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 to keep moving.”

I cling to him, feeling a strange mix of gratitude and vulnerability. We

mind.

stop again, 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

ask,

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

Victor’s bite.”

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

“Better?” he asks.

come from?” I ask, my voice a

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

20

his tone. “I know you are, I heard your stomach

I’don’t

eat.” I admit, my

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

in his eyes. “I

raise an eyebrow, my

that carries a trace

just say I have a knack for

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,

tease, trying

smirks. “I have

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

telling me. The air is charged with unspoken secrets,

setting the empty bowl aside, “There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

eats more

be like this. At 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 Victor, his cocky grin

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,

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

gnaws at me.

have believed that he would betray 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 game.

all seems like a cruel joke now. How could I have

on my soul. I never 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

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

Thoughts

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