Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“Sebastian…” she whispered, wariness and uncertainty in her voice.
“I heard it, sweetheart,” I said just as softly.
I turned and kept my back to Ada, my body being used as a shield.
“I can fight, too.” The strength in her voice had pride filling me.
Although we stayed close enough to the mountain that we would be able to find a cave easily and fast when the sun rose, we were closer to the tree line of the forest tonight, so that we’d be able to spot anything that would give us answers.
I heard the chittering sound again and looked up into the treetops. I could see clearly in the darkness, but the thick shadows and heavy foliage still made it difficult to spot things with precision.
And although the sound seemed like it came from above, it echoed all around us, bouncing off in every other direction so it made pinpointing its location almost impossible.
“Maybe we should go find a cave?”
I reached behind me and tightened my hand around her waist, pulling her closer to my back as I kept turning us around and looking in all directions.
“I’m not a weakling, but I also have no idea what we’re up against, and retreating might be the best idea, Sebastian.” The chittering sounded louder, closer. She reached out and gripped my shirt, pressing her chest closer to my back.
“As much as I’d love to keep you secluded in a cave and protected, I have a feeling that whatever is out there will just follow us. I need to handle it now. Take it out so it’s not a threat to you.”
There was the sound again, followed by the very distinct noise of something big and heavy dropping to the ground. I felt the vibrations under my feet and kept Ada behind me as I turned in the direction the creature was coming from.
“Stay behind me and let me do the heavy lifting,” I said in a hushed tone. “But be ready, Ada.”
“For what?” Her voice was whisper-thin.
“For anything, baby.”
I felt my body tense as whatever had dropped to the ground moved toward us. The thump-thump-slide, thump-thump-slide of it moving across the forest ground became louder and more ominous. Fear wasn’t an emotion I’d ever experienced, but right now I felt something suffocating me at the thought of Ada getting hurt.
But that fear faded as my anger, as the vampiric side of me rose up and took control. I saw red, the ruby glow from my eyes washing the area in front of us and finally showing what was coming for us.
I bared my fangs, bending my knees and thrusting my upper body forward.
“Holy shit,” Ada breathed in a terrified tone.
“Yeah, sounds about right, sweetheart. Stay back.”
“What is that?”
I had no fucking clue, but I was going to destroy it.
The big blob of whatever the fuck this thing was came closer. Its body looked gelatinous, and it had eight tentacles attached to the sides, four on either side, claws tipped on each one. Its mouth was formed in a sharp beak, and its black, beady eyes held an intelligence that told me this thing would put up one hell of a fight.
More chittering came from it as it slapped its tentacles on the ground and pulled itself forward.
“I’ll distract it and you attack.”
“W-wait. W-what?” I was so taken off guard by Ada’s words that I was momentarily frozen and didn’t stop her from darting off to the side. “Fuck. My mate is crazier than I am.”
She darted to the side and behind the closest tree. The creature turned its head toward her and screeched out, but I was charging forward, my nails now claws, the bloodthirst filling my body so all I could think about was killing.
“Hey, asshole, over here,” Ada shouted at the creature.
A screeching roar sounded from the beast, and he slithered toward my mate. But I was in front of it a second later, and grabbed each side of it.
My hands slid off its slimy body, and the fucker turned and lunged at me, the snap of its beak coming together just inches from my face pulling a growl of aggression from me.
I fell back, landing on my ass, and the piece of shit wasted no time racing along the ground toward me. I was up and reaching for it, prepared to snap its thick neck, when a stone flew out from the side and connected with its beak.
I heard Ada’s war cry and roared myself, shouting at her to stay back.
“Damn it, female. Stay the fuck back and let your mate protect you.”
She kicked out and slammed her little booted foot into the side of its body, but the creature wrapped a tentacle around her shoe and pulled her to the ground.
I heard her scream in pain, saw her head crack back and connect hard with the ground.