Pure fear shot down my spine.
The thought of others finding me. Of her telling society about me.
It can’t happen.
I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t endure that again. I would rather die.
Find her!
Ignoring my pounding headache, I began to climb.
Grabbing a branch, I stepped onto a plant-spotted rock, taking the first step out of my valley for the first time since I’d been brought here.
My muscles seized, and I almost fell backward. The thought of leaving? Of willingly stepping out of this sanctuary? It made the lump on my forehead ache in time with my galloping heart.
You have to leave. You have to catch her.
Forcing myself to do what was necessary, I reached for another branch and hauled myself up. I focused on the task of climbing toward the dying sun. I didn’t look at the canopy of leaves above me. I didn’t look at the river down below. I kept my attention firmly on my next handhold, next foot placement, and far away from the knowledge that men weren’t supposed to scale mountains.
One false move and I’d fall.
I’d most likely break something.
If I survived the plummet, I probably wouldn’t have the strength to gather enough supplies for the winter. I’d starve.
Focus.
Get her back and then worry about other things.
My breath came heavy as I climbed higher and higher. Occasionally, I’d see evidence of her path. A scuff on a rock. A crushed flower.
Birds suddenly squawked above me, spooking into a flock and circling something at the top of the cliff.
Her.
So her head start hadn’t been that great, after all.
Clinging to a boulder, I skirted around it until I found a helpful tree. I was approximately halfway up, and she was already at the top. If she had the stamina to run, she could put some serious distance between us.
She’s in socks. She’s probably not used to running without shoes. You’ll catch her easily.
Ignoring the fury unfurling inside me, I stayed focused and scaled the rest of the cliff. The closer I got to the top, the harder I found it to contain my anger.
She was the cause of all my problems, yet had she said she was sorry? Had she genuinely showed dismay at fucking up my world?
No.
She’d only been fearful of her own hide. Her apologies had been all about her. The way she’d looked at me in the forest when our lips had been so fucking close to touching, I’d believed...I thought.
Doesn’t matter.
She was a liar and a thief. She’d snuck into my home, pretended to talk to me, then stolen the precious sanity I had left.
She was worse than all the guests I’d had to entertain combined.
The worst because she’d made me feel.
Made me hope.
For some reason, a lump existed in my chest as well as on my forehead. As if she’d struck my heart as well as my skull with the shovel.
I hate her.
My fingers burned with the need to wrap around her little throat and finish this.
Her attempt at running was selfish and ill-advised. She thought she could outrun me? She thought this was over between us?
Only I had the power to decide that. And she would understand precisely how over it was when I got my hands on her.
I grunted and climbed faster.
Up, up, up.
It took longer than I wanted, slipping on rocks and scaling gangly trees. The godforsaken cliff grew steeper, harder, and my head kept swimming from her well-aimed attack. The world tipped and swayed, making bile roil and my mouth clamp tight.
By the time I crawled over the ledge and dug my fingers into dirt instead of stone, sweat poured down my back.
I was thirsty and angry, and adrenaline turned my body into a shaking mess.
My head continued to throb with agony from her strike. The ground wobbled beneath me, whispering how good it would feel to lie down...just for a second. To let go of this chase, to close my eyes, and let all of it be swept away.
Hell no!
This wasn’t the end.
This wasn’t how she left me.
When I wiped my face free from sweat, my palm came away red. Blood still dripped down my forehead, tracing my nose, staining my lips. Smearing the crimson on my dirty slacks, I ensured I’d never wear them again. They’d been soiled enough.
Just like me.
Clouds gathered rapidly above my head as I followed her tracks, thick and oppressive. A few minutes later, a loud crack of thunder boxed my eardrums, a friendly warning before a deluge of water tipped over the world.
Rain splattered on everything and everywhere, drenching me within seconds.
Her trail!
The tiny hints of her path, the hidden clues of her presence—they would all be washed away.
Run!
Throwing myself forward, I ignored the storm, my sickness, and the everlasting seduction from when she’d been on top of me. When she’d rocked over me. When she’d looked just as intoxicated as me.