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.

stay in one place for long. We

me again, and we’re outside, the night air cool against my skin. I cling to 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 and muted sounds, my senses

mind.

of musty wood. Zeke lays me down on a narrow cot, and I watch as he rummages through a bag. He pulls out a small vial and a syringe, and my heart

that?” I ask, my voice shaky.

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

Victor’s bite.”

as Zeke fills the syringe with a clear liquid. He finds a vein and injects the

“Better?” he asks.

did the medicine come from?” I ask, my voice a

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

20

you hungry?” he asks, a forced cheerfulness in his tone. “I know you are, I heard your stomach rumbling a few

blush, but I’don’t deny

admit, my

reaches for a small pot beside him, and the aroma of porridge fills the air. I glance at him in

hint of mischief in his eyes. “I have

eyebrow, my

carries

I have a knack for

the porridge into a bowl, I can’t

of our 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

cook,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.

smirks. “I have my talents.”

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

shake the feeling that there’s more Zeke isn’t telling me. The air is charged with unspoken secrets, and I wonder if the darkness that haunts us goes beyond the immediate threats

the empty bowl aside, “There’s more to

eats

I had simple dreams. Dreams of days spent with Ettie, the sun warming our faces as we laughed. Maybe even with Victor,

Her eyes, once filled with warmth, now hold a glint of something darker. I never expected that. We were supposed to navigate the challenges of the Mating Run together, support each other. But as the days passed, something changed in her.

I don’t know when it happened, the shift from trust to trepidation, but it’s there, a lingering shadow in the corners of my mind. The person I thought I knew so well has become a stranger, and the fear of what

gnaws at me.

the start of this twisted journey, I never would have believed that he would betray me. His charm, his smooth words – they were a mask hiding the true nature of the predator

It all

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

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

Thoughts

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