Page 56 of Alluring Darkness

Afternoon sunlight filters in through the canopy above as I make my way deeper into the forest.

Raina will be able to hear Jace coming, and then she will adjust her position after that, which means that she will run straight into one of us instead.

Snapping branches and rustling leaves and thudding footsteps come from my left. I can just about see something white flapping between the tree trunks where Raina is no doubt running with Jace on her heels.

She swerves right, heading closer towards me. I match her pace, moving silently between the trees as I wait for her to come into view.

Her heavy breathing echoes through the woods.

Amusement swirls inside my chest. Well, she won’t be competing in any long-distance races any time soon.

A branch sways before me.

Then Raina comes crashing through.

She screeches to a halt, and her eyes go wide with surprise as she sees me. I flash her a wicked grin.

Whipping around, she sprints in the other direction. I take off after her.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins, and I have to resist the urge to let out awhoopas the thrill of the hunt washes over me, turning me almost giddy.

It takes all of my self-control to keep my pace slow so that I won’t overtake her. Even with her running at full speed, I could’ve caught her within the first few minutes. But what would be the fun in that? After all, I’m trying to frighten her. And what could be more terrifying than being hunted through the woods by four killers?

I catch glimpses of her white skirt between the trees as she zigzags through the forest. But every time she’s about to go too far, one of us steps in and forces her to change direction again. My heart pounds in excitement as we continue herding her towards the predetermined spot.

There’s a section where the ground rises drastically. It’s not even a slope. It’s just a sheer rock face that juts up from the ground. And that’s where we’ll corner her.

Anticipation crackles through me as we draw closer to it. Once I can see the gray rock wall between the trees, I slow down and scan the area ahead of me. I know that Raina is here somewhere. I heard her run in here. But now, she is apparently hiding.

While lazily twirling the bat in my hand, I prowl towards the open area in front of the rock wall.

Still no sign of Raina.

Something flashes in the corner of my eye right as I’m about to break through the tree line and emerge into the open space. I yank up my bat instinctively.

Acracksounds as a thick tree branch slams into the bat with enough force to send chips of wood spraying through the air. If I hadn’t blocked it with the bat, that strike would have knocked me to the ground.

Surprise flickers through me as I snap my gaze to the person wielding the branch.

Raina.

I lurch towards her improvised weapon, but she knows that the element of surprise is lost now, so she quickly leaps back instead and sprints across the open area. But before she can get to the trees on the other side, Kaden appears from the woods in front of her.

She skids to a halt and spins in the other direction.

Only to find Rico walking towards her.

Snapping her gaze to the spot halfway between me and him, she moves as if to dart in that direction instead. Then her step falters as Jace saunters out from the trees there.

While still holding the thick branch before her like a weapon, she backs towards the tall rock wall as the four of us advance on her in perfect sync.

Her chest heaves, but I think it’s more from the long run rather than fear because her green eyes sparkle with life as she draws the branch through the air in front of her like a sword.

My brothers spin their bats in the air in an incredibly synchronized motion. I toss mine to the ground instead as I stride towards Raina.

Once I get within striking distance, she swings at me. I duck. The branch whooshes over my head with considerable speed. For someone with such a soft-looking body, she’s surprisingly good at swinging unwieldy branches at people’s heads.

But when her strike doesn’t land, the force of her momentum leaves her wide open. Straightening again, I throw out an arm and grab the branch before she has even finished swinging it.