ABBY
How long is Mason planning to lay on me and purr?
I stare blankly at the ground, undecided if I should get up and try to push him away or lay here and accept my inevitable death. I'm leaning towards the latter.
I'm cold, wet, and miserable, and death isn't feeling like the worst thing in the world anymore.
"I think she's warm enough, Mace," Kie says.
He's sitting by my feet. I occasionally feel him brush against me as he shifts, but he's been pretty quiet since arriving. He'll mumble something to Mason every once in a while, but I haven't been paying attention.
I don't care much for what he has to say.
This was my second failed attempt to run away, and I know I won't get another.
Even if I find a good opening, I'm too weak and tired to try. I haven't been getting enough food, water, or sleep, and the amount of energy and calories my body has burned trying to keep me warm this evening has pushed me over the edge.
I'm exhausted, both mentally and physically, and I'm tired of trying. I give up.
Let them kill me or give me away to Zaha—I don't care.
"Mace..." Kie sighs.
He told Mason to get off me about ten minutes ago, too, but Mason ignored him then and seems intent to do the same now. He probably thinks his purring is threatening and scary, but I think it makes him sound like a house cat. An oversized, barely trained house cat.
I tap my fingers against the ground, counting the seconds.
I must admit Mason's body heat is warming, and not being rained on is a huge relief, too. The drops are loud as they hit the top of the tarp we're all squeezed under, the noise drowning out my thoughts.
Not that I have many.
I'm doing my best not to think, and so far, I'm doing a pretty stellar job.
Mason kicks up his purring, and I feel him wiggling on top of me a moment later. When he and Kie appeared, the last thing I expected him to do was lay on me, but it's been hours and he's showing no signs of stopping.
I don't understand the purpose.
It's probably a weird shifter trait. Maybe they like to cover their meals with their scent before they eat them. Or he's just doing this to fuck with me. That feels like something Mason would do.
A steady stream of rainwater pours off the corner of the tarp. It lands only a few inches before my face, creating a dirty puddle. I'm sure I'm covered in mud, there's no way I'm not, so I don't mind the slight splashing from the puddle.
Sighing, I stick my pointer finger under the stream of runoff.
The rain is letting up. I can tell by the sound, but I can't see it. It's pitch black at this point, and my flashlight is out of arm's reach. My nut bag is by my knees, also out of reach, but I hope it's still filling.
I'm looking forward to drinking what's collected, and I might cry if either Mason or Kie have knocked it over.
Several minutes pass before I prop myself on my hands and knees and try to sit up. My back presses against Mason's stomach, but he doesn't budge. I still don't understand why he's spent the past several hours laying on me and purring, but it seems he's not done.
I continue trying to push up against him, wanting him off me.
All he does is press down harder, slowly adding his body weight until I collapse beneath him.
"Leave her alone," Kie speaks up.
Mason grumbles, his purr shifting into a deeper vibration that screams, 'I'm having a fun time; let me do what I want before I eat you.' It's not directed at me, but it still makes me uneasy. Everything about Mason makes me uneasy.
I wish he'd have died while running alone in the forest. It sure seemed like he was damn close to doing so, and I'm frustrated he couldn't see it to completion.
Useless men. They can't even die correctly.
"Mason," Kie snaps.
Ooh. You know it's serious when Kie uses Mason's full first name.
The purring stops, and Mason finally fucking gets up and climbs off me. He moves slowly, taking his sweet damn time, and I sit up the second I can. Having him on me was nice for a brief moment, his body heat bringing immense relief to my sore, cold muscles, but I'm over it now.
My muscles had locked up by the time Mason and Kie arrived, and I found I could barely move. Every breath hurt, and my limbs almost felt like they were burning. It was similar to how my fingers felt when I would take off my gloves to build snowballs as a child.
The cold quickly burns, but I've never felt it so intensely before. It's never spread past my fingers or toes.
I'd accepted my death when Mason's shadow appeared and the giant animal leered above me, and I especially thought it was coming when he crawled over the top of me a second later.
I'm continually amazed I'm alive right now.
Mason, still in his animal form, takes a seat on my right, trapping me between him and Kie. I hate his animal form, but I'm not necessarily eager for him to return to his human-looking one and demand I give him his pants back.
They're helping to keep the lower half of my body warm.
Mason's head grazes against the tarp, pushing the accumulated water off the top. It lands on the ground with a heavy thump, and Kie groans as a decent amount lands on his legs.
"For fuck's sake," he huffs.
His legs, from the mid-thigh down, are sticking out from underneath the tarp. From the looks of it, it's been that way for a while. His pants are soaked through, and I doubt the fabric could hold more water even if they wanted to.
The water landing on him hardly made a difference.
Mace makes an odd choking noise, which I think might be a laugh. I've never heard an animal make a sound like that before, and it sounds unnatural. I'd be okay never hearing it again.
