The Mating Run by Leeka

Chapter 48

Thoughts

My head hurts, throbbing like a drum beaten by invisible hands.

Darkness surrounds me, a heavy shroud that muffles the world. I try to open my eyes, but they feel glued shut. Slowly, I manage to pry them open, squinting against the harsh light. I see Zeke’s worried face hovering above me, lines of concern

etched on his forehead.

“Alina, can you hear me?” he asks, his voice a distant echo in my foggy mind.

I nod weakly, unable to find my voice. Everything feels fuzzy, like I’m floating in a dream. My body aches, and my limbs feel heavy, as if they’re made of lead. Zeke’s hand presses against my forehead, and I flinch at the cool touch.

“You’re burning up,” he mutters, more to himself than to me. “We need to keep moving.”

Moving? Where are we?

My memories are a jumble of disjointed images, like a broken movie reel playing in my mind. I remember Victor, his teeth sinking into my flesh. The pain was searing, intense, but now it’s just a dull ache, a distant memory.

Zeke helped me escape, but from what?

Where are we running to?

Zeke lifts me effortlessly, cradling me in his arms. The world tilts, and I close my eyes against the disorienting sensation. When I open them again, we’re in a

―

different place a dimly lit room with a flickering lantern. Zeke eases me onto a makeshift bed, and I can feel the scratchy fabric beneath me.

“Drink this,” he says, holding a cup to my lips. I glance inside and see clear liquid. Water, maybe? I take a sip, the coolness soothing my parched throat. It’s a small victory, a step toward clarity.

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Thoughts

“Where are we?” I manage to mumble, my voice hoarse.

“Somewhere safe, for now,” Zeke replies, his eyes scanning the room as if expecting danger to burst through the walls. “You have a fever. I thought it wouldn’t get worse, but it did.”

“Oh…”

Zeke sighs, his jaw clenching.

for long. We need to keep moving.”

him, feeling a strange mix of gratitude and vulnerability. We walk, or rather, Zeke walks while I’m carried like a fragile doll. The world becomes a blur of shadows

mind.

of musty wood. Zeke lays me down on a narrow cot, and I watch

that?” I ask, my voice

medicine,” Zeke replies, his gaze steady. “It’ll

Victor’s bite.”

word sends a chill down my spine. I hold my arm out hesitantly, watching as Zeke fills the syringe with a clear liquid. He finds a vein and injects the medicine. I flinch, a sharp sting coursing through my arm, but it fades quickly. Zeke watches me carefully, his eyes

“Better?” he asks.

the medicine come from?” I

a flicker of unease crossing his face. Zeke changes the subject, his

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forced cheerfulness in his tone. “I know you are, I heard your stomach rumbling a few seconds ago.”

but I’don’t deny it.

my stomach

of porridge fills the air. I glance at him in surprise. “Where did you get that in the

mischief in his eyes.

an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued. “Your ways?”

that carries a trace of

a knack

porridge into a bowl, I can’t help but wonder about the

supplies. However, the warmth of the food in front of me is too inviting to resist. Zeke hands me the bowl, and I take a hesitant spoonful. The taste is surprisingly comforting, the simple flavors a welcome

tease, trying to lighten the mood.

have my

filled with the clinking of spoons against the bowl. The porridge is a balm to the gnawing hunger within me, a reminder that even

The air is charged with unspoken secrets, and I wonder if the darkness that haunts us goes beyond the immediate threats

begin, setting the empty bowl aside, “There’s more to

me, Zeke eats

warming our faces as we laughed. Maybe even with Victor, his cocky grin and charming words filling the air. But now, everything is different. The twists in the road have taken

Mating Run together, support each other. But as the days passed, something changed in her. Maybe it was the pressure, the competition for survival. Or maybe it was always there,

from trust to trepidation, but it’s

gnaws at me.

betray me. His charm, his smooth words – they were a mask hiding the true nature of the predator within.

broken record. Victor’s smile, his whispered promises, the moments when I let my guard down. It all seems like a cruel joke now. How could I

expected Victor to be the one to turn against me. In the beginning, he was a presence, a force that seemed untouchable. Now, he’s a threat, a reminder that even the ones who seem the least likely can be the ones to

would turn out, would I have taken a different path? Would I have avoided the Mating Run altogether, chosen a simpler life with Ettie

Thoughts

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