You Can't Run From The Dark

{Part 36}

~Zaire~

Zaire knew that this eventuality would come to be, so why was he caught off guard by it happening? Perhaps, he hadn't realized how soon the inevitable moment would take place. She was twisting his arm, so that he would hunt her. Even as a roar of frustration tore from deep inside, he couldn't help but admire her strong will, her mischievous rebellion. He would go on foot this time, taking flight would make this too easy for them both. If she was going to push him this way, drag his selflessness through the dirt, he was going to make her work for it. He would have her run herself ragged, and he would test his patience with every footfall. He would make this chase last as long as it could, and see how far she was willing to run from him. See just how much she could take, before her will to go on would falter. If she succumbed to fatigue, he would be able to resist catching her, he was sure of that. If she slowed to a stop, he could mock her for it, and take her home to rest. But she would be less likely to incite him like that again, and he wasn't sure that was something that he wanted. It was as irritating as it was endearing, and he chastised himself for caring about bruising her ego with rejection. Her disobeying him was intriguing, and though he hated to be forced into caving into his own desires, he enjoyed it, too. The brunt of the blame would be on her, if he did end up catching her and withering her past the point that she could endure without losing consciousness, because she had taken the decision away from him. 

In response to his deafening roar, a high-pitched giggle emitted from her, and she teased him with her cry, "Catch me if you can!"

A twisted grin formed on his face as he took off after her. The Mark seemed to have given her a speed that was beyond a mortal's ability to possess. She was even faster than she was when he had chased her last. She led him along the embankment, a tiny dark-blue streak flashing through the darkness. Her brunette hair waved behind her like ribbons in the air, beckoning him forward. As she climbed higher up toward the mouth of the waterfall, he fought the urge to laugh. She would needlessly tire herself faster by going uphill, but he was surprised that the steepness didn't slow her as much as it should have. She was scrambling her way through, with the agility of a feline. 

As she crested the top of the hill, he was halfway up when she flicked a glance back, and her eyes were luminescent and wide. Her head whipped back around and she leapt out of sight. He howled as he ascended, eager to get close enough to taste her frantic emotions. The phantom flavors were a tease all on their own. She was gaining such a distance between them that a twinge of nausea swirled inside of him. Damn, she's good.  

He was so riled up, his shadows were shredding through the trees as he trailed her, and his feet tore through the earth beneath him. He was just about ready to say fuck it,  and take to the air, when he finally got close enough to dispel the ill feeling. He couldn't see her, but he could feel that she wasn't so far anymore, and her presence tugged him in the right direction. Was she slowing already? Was she on the brink of surrender? How disappointing - he had begun to think that she could keep this going for hours.

But he was pleasantly surprised when he spied her up ahead, shooting to her feet after a stumble, and wasting no time despite the phantom of pain he could taste on his tongue. She dashed forward anyway, powering through it. Perhaps, he would show her mercy and snatch her up now. No. Not yet, he wouldn't. She deserved a long chase after disobeying him. He drew near enough behind her that he could finally taste the full-bodied flavor of her emotions, and they washed over his taste buds, driving him mad with want. She was exhausted, afraid, excited, and the pain hardly diluted her desire. He had fooled himself, thinking that he could resist catching her until she was tired enough to give up.