The Mating Run

Chapter 61

In His Eyes: Desperation Zeke’s POV I'm in the thick of it now.

The woman, her eyes wide with madness and desperation, swings the knife with an unhinged fervor. My instincts kick in, and | move around her with the grace of a shadow in the night. Her scream pierced the air, a guttural sound that reverberated throughout the cramped cabin. The scene is pure chaos, a whirlwind of violence, and | find myself desperately needing to restore order.

Despite the woman's desperate bucking and thrashing, | manage to maintain my grip.

With a glinting menace, she wields the knife, cutting through the air. With quick reflexes, | duck and weave, narrowly escaping the deadly arc of its swing. | tightened the rope around her neck, knowing that | now had the advantage. With a swift kick, the knife goes soaring through the air, creating a metallic clatter that breaks the silence.

It's just her and me now, the sound of our heavy breathing echoing in the room as we fight desperately. Despite her petite stature, she moves with remarkable speed and fights with the ferocity of a cornered animal. As the woman claws at the rope, her desperate gasps for air fill the room, but | refuse to let go.

| can’t help but steal glances at Alina, my heart pounding with a conflicting surge of fear and frustration. Helpless and bound, she writhes in agony, her body convulsing in ways beyond my understanding. Drool spills from her gagged mouth, and she convulses, trapped in the clutches of an unseen menace.

We scuffle, a frenzied clash of limbs and wills. With sheer desperation driving her, the woman unleashes a relentless assault of blows. With precision, | block her strikes and swiftly counter, skillfully utilizing the rope to restrict her mobility.

Ss But she’s persistent, never giving up. As the rope tightens around her neck, the woman’s fierce resistance takes me by surprise. A knee to the gut, a punch to the jaw — she’s not going down without a fight.

| tighten the rope, struggling to restrain her, but she wriggles free, slipping through my grasp like a slippery fish. In the dim light, our movements merge into a blur of tangled bodies. The woman’s breaths are strained and uneven, filling the air with a sense of urgency. | manage to get her to the ground, her gasping breaths mingling with the scent of the rough rope. But she’s not done. The woman wriggles and squirms, her body contorting in a desperate attempt to free herself from the tight grip of the rope.

| struggle to concentrate, torn between the insistent woman standing in front of me and the heartbreaking image of Alina, huddled on the floor. She’s not well, that much is clear, and confusion gnaws at me as | grapple with the woman.

With precision, the woman seizes the opportunity and delivers a powerful punch to my jaw. The throbbing pain in my face threatens to distract me, but | push through. After being struck, | shake off the blow and redirect my attention back to the fight. | manage to gain the upper hand for a moment, feeling the adrenaline surge through my veins as | grapple with the woman and push her toward the corner of the cabin.

The sense of urgency grips me tightly, as if time itself is slipping away with every passing second, bringing Alina closer to an unknown danger.

The woman turns to look at me, and for the first time since we fought, | see a glimmer of vulnerability in her eyes. She’s scared, tears streaming down her face, and the desperation in her eyes tugs at something within me.

But | can’t afford to be swayed.

Gripping the rope tighter, | forcefully slam her head against the unyielding wall, the sound of impact echoing through the room. She lets out a sharp gasp, her lips trembling, before a loud wail escapes.

She pleads for mercy, a cacophony of desperate words spilling from her trembling lips. “Let me go, please! | was scared, | didn’t mean to-”

Her voice trembles, strangled by the burden of her fear. The sound of her sobs is accompanied by a mixture of tears, blood, sweat, and drool cascading down her face. On her forehead, a large wound burst open, gushing blood. Three more violent slams against the wall, and she would be on the brink of death.

In the dimly lit room, | find myself lost in contemplation of her words, as the line between survival and cruelty blurs. She cries the same way as Alina when she’s scared, but | can’t show mercy. The stakes are too high, and | find myself paralyzed by the weight of this agonizing decision.

“Let me live,” Her desperate gaze meets mine, reflecting the same sense of urgency that consumes me. Hesitation washed over me, a fleeting moment of uncertainty clouding my thoughts. Her touch is different this time; instead of scratching, she grips my wrist with a tender squeeze. “Please, please. | don’t want to die. Not in here. Not with them watching. No, please.”

Like a heavy fog, the idea of mercy hangs in the air, enveloping everything. The woman sobs uncontrollably, her body shaking with each heart-wrenching cry. As my frustration mounts, it feels like a storm brewing inside me, and | let out a heavy sigh, loosening my grip on the rope.

With a surge of anger and weariness, | flung her across the room, the force of the throw reverberating in the air. Colliding with the cabin’s wooden walls, she lets out a pitiful moan, the sound reverberating in the stillness.

The woman lies on the cold, hard floor, her body battered and shattered. The forest outside echoes with her tearful sobs and haunting cries. | watch her, the soft glow of the moonlight highlighting the trails of tears on her face.

“| loved him,” Between sobs, she mutters with a voice filled with defeated resignation. “He was mine, the love of my life, and you ripped him away from me. Why? We never caused you any harm, our only wish was to live happily. Why, why, why?*

| shake my head, feeling the weariness seep into my very bones.

