Loving the Devil Dog

Chapter Seven: Monster Lover

SABRINA

Running, running, always running.

It feels like I've been running for hours upon hours, but the sun refuses to take its place in the sky.

Every time I turn around, the beast is still hot in pursuit of me, never yielding, never stopping to rest. It has my scent, and it has no intention of losing me.

If I don't find a way to escape, it will devour me.

I feel more and more hopeless as the endless night goes on and on, and I realize that I've been running my whole life without any rest.

And I'm still running.

The worst part is, I'm not sure if I'm running away from something or toward it.

I scream when the beast's sharp claws tear through the back of my shirt, but I don't stop, and soon enough on the horizon I see the shape of a man come into view.

Quickly I recognize him as Lucas, not aged a day since I last saw him, standing with his hand outstretched to me.

He'll protect me like he always has, I know it. I just need to reach him.

Just as I'm about to reach his hand, a gunshot rings through the cold desert night, and the day breaks with blinding sunlight, and in the harsh light of day I see that my brother is nothing but a cold, rotten, corpse.

I scream as I sit up in bed, my heart pounding as I come back to reality. I try to shake the image of my brother's smiling corpse out of my mind as I take in my surroundings.

I'm back in Maddox's room, and Maddox is fast asleep in the chair beside the bed. Was it all a dream then, or...?

Ouch.

Nope, still horribly sunburned.

Yesterday's escape attempt definitely happened, but I don't really remember exactly how I got back to the safe house.

In fact, the last thing I remember before that dream was seeing some kind of monster, but maybe I was already starting to go delirious from the heat.

After all, the beast spoke with Maddox's voice, it was probably just him that I saw. But why would my brain come up with something so horrifying to transform him into?

I try to move, but I can't help but flinch from the pain of the sunburn, and my ego is bruised when Maddox lets out an amused scoff.

"It serves you right for running away," he grunts, opening his eyes and dropping the whole deep sleep act. "Especially after the night we had."

If looks could kill, he'd drop dead from the look in my eyes as I glare at him. "Oh please. I'm sure you have your way with lots of girls."

"I don't know a lot of girls," he huffs, sounding almost offended. "Besides, I told you that you'd be safe here until we could get your van fixed, as long as you didn't try to leave, so why the hell did you leave?"

"You are literally keeping me prisoner," I remind him, not taking any of his shit.

"It's better than the alternative," he growls, sneering as he glares right back at me.

"So you admit it!" I shout, my face inches from his. "You are killers!"

My heart races as my body remembers the last time he and I were quite this close, and I try to ignore the arousal pooling in my core. He doesn't deserve it, and I have too much self-respect to let him just go and shut me up with a kiss again.

Even if that kiss did lead to amazing sex.

"Just because I don't want to kill you, doesn't mean I won't," he snarls, his spit flying in my face as his eyes burn into mine.