Page 21 of Primal Hunger
This is bad.So so bad.
Finally, when I feel like my legs are going to give out, a sliver of white breaks through the darkness, and I nearly scream with relief. The unmistakable glow of the portal flickers in the distance, wavering through the tree limbs, but it’s there.
It has to be less than fifty yards away. My heart leaps out of my ribs.
I’m going to make it.I’m going to make it.
The excitement that spurs in my chest somehow sends the message to my feet, and they pick up the momentum again. As soon as I reach it, I’ll dive through, but I know that won’t be the end of things. I still have to make it out of the trees and to town before I’ll truly feel safe.
Can I even run that far? Or will I pass out before I get there?
My heavy breaths and weak limbs suggest the latter, but I can’t give up. Not when I’m so close.
I don’t know whether the Grim will follow me out of the woods—the stories and myths are unclear just how far he’s willing to go to claim his victims—but hopefully when I make it to my house, I’ll be safe.
I can barricade the door and windows, lock myself inside and refuse to come out. Tomorrow, I’ll walk to Tyler’s house to get my car, telling him about the incredible story of how I was almost stranded here in this world. Of how I almost fell victim to the Grim, and we’ll post the pictures of the portal on my blog.
I’m so enamored with my thoughts of escape, so consumed by my looming success, that I don’t notice the tremble in the trees nearby until it’s too late.
I’m close,so close, to reaching the portal, when something slams into my back and I fly forward, skittering across the ground. I hit roots and twigs and bumps on the ground, the harshness of the terrain scratching and biting at my skin like hot pokers.
I try to get to my feet again, but a huge hand grips my side and flips me over, flopping me onto my back.
“You thought you could run from me,” the Grim growls, his words shattering the world around us and echoing into the distance.
So much for being quiet and not being overheard.
He obviously doesn’t seem to care whether he alerts any other beasts in this forest. Honestly, whatever is out there probably isn’t a match for him anyway.
“Please,” I whimper, pushing at his massive, bulging chest in a feeble attempt to get him off me. “Let me go. Please.”
“What part do you not understand?” His voice vibrates over my skin, the heat of his breath hitting me in the face as he lowers himself over me.
I try to flinch away, but it’s useless.
The Grim reaches up to cup my cheeks in his coarse, leathery hand before glaring straight into my soul. “You’re mine now. I willneverlet you go.”
Chapter
Eight
Erin
His.
No, it’s not possible.
He’s a monster, a senseless beast. Sure, he can talk, but is it possible for him to possess someone, to make them his pet?
The only way he’ll let me go is through death.
I shove against him, thrashing beneath his weight, but the Grim doesn’t budge. He doesn’t even react, like he can’t understand my struggle, which only makes me angrier. How canhe be so stoic, so cold, so god damned cruel, all while making my heart race and my blood boil at his closeness?
“No,” I grunt out, twisting to grind my elbow into his side. “No, I’m not yours. I belong to myself!”
I’m tired. I want to go home.
I shouldn’t have trailed a strange creature through the woods at night.
