Midnight Pleasure [THE PLEASURE SERIES BOOK 1]

Chapter Four - Melora

She was bored. They had been riding for over four hours now, and she was bored out of her mind. Melora leaned against her hand as she looked out the window and took in some familiar surroundings. She wondered if her new home would be filled with greenery as the brown colors passed her. She leaned out of the window and let her right arm swing against the side of the carriage.

Melora closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, hoping to make the trip go faster. She felt her body relax before she fell asleep.

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When she woke up again, she noticed that the carriage was stopped. The air around them had turned stale. Before, there had been a gentle breeze that helped circulate the air, but now there was nothing. The land around the carriage was suspiciously quiet. Only a few animals resided in her father's grounds, but Melora didn't hear a sound.

Melora started to reach for the handle of her door when she heard Drystan's voice in her ear. His hand clamped over her mouth as he pulled her away from the door and against his chest. "Don't make a sound, Melora," he hissed in her ear. Her heart thumped dangerously in her chest as she gripped his wrist.

She was starting to shake. She looked up at him and watched his eyes darting back and forth around them. Something got him spooked. His entire body was tense against hers. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth but didn't remove his tight grip around her waist. Drystan raised a finger to his mouth, his eyes begging her to be silent. She turned her head and tried to find whatever made him nervous, but couldn't find anything.

Melora started to open her mouth when she noticed his arm was off her. She turned around in the carriage and found that she was alone again.

Why could he move without me hearing him? she thought to herself. Her hand moved to her chest. Panic started to rise in her chest as she willed him to come back. Melora didn't like how quiet everything was. She felt some danger close to them but couldn't see what it was.

The carriage jolted, making her scream and grip the seat before her. "Drystan!" she closed her eyes and yelled out for him.

A dark, deep chuckle came from her right side. Melora knew instantly that it wasn't Drystan. She opened her eyes and met a pair of bright, golden eyes. The eyes were gold as they stared at her with malice. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She backed up as the eyes came closer to her.

"Aren't you pretty?" the voice sneered at her. She resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her ears at the sound of his voice. To her, it sounded like nails scratching against a chalkboard. His face was dirty, and his breath ranked as if he had eaten something rotten. His eyes were too close together, and the eyebrows shaped around them were thick and black, unkempt. His nose looked like it had been broken too many times and never healed correctly. His lips were curled in a hideous sneer, showing off a large set of fangs.

Melora's back hit the other side of the carriage. She opened her mouth to scream again when the dirty man interrupted her. He had opened the door and was halfway inside the carriage, a hand reaching out to her.

"I wouldn't yell for him if I were you," he told her lowly. He knelt in front of her. To her, it looked more like he was crouching, ready to pounce on her. "I wonder what you taste like."

Melora screamed as the man came at her. She closed her eyes and brought her hands up to her face, waiting for whatever he was going to do to her when she heard the door behind her open, and a pair of strong arms pulled her out. She opened her eyes when her feet hit the ground and met Drystan's. Blood splattered his face, and he was breathing hard.

"Run, Melora," he snarled. His eyes were pleading with her. "Run. I'll find you." He growled as the man from the carriage clamped his fangs down on his shoulder. Drystan pushed her backward as he picked up the man and threw him against the carriage. "Fucking run, Melora."