Page 132 of Vervain

Emily Rosewood

Screams, muffled at first, grow clearer. Panic, all because of that rat, Jane. The bitch was always screaming about something. You would think some creature acting like a cute insect would shut her the fuck up.

Feet stomp on my head, driving me further into the ground. Saya’s hand… Saya’s hand! I let go, or did she? Crap, I can’t remember. One of us let go, and I found myself beside Holly. Someone steps on her head, and a gurgled scream comes from her.

I need to get up. I need to get up.

I push with my hands, but pain pulses into the side of my head. Every muscle in my body turns to jelly, collapsing into the sea of bodies.

“Cole! Where is Emily?” Through the haze, Saya looks at me, but she’s not looking at me. She stares, bewildered, and as I go to raise my hand, fucking Jax grabs her arm. After a quick glance in my direction, he drags her away.

Don’t go. Blood slips down the corner of my mouth. Don’t go with him.

Insect noises return after the silence. Taking a breath in, I close my eyes. Lie still. Act dead. Act fucking dead. Don’t even breathe, Emily.

Heat and decay breathe down my neck, insect noises stinging my ears, and a low growl rumbles from its throat. A wet, sticky substance hits my face, and as I sense it near, a loud beeping comes from further away. “Clean it! You need to clean it, Jax!”

The insect noises fade, and I exhale deeply, breathing again. Except I can’t move. Nothing in my body works, and what used to be pain has gone numb.

Wait, am I fucking dying?

Darkness closes in on the dark grey static behind my eyes. Every breath in becomes slower as I breathe out, and the thud of my heart in my ears slows and deepens. No matter what I do, no matter how fast I want to breathe, my chest rises and falls two heartbeats slower than normal.

“Shit! There you are.”

Huh?

Fingers move through my knotted hair, lifting my head, only to hiss a breath. “Fuck, you’re dying.”

Yeah, no shit!

“This is gonna hurt, sweetcake.”

Sweetcake, what—Before my mind can return to what I have always seemed to avoid talking about, a sharp pain hits my temple, then sudden pain floods my insides. I can’t move. I can’t fucking scream, or even open my eyes to stare at the monstrosity of a man doing this to me. Instead, I am paralysed as my insides burn me alive.

It’s like something is moving inside me.

I open my eyes to flashing red. “WARNING! WARNING! THERE IS A VEGODIAN WITHIN THE PRAYER SANCTUARY! WARNING! WARNING!”

A what?

Heaviness closes my eyes, as if it wants to draw me back to sleep. I’m too tired for this shit. Mother, take me now.

Echoing sounds come from the right, and as my eyes are just about to close, the sound sharpens, and my eyes fly open. Tubes connected to my body unhook, and a long, flatline beep pierces my ears. My focus drops to my stomach when someone places a blood bag and another clear bag on it before moving around to the other side. Whoever they are, their footsteps are panicked, but they are silent—as if they don’t want to talk.

Pressure settles on the bed, and arms hook beneath me, tucking under my legs and supporting my back. “Come, sweetcake. We need to hide.”

His face comes into focus. Soft blue eyes, dark blond hair in messy waves to his shoulders, stubble dusting his jaw and chin…

Cans fall from the shelf as he thrusts deeper inside of me—a rhythmic pattern, as one hand grabs my tit and the other rubs my clit frantically while I grip the shelf for any support. His tongue wets my ear, sucking on my lobe while he slams into me, ensuring his cock can go as deep as it can go.

“Fuck, you’re so soft, sweetcake,” he moans, grabbing my jaw and luring my mouth to his to shove his tongue deep into my mouth while I buckle under his rough fuck.

“You…” I croak, my throat hoarse and dry.

I want to move. Wiggle free from this Bleeder’s grip, but he doesn’t seem bothered by me as he thrusts the closet door open and steps inside with me, closing it behind him. As I open my mouth again, his grip tightens, eyes narrowing. The door swings open and hits the stopper with a shudder.

Looking away from him, I widen my eyes as I peer through the gaps in the wooden panelling. Red paints the hallway, and screams pop the bubble in my ears, ringing inside. My attempt to free myself from him turns into a desire to draw closer to something at least familiar.