It's not like | wanted to do it either, but it was the only way to become the Alpha in this pack. If she had been offered the same chance to follow her dreams, | have no doubt she would have taken it. She wouldn't be telling the truth if she said. anything else. Nothing else matters except for yourself in this world.

The dim light casts a faint glow around her as she curls in on herself, her body barely distinguishable. The room is filled with an unsettling stillness, only interrupted by the occasional whimper that slips from her mouth. As | turn away from the broken woman, the sound of Alina’s labored breaths becomes the sole thing | can hear.

| stagger towards Alina, my steps unsteady and my body heavy with the lingering exhaustion of the recent struggle. The cabin is suffocatingly quiet, save for the sound of her uneven breathing. With each step, my chest tightens as worry constricts its hold, threatening to suffocate me. Slumping down beside her trembling form, | can sense the palpable tension in the air of the room.

With delicate movements, | draw her into my lap, reveling in the comforting touch of her warmth against me. With urgency, | quickly untie the blindfold and remove the gag, my hands moving swiftly and desperately. With the fabric removed, | brace myself to encounter her unconscious form, entangled in a troubled sleep.

But her eyes meet mine, wide and glassy, reflecting a profound emptiness. “Alina?” Her name escapes my lips, tinged with concern.

There’s no immediate response, her distant gaze suggesting her mind is elsewhere. Taking in the full extent of her condition, my heart quickens in response to the gravity of the situation. She’s not simply tired or worn out; she’s physically and emotionally drained from the events that unfolded in this wretched cabin.

Something's wrong with her. | carefully examine her for any visible wounds, my hands gently gliding over her body, seeking any signs of injury.

“Hey... Are you okay?” A desperate plea escapes my lips, hoping for any sign that she is still by my side. Yet, the stillness that follows is overwhelming. Alina’s lips stay tightly closed, her eyes locked onto a distant point that eludes my grasp. “Hey, come on now. What's wrong? Tell me, what's wrong?”

Ashiver courses through me as I’m overwhelmed by the intense heat emanating from her body. The fever, like an unwelcome visitor, has taken hold, leaving her body trembling. The edges of my consciousness are under siege by panic, poised to engulf me completely.

“Alina, please, say something!” l implore, my voice trembling with the weight of uncertainty.

Her body hangs lifelessly in my arms, the inner turmoil evident in the violent tremors that shake her fragile frame. | reach out and tenderly hold her face in my hands, desperately trying to pull her away from the abyss that has taken hold of her.

“Talk to me, Alina,” | murmur softly, the desperation in my voice creating an eerie echo within the desolate cabin. The emptiness in her eyes is a striking contrast to the usually vibrant spirit that lights them up. | feel a sharp sting in my eye, but | fight back the urge to cry, keeping my forehead pressed against hers. | whisper, the sound barely escaping my lips. “Tell me you're okay. Tell me you're still

here.”

But she remains silent, her eyes hollow and piercing, resisting my every attempt to connect with her. As fear takes hold, my heart feels constricted, squeezed with an intense and unrelenting force.

Losing her now is out of the question.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

No. | won't allow it.

Clutching her tightly, my quivering hands silently convey the extent of my promise, reverberating in the hollowness of my heart. | won't let her slip away. And so, | clutch onto her, not allowing even an inch of space between us. | won't let go. Not now. Not ever. | can’t bear the thought of losing her in this desolate place, where the darkness feels suffocating.

Exps Desperation

And then, a scream- a raw, furious cry that echoes through the quietness. The air is punctuated by the distinct sound of metal being moved.

In a split second, | pivot, my muscles tensing in reaction.

Aprimal surge of adrenaline ignites my instincts, urging me into immediate action. Alina, unresponsive, becomes my immediate concern, and with a swift and gentle motion, | carefully lay her down on the soft ground, shielding her from the impending chaos. With a sharp, agonizing thrust, the knife digs deep into my shoulder, causing a piercing pain that echoes through my entire being. It’s not a life-threatening strike, but it's powerful enough to stir up the primal wrath deep within me.

If | didn’t move, the knife would've stabbed me in the neck.

The agonizing pain makes me groan as | reach for the knife, buried deep in my shoulder, and forcefully fling it aside. It falls with a loud clatter onto the ground. | groaned in pain as | turned to face the woman who had stabbed me, my hand clutching the wound. Her wild, desperate eyes locked onto me, with dried tears and blood staining her face, while her forehead wound festered with dirt.

She starts taking hesitant steps away from me, her head shaking in disbelief as | make my way over to her. “Die, you should die. You deserve it. | don’t. No, no, no.”

| reach out with my hands, marked by the sticky residue of sweat and blood from our earlier struggle, and firmly grasp her by the head. As my grip tightened, the woman’s eyes widened in fear, the realization hitting her like a bolt of lightning. As we locked eyes, the world around us faded away, leaving only the unspoken language of survival.

“No, no, no.”

“| spared you, and you tried to kill me.”

As she grabs my wrist, the woman’s eyes shoot daggers at me, her claws

digging into my skin. But she’s not strong enough, and her eyes betray her fear. “You stole him from me!” “Don't worry. I'll take you to where he is.”

With a swift motion, | slam her head into the unforgiving ground.