At least somebody's finding humor in this shitty situation, though.
I press my back against the tree and bring my legs into my chest. The only good thing about the cold is that it's numbed my knees, and I hardly feel a thing as I rest my chin on them. It'll hurt like a bitch tomorrow, but I'll worry about that then.
My peanut bag is where I left it, thankfully still upright. I can't see how much water it's collected, and I do my best to contain my excitement as I pick it up and realize it's more than halfway full. It's not enough to sustain me, but I'll take it.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Two pairs of eyes watch as I bring the bag to my mouth and down the contents. The water is objectively stale and musty, but I love it. My body's so desperate for hydration, and I'm not in a position to be picky.
I'll never take advantage of easily accessible water again.
My hands shake, and I choke slightly on the water as I gulp, but I don't care. I'm not trying to impress either of these men, and it doesn't bother me if they think my frantic drinking is unladylike.
I empty my bag in seconds, and with a heavy sigh, I set it back down to continue collecting water. With the rain beginning to let up, I doubt I'll get much, but a girl can hope.
There are so few things left to remain optimistic about.
Mace and Kie continue outwardly staring at me, neither bothering to pretend they aren't. I get why they want to keep an eye on me, but this is a bit excessive. It's not like I'm going to get up and take off running with both so close to me.
We're huddled under a tarp in the middle of the night, and we all know I wouldn't get far if I tried.
And I've tried.
"You found me," I eventually say, breaking the silence.
Kie nods, his head bobbing. I continue to look forward, keeping him in my peripheral vision. I don't want to encourage his staring by doing the same thing in return.
"We did," he says.
Mason grumbles, and Kie makes an annoyed clicking sound with his mouth. I'm mildly impressed with their ability to communicate without words, despite it being at my expense. I bet they were full of laughs when they were tracking me through the forest, the pair probably having a great time mocking my attempt to escape.
For a minute there, I really thought I was going to do it, but that was foolish thinking.
"How far are we from the portal?" I ask.
"We're making good time." Kie clears his throat before continuing. "We should be there the day after tomorrow."
The day after tomorrow? I thought it would take longer than that. I was hoping, at least.
We've only been traveling for three days, and today's distance was cut short by the rain. I was under the impression it would take a week to get to the portal, so we should have at least four days left. I'm not mentally prepared to be there in two.
"I suppose there's no way to convince you not to give me to Zaha," I ask.
I already know the answer, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
I should lie and tell them I have young children back home. Most people, at least ones with any semblance of a heart, would feel bad separating children from their parents. I could tell them I have a three-year-old and an infant, the two arguably cutest ages.
"I—" I begin to say just that, but I freeze and stop at the last minute.
It's probably not a good idea to draw attention to my life back in the human realm. I don't want either of these men looking into it.
"What?" Kie asks, noticing my slip-up.
Mason begins moving on my right, his body contorting into uncomfortable positions as he returns to his human-like form. The sounds his body makes as it transforms are disgusting, and I swallow back bile as it happens right next to me.
He could've easily left the comfort of the tarp to do this, and I subtly inch closer to Kie as Mace transforms from an animal to a naked man.
I was already caught once peeking at him, and I make a pointed effort to stare straight ahead.
Kie reaches into his bag and pulls out Mace's clothing, and I wordlessly tug his pants down my legs. They're too large for me, and I shove them off in record time.
Mace puts on the gloves Kie tosses at him first, and I notice how he moves away from me the moment my bare legs are out.
He really is terrified of touching me.
I should find a way to use that for my benefit—see if I can get him to squeal and run away from me like children do when they're going through a 'cooties' phase. I bet he would.
It'd be so fucking satisfying if I were Mason's mate.
These people put a lot of stock into them, and I'd love watching the horror spread across his face as he realizes the woman he's been treating like livestock is actually the person he's destined to spend the rest of his life with.
I bet Kie would be upset, too. There's something going on between him and Mace, and I can't lie and say I wouldn't find joy in causing him some pain, too.
In my fantasy world, Mason would find out the moment he handed me over to Zaha. He'd go from being excited about finally getting rid of me to being desperate to save me, and I hope he'd live the rest of his days regretting what he did to me.
Everybody talks about how intense the mate bond is, and I hope I'd consume his every thought until the day he dies.
I don't even care what happens to me as long as Mason's miserable.
I'm petty, and I want him to suffer.
The chances of me being his mate are slim to none, but I think I'm going to touch him anyway. The second he and Kie offer me to Zaha, I'm going to rip off my gloves and touch his face. I'm going to run my greasy, dirty palms all over his perfect skin.
Maybe I'll even shove a finger into his mouth. I bet it'll taste like shit.
If it works, and I'm somehow his mate, it'll be the best revenge ever.
If not, well, it'll be too late to kill me, and at least I'll have the memory of pissing him off to keep me going.
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