Page 121 of The Vampire's Lament
“Tear him apart!” Aidan cried from the wall as the wolves gave chase.
My heart almost stopped, fear a crushing companion.
Summoning as much determination as possible, I kept to the side of the river. I was grateful to be an elf, lightfeet working overtime.
The wolves quickly gained on me.
“I want to see his blood everywhere!” Aidan followed up.
Prick! Why didn’t he come down here and face them himself? Without all his tricks, just him and them, and see how he did against their might.
A howl from my side sent sickening shivers through me. I ran faster, lungs burning, headache back from the intense stress of this bullshit.
What was Aidan’s plan? Run me through a few cycles of death by feral wolf until he got bored? Fuck him. Fuck him and fuck this valley and fuck the wolves and just fuck everything else.
A huge white wolf overtook me, running further ahead until it spun, blocking my path.
“Shit!” I yelped, veering left.
I leapt over the river, a gray wolf flanking me.
“Fuck off!” I roared, tearing up the slope toward the trees.
New plan: Get up a fir as high as possible. Wait things out. Hope for the best.
This plan has more holes than lace.
My negativity could go hang with the wolves. I was going up a tree.
Let’s go!
I crashed through the firs, a branch snagging my cheek. Hitting the first trunk, I scrambled up its rough surface a few feet until something grabbed my legs.
Jaws clamped down, the wolf growling against my skin.
Fuck!
Glancing down, I met its blazing yellow gaze, the big beast on his hind legs making a mockery of my escape attempt.
But those didn’t break my skin.
Purposefully?
Whatever. I didn’t want to find out.
I kicked at the beast with my other foot, landing a decent kick on its head. Well, it would’ve been decent against anything else. But not this wolf, the fucker didn’t so much as flinch.
“Get off me!” I cried as more wolves showed up, surrounding the tree.
I kicked again, sweat pouring down my face. If I could just get loose, I wouldn’t allow myself to get caught again.
I imagined drawing luck down myself.
“Come on!” I grunted, trying to pull myself free with every drop of strength inside me.
With a mighty tug, the wolf yanked me off the tree. I yelped as I fell, bracing for impact.
At least the snow would buffer my fall, right? Yeah, a chilly cushion just for me until the wolves tore me limb from limb.
