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.

in one place for long. We need to keep

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

mind.

a narrow cot, and I watch as he rummages

I ask, my voice shaky.

gaze steady.

Victor’s bite.”

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

“Better?” he asks.

did the medicine come from?” I ask,

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

20

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

but I’don’t

eat.” I admit, my stomach rumbling in agreement.

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

of mischief in his eyes. “I have

raise an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued. “Your

chuckles, a sound that carries a trace

say I have a knack

a bowl,

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 reprieve from the complexities

tease, trying to lighten

“I have

is a balm to the gnawing hunger within me, a reminder

with unspoken secrets,

I begin, setting the empty bowl aside, “There’s

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 me places i

scares me. 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

a punch to the gut. 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 mind. The person I thought I knew so well has become

gnaws at me.

– they were a mask

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 joke now. How could I have been so blind? How did I not see the danger lurking beneath the surface?

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

turn out, would I have taken a different path?

Thoughts

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