Page 60 of Primal Hunger
I buck and lash out again, this time managing to hit something with my claws. The Ech yelps, and I kick into the air, planting my foot against its armor-covered abdomen. With a howl, it releases me, and I’m back on my feet a second later.
Pain splinters through me, my side where I was stabbed freely oozing blood now. My chest burns with every inhale, and I stagger while I get my bearings.
“Syros! No!”
My fur raises at the sound of Erin’s voice, and my eyes flick to her again.
It shouldn’t surprise me how she chose to ignore me. She is the most stubborn little human I’ve ever encountered. She should not have to witness my failure, though.
If I die, there is nowhere safe for her. She’ll have no chance here without me, absolutely none.
She’ll die a painful, agonizing death.
I should have let her go when I had the chance.
“Behind you!” Her scream burns through my thoughts, and reality slams into me. I’d been so distracted that I lost track of the creature’s movements in the underbrush.
I whirl around just in time for the Ech to slam into me again. Long claws wrap around my shoulders as we tumble to the ground, even more tearing at my fur and raking across my skin. Its claws are not as sharp as the Grim, but they will do untold damage if I allow it to gain the upper hand.
The creature bends close and roars out a challenge, once again pinning me to the ground.
I’m hurt, and there is a very real possibility that I won’t make it out of this alive if I don’t do something fast.
Regret mingles with the pain as something slender—probably a tail—wraps around my throat with enough strength to crush bone. I buck in an attempt to knock it off, kicking up with the strength I have left, but the Ech doesn’t budge.
Under normal circumstances, I’d be filled to the brim with food and prepared for such an attack. However, I’d opted to crawl up with Erin on my furs and feel the heat rolling off of her skin instead of eating her. The moment was peppered with memories of fucking her on the stool, her tight hot little body wrapped around mine.
Selfishness has been a way of life for me for so long… this world isn’t for her.
No doubt she will take this time to run. It’s her chance. Not that she will get far, with the other dangers lurking in this world. But I don’t blame her for trying.
The Ech’s tail squeezes tighter around my throat to choke off my air supply, and pain splinters through me, becoming my reality.
This is my fault for allowing the creature to get the upper hand.
I lost my focus. And with it, any advantage I could have hoped for.
Black spots dance in front of my vision as the Ech increases the pressure around my neck. My movements grow sluggish, ineffective.
I’m dying.
There is no room left for embarrassment either. My little human will watch me die, and there is nothing either of us can do. There is only shame at bringing Erin this far only to leave her behind.
There are so many other things I’d wished to explore between us.
We will never have the opportunity now.
I pry my eyes open, coughing, struggling to breathe when a flash of movement from the side captures my attention. A dullthwunksounds and suddenly I’m able to suck air down into my lungs again.
The Ech yowls like someone has cut off its tail. The ground shakes.
I force myself up to my knees, shifting to the side while I get my bearings back, and there is Erin. She stands there, holding one of my trinkets, the look in her eyes promising death.
Rather than waiting for the Ech to recover, she slams the object down on the invisible monster again, hard enough for me to wince at the cracking sound that follows.
With a thud, the creature drops to the ground, the grass depressed in the shape of its long, slender form.
It doesn’t move again.
