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“What are these?” he asks, breathless.

“Gills. For when I’m in the water.” He strokes them and a growl catches in my throat. “But they’re very sensitive.” Caspian does it again and again, a wicked smile on his face. I feel the moment my cock pops out of the pouch in my fur, standing up hard between us.

“I was wondering,” he muses, the hand not on my neck coming between us and wrapping around the base. He strokes me, twisting his hand as he does. My cock grows heavier, thicker, pleasure pulsing at the base of my spine. “Hmm,” he holds his lips against mine, breath ghosting, heart hammering. “How fast are you?”

The question throws me. “Ah…faster than you, sweet human.”

He pulls back, hand on my tail, gently nudging me away. He adjusts his cock beneath his joggers, then straightens his shirt.

“Chase me, Sir.”

I smile, all teeth, canines flashing, the taste of his blood sweet on my tongue.

“Oh, sweet human.” I tut, bringing a claw to his cheek. I drag it down the soft flesh, enough to make it bloom red but not break the skin. “You don’t know the things I will do to you when I catch you.”

“Promises. Promises.” Laughing, Caspian spins on his heels and bolts deeper into the woods, his breaths loud in the quiet of a still summer’s day in the middle of nowhere. I count the beats of my heart, and when I hit twenty, I stalk forward and give chase.

TWENTY-EIGHT

CASPIAN

Sweat trickles down the back of my neck, my legs aching as I run over uneven ground, stepping over logs then coming to a stop behind the thick trunk of a tree. There’s a monster chasing me and I want him to catch me and fucking destroy me.

Catch me.

Take me.

Own me.

That’s the thought running through my mind as I lean against the tree, a hand pressed to my chest, trying to quell the furious thudding against my ribcage. My cock is half hard, pressing against the fabric of my boxers, but there’s no time to focus on that – not yet.

A twig breaks close behind me, and I suck in a breath and hold it.

One.

Sterling grunts.

Two.

“Where are you, my tasty treat?”

Three.

I dart out of my hiding place, not looking behind me as I run as fast as my legs can carry me. Which isn’t that fast, given the monster chasing me has power in his body no human can match. I stumble as I run, my foot splashing in a puddle, water seeping into my trainers and socks, and I make a costly mistake, stopping to look at the mud on my white shoes.

The air at my back moves and then Sterling’s breath is hot on my neck. “You’re making this too easy on me.” His tongue darts out, licking the sweat from my skin. “Run, sweetheart, run,” he growls, and my cock swells uncomfortably. But I do what he says. I run.

I run until my chest aches and sweat stings my eyes. Until adrenaline is the only thing moving me forward. I pause briefly to look around, glimpsing him peeking out from behind a tree, crouching down. Stalking me like the predator that he is.

It’s still early enough that the sun is out, but the sky is cloud covered and the trees grow thicker the further in I get, blocking the light and casting me in an eerie orange glow. I look behind me again, but Sterling is gone and the only sound I can hear is the chirp of an insect somewhere in the shrubbery ahead of me and the pulsing of blood in my ears.

My lungs are screaming, chasing oxygen with every inhale and goosebumps cover my skin.

The sky cracks at the same time a howl echoes off the trees – wild and chilling, freezing me to the core. It’s a sound I’ve heard before, another piece of our story falling into place. The creature – Sterling – howls again, closer this time.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter, turning left and heading in the direction I think will take me back to the farm. I don’t dwell on why being chased through these ghostly woods by a cryptid is turning me on so much. I simply lean into it and push forward.

“Caspian,” he singsongs, voice bouncing around as though he is everywhere all at once. “I’m ready to eat, sweet human.”