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.

can’t stay in one place for long. We

air cool against my skin. I cling to him, feeling a strange mix of gratitude and vulnerability. We walk, or rather,

mind.

a narrow cot, and I watch as he rummages through a bag. He pulls out a small vial

ask, my voice

steady. “It’ll help with the infection from

Victor’s bite.”

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 searching for any signs of distress.

“Better?” he asks.

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

crossing his face. Zeke changes the subject,

20

he asks, a forced cheerfulness in his tone. “I know you are, I heard

blush, but I’don’t deny

eat.” I admit, my stomach rumbling

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

a hint of mischief in

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

sound that carries

have a knack

bowl, I can’t

Zeke hands me the bowl, and I take a hesitant spoonful. The taste is

tease, trying to lighten

have

between us filled with the clinking of spoons against the bowl. The porridge is a balm to the gnawing hunger within me, a reminder that even in the midst of uncertainty, there

there’s more Zeke isn’t telling me. The air is charged with unspoken secrets, and I

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

answering me, Zeke eats more of his porridge.

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

the Mating Run together, support each other. But as the days passed, something changed in her. Maybe it was

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 she might

gnaws at me.

me. His charm, his smooth words – they were a mask hiding the true nature of the predator within. I trusted him, foolishly believed that he might be an unexpected ally in this chaotic

replay in my mind like a broken record. Victor’s smile, his whispered promises, the moments when I let my guard down. It all seems like a cruel

on my soul. I never expected Victor to be the one to turn against me. In the beginning, he was a

would turn out, 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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