“Makes sense.” I drag my eyes away from Kyrin and watch as Killian continues to stare at me.
“You finished talking, Little Bird?”
I nod.
“You’ll get a two-minute head start. If you’re caught, it’s your seeker’s decision on what he wants to do with you. Will it be slave for the night? Will it be a dare? It’s up to the seeker.” Kingston stands from his chair, his eyes on me. They’re like laser beams shooting right through me. It makes me queasy and uneasy, but I can’t look away.
“Three, two, one…” Killian smirks. “Run, run, run…”
I pause, trapped in King’s trance. People are scrambling around me, running into the forest that backs up to the field, but I’m imprisoned.
Slowly, I watch as King’s mouth opens, before he mouths, “Run.”
Just like that, I spin around and zap toward the forest, my heart thundering in my chest. The adrenaline that spikes through my blood gives me a much-needed energy boost because my legs shoot forward through a clearing. I jump and dodge fallen tree branches. I run for a solid minute until I stop, expecting to see or hear someone. Anyone. There were so many people who are here hiding—where have they all gone?
I step backward, the leaves beneath my shoe crunching. Where the fuck is everyone?
I walk this time, not wanting to make any unnecessary noise. The bright moonlight battles against the dead of the night, paving the way for me through the mass of fallen branches. I must walk for twenty minutes before I figure I should turn around and start heading back, only when I do, the forest caves around me like an endless maze, enveloping me in its natural form.
I hear rustling from the left. “Jack?”
“Wrong,” King whispers, just as my back crashes into his chest.
I screech, spinning around to face him. “That was hardly fair.”
He steps closer, and I step back, until I’m colliding into a tree trunk.
His chest brushes up against mine, all six-foot-something of him towering over me. “What’s your name?”
I hold my breath, afraid that if I catch too much of his scent, his venom will seep into my bones and remain. His hand comes to my chin, tilting my face up to his. King doesn’t need to demand an answer from anyone. His presence speaks in volumes that no frequency can calculate.
“Dove.” I swallow past my nerves.
He yanks my bandana down and slowly slips his thumb between my lips. I take him, sucking his thumb into my mouth. It’s not until the strong flick of metal hits my sensitive taste buds that I rear back, whacking his hand out of my way. “Ew! What is that?”
“What’s your name?” he repeats, his knee pressing between my legs, separating them.
“Dove!” I yell, using the back of my hand to wipe whatever it was—please don’t be blood—off my lips. “What was on your hand, King?”
He leans down and runs his tongue over my lips. “My revenge.”
He kisses me, just in time for Killian to run up behind us with Maya in tow. My eyes fall to her wrists, and I see they’re bound together by Killian’s bandana. “Killian!”
He shrugs, and Maya rolls her eyes, bored.
Killian searches King. “You ready?”
King grabs my hand, stepping out of my vicinity and pulling me behind him. “We’ll meet you back at the RV.” I follow his steps, the silence stretching out, as Maya and Killian disappear into the distance.
“Are you going to tell me if that was blood?”
“Does it matter?” He picks up his stride, tucking his bandana into his back jeans pocket.
“Do you ever wear shirts? And yes, since you shoved your thumb into my mouth.” When he doesn’t answer, I reach out to his hand. It’s like an electric voltage passes between us, and he spins around, pinning me with his glare.
“What, Dove?”
Suddenly, the air is thicker, and my chest is heavy. “Why do you keep touching me and then hating me?” Sounds juvenile, but it’s the one thing I want to know. Even more than whose damn blood I just sucked down.
He reaches forward, hooking his hand behind my neck, and pulls me into him. His lips crash onto mine, and I open, wanting more of him. Needing him to feed me with the fuel I so desperately want. Only, it’s never enough, because every single time our kiss is finished, I’m only left more famished.
He stops, pulls back, but rests his forehead against mine. “I don’t fucking know.” He shoves me away and disappears behind one of the RVs.
“Dove!” Rose bounces toward me, a drink in her hand. I’m still left flabbergasted by King’s words that I haven’t even registered that she’s still speaking to me. “Here!” She shoves a drink into my chest. “Did King get you?”
I swallow the entire contents whole, swiping my mouth. “Yes.”
“Are you being careful?” she asks, hooking her arm in mine and leading me back to their RV where everyone is drinking.
“As careful as I can be.” I head straight for the fridge they have outside, taking out an entire bottle of wine and dropping down onto one of the seats. A few people are scattered around, but I notice Val is missing. My eyes land on Maya, who is sitting next to Killian. I pop the bottle and take a long swig, my eyes staying on Kill.
“What’s with you two?” I ask, gesturing to both of them with my wine bottle.
Maya stares at me blankly as if I’ve interrupted her space and I should apologize. She’s hard to read, I’ve gathered that, but I’ve also found that she somewhat tolerates me. I hope I don’t test that when I ask my next question. “Are you sleeping together?”
Killian freezes, his eyes coming to mine. “No, Little Bird. We’re not. Why don’t you just worry about who will be in, or under, your bed tonight.” His eyes darken. A few seconds pass between us. In the corner of my eye, I can see more people coming in, having been found.
I drink more wine.
“Listen,” Rose says, leaning into me. “I found this in our RV. I feel like it might have something to do with you, since it’s a dove, but I don’t know if it means anything.” I feel her hand slip beneath my shorts, tucking what feels like a piece of paper into my underwear. “Just don’t look until you’re alone. I don’t think I was supposed to find it, if you know what I mean.”
I shrug. “I’m confused.”
“About what?” Rose asks, taking the bottle of wine off me and having many sips herself.
I look directly at her, the flames from the fire warming the right side of my cheek. “Kingston.”
She pauses, and then slowly lowers the bottle down onto her lap. “I can understand why you might be confused, what with how he’s been acting around you. Maya said that he’s never been like that around or about any girl—ever.”
“I don’t know,” I answer, taking back the bottle. I sip on it, even though, deep down, I know that I shouldn’t and that I’ve probably had enough. I inhale deeply and exhale, the sweet tang of wine simmering behind my throat. “I got the feeling there may have been someone else. At the very least, another friend.”
Rose’s hand rests on my thigh, and my eyes instantly snap to the connection. “Have you fucked him?”