his fingers and wetness gushed down my thighs, I refused to acknowledge what he said. It was nothing but a physical reaction to his touch. Just biology, I reminded myself, even though the little voice in the back of my head told me that wasn't accurate.

Even if I hated it and hated him, he was right.

"That's okay, little nightmare. I'll keep your secrets for you, and we'll both know the truth." He whipped me around to where I was facing him. In the darkness, he was only a silhouette, massive and obscured by shadows. He yanked my pants down my legs and picked me up, forcing me to wrap my thighs around him.

He shoved us back into the tree, and my breath hitched. Out of all the men, I felt the safest around him. It was a false sense of security, dumb on my part, but I didn't think he would truly hurt me. Not like the others. Maybe he would use me once more and then let me go.

The sound of his zipper lowering made me close my eyes. I didn't want my captor to see what he did to me and the reaction he coaxed out of my body. "You can't hide from me, Harper," he murmured as he plunged inside me, his thick cock stretching me. From the angle he held me, everything felt deeper. The piercing on his dick heightened the experience. I never had sex before, but I knew this wasn't an average lay. "Look at me while I fuck you."

My eyes fluttered open, and I stared at the faceless man who had taken my firsts. Heat rose with each thrust and slap of our skin. I silently begged my body to cooperate and not show him how much I secretly enjoyed what he was doing to me.

My body didn't cooperate, and when a second shadow appeared in my periphery, rather than stop the impending orgasm, it urged it on. "That's right, Harper Leigh. Show Erebus what a good little whore you are for him," the second man said.

When electricity lit up the sky, I saw the hammer that decorated his mask and shivered. The fear and friction mingled with the dirty words being spoken elicited a response from me. I tumbled over the edge of bliss, my muscles quaking against the bark of the tree.

Another set of footsteps approached. "Help me bind her," he muttered. "Bitch kicked me in the face and the last thing I want is a broken nose."

"Please, no," I whispered to Erebus, hoping to appeal to something deep inside him. He didn't respond, instead sliding out of me. His cum trailed down my thighs as he held my biceps, pulling me from the tree. I dug my heels into the mud beneath my feet, but it didn't help.

They had taken plenty from me. My virginity, my boyfriend, the hope that my best friend was alive . . . my sanity. But it wasn't enough. It was like they wanted to own me completely and steal away the leftover shards of my soul. "Little nightmare," Erebus whispered in my ear. "Relax. Trust me."

And just like that, my fight was gone. I couldn't stop whatever was happening to me, but maybe Erebus would save me in the end and protect me from the worst of what they had planned. I just had to live.

My bra fell to the ground as coarse rope wrapped around my torso, between my breasts. The rope wound repeatedly around me, binding my arms to my chest. Rather than further ratchet up my pulse, it had the opposite effect. Instead, it gave me a sense of calm and clarity. A focus on what was important. Even if they used my body, they wouldn't have my heart. Nothing was left of it, anyway.

The man with a hammer on his mask stepped in front of me before pulling me down with him, forcing me to straddle his waist. His fingers ran through my hair before he leaned close to my ear. "My brother calls you little nightmare, and I wish I could see what he does," the unknown man whispered against my skin before shoving me down on his length. He was bigger than Erebus, and I hissed in a breath as he seated himself completely. He snapped his hips, allowing my pussy no time to adjust. The fullness straddled pleasure and pain, but I'd never felt more alive.

A fourth apparition finally appeared from deep in the shadows. I recognized him, even without seeing his face. Even when fingers plunged in alongside my mystery man's dick and spread wetness to the tight hole behind it, my attention was on the one who promised my freedom if I made it.

The man behind me spit, and liquid trailed down my crack. I swallowed hard, knowing what was next. The head of his cock notched against my ass, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the invasion. Erebus' hand wound around my hair, forcing my head back. My scalp stung from the tension and my throat felt tight. "Relax, cher. Let him in, or he'll rip you in half."

Slowly, the mystery man inched inside of me, and the pain was almost too much to bear. Fingers danced along my clit, slowly morphing the pain into pleasure and a feeling of fullness. The masked man with the horns stalked forward, his hand wrapped around his dick. He stroked himself, and I stared at the angry length, partially obscured by the night. "Open up, Harper. If you use your teeth, I'll end your life before you can flinch." Jack.

Begrudgingly, I cooperated, allowing him to push the head of his cock inside my mouth. He tasted salty and musky. Masculine. His skin was velvety smooth against my tongue. It was slow at first, the same as the men who were filling me completely.

And then, like some flip had been switched, their tempos increased. I was pushed and pulled in an expert fashion, our skin slapping against each other. Jack snapped his hips against my face, plunging into my throat. My eyes watered from the invasion and I gagged. His fingers pinched my nose, cutting off my breath and forcing me to swallow around him.

The pressure on my clit increased as his balls clapped against my chin. When he pulled out, I took a deep breath, hoping it would be enough to last me for his next assault.

My pussy tightened once again, and I desperately wanted to cling to something. My fingers itched to dig into the shoulders of one of the men using me or curl into Erebus' shirt. Instead, I was left to shudder limply, allowing them to keep me upright. Pleasure overtook my body, blurring my senses, and I whimpered around the cock in my mouth.

"You're doing such a good job," Erebus said as his fingers left my clit, pinching my nipples. Warmth flooded my chest at his praise, and it was almost easy to forget that he was a demon sent from hell.

The man who hadn't spoken plunged into my ass once more and stilled, liquid heat pulsating inside me. He slipped out without a word and disappeared into the thicket. No one commented on that or cared. He'd gotten what he wanted from me. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep me alive.

Jack growled and pulled out of my mouth, his hand pumping his length. "You haven't earned my cum yet," he told me. His motions were fast and angry. Jets of his cum landed on my face and chest. His fingers ran along the liquid, smearing it further into my skin.

The man beneath me bit my bound breast as he raised his hips twice more, and then clutched me like his life depended on it. "Let her go, Minos," he uttered before he buried his head in the crook of my neck. Typically, I would have seen the gesture as some warped type of affection, but I was too tired, and my brain was muddled.

"What if she goes to the police?"

"She won't. Trust me," he mumbled as Erebus toyed with the bindings surrounding my body.

Minos tucked himself back into his pants and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. One condition. If she makes it back to the Mirage, she's free. If we catch her again, she's ours to do what we want with."

The rope fell from my body, and I staggered to my feet, grabbing my bra from the muddy ground. A hand wrapped around my upper arm, and Erebus embraced me tightly. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky and lit up the crows on his mask. "Run, little nightmare, and don't let me catch you." He ran his thumb along my lip before taking a step back.

Run.

Maybe this time, I could escape. I could taste freedom on the tip of my tongue.