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 need

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 dulled by the fog

mind.

this time in a cramped space that smells 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.

his gaze steady. “It’ll help with the infection from

Victor’s bite.”

with a clear liquid. He finds a vein and injects the medicine. I flinch, a sharp sting coursing through my arm, but it fades

“Better?” he asks.

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

face. Zeke changes the subject, his eyes searching for a

20

cheerfulness in his tone. “I know

I’don’t deny

I admit, my stomach rumbling in agreement.

a small pot beside him, and the aroma of porridge fills the air. I glance at him in surprise. “Where did you get

grins, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “I have my ways.”

my curiosity piqued.

that carries a

say I have a knack for

he ladles the porridge into a bowl,

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 reprieve from the complexities of our

a decent cook,” I tease,

“I have

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

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

I begin, setting the empty bowl aside, “There’s more to this, isn’t

eats more of

the sun 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

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. Maybe it was the pressure, the competition for survival. Or maybe it was always there, hidden beneath the

Ettie, who was supposed to be my ally, has become a threat. 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

gnaws at me.

charm, his smooth words – they were a mask hiding the true nature of

I let my guard down. It all seems

never expected Victor to be the one to turn against me. In the beginning, he was a presence, a force that

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

Thoughts

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