Red's Wolf

Four

She had almost made it, but almost was not good enough, almost didn't guarantee her life. A cold rope of metal was coiled around her throat, and the front of her body was pressed into the solid bark of tree. He held her hostage, had played cat and mouse with her easily. It was in this moment she realized that he had allowed her to be ignorant, allowed her to delve in the fantasy of making it out into her world unscathed. She took in a daring breath, and his hands pulled at the restraint around her neck. It was through his will that she carry out her basic instincts. His body moved closer to her until she felt nothing but hard male physique. She was in his world now, and it was by his actions that she knew he wanted revenge... but how? How would he punish her?

Smudges turned into hues that distorted into shapes of dark desolate shadows before her eyes, the world was a veil of unknown. For a few minutes she had made false progress, had found an opening in the foliage that led to her village. With every footfall she had taken away from him, she promised herself not to look back, and she hadn't. He was a beast who had sprinted after her like she was an offering to be claimed. His stride after her could be felt in the earth, it had shaken her heart. For the first time in her life Rosalyn felt the cold combined eyes of fear and death.

Run, just run until the sun can be seen, run until the light drowns out the darkness and maybe this nightmare would come to an end. The childish thought had given her a few seconds of hope which he killed before they could blossom. Hope was a thing of the past, this was reality, harsh reality that showed no mercy to good or bad.

Memories of her father's drunken haze infiltrated her mind at this point. Rosalyn wondered if this was the phenomenon of her life flashing before her eyes. What a shame, such an existence that could only be remembered by a man whose veins bled with vodka. A distant vision of her mother appeared then only to disappear.

"Did you think it would actually work?" His voice cut through her thoughts. She prayed he would give her a quick death. "I burn my own skin to save a snake who bites back the first chance she gets." His voice was venomous, a deep timbre of contorted emotions. "My blood for yours, you understand that don't you?" Hot liquid spots fell on the nape of her neck before trickling down her spine. Of course he was hurting himself with the silver metal he held, he must have been extremely allergic to it.

Rosalyn stifled a gasp of terror as she felt his hand weave through her hair. Sharply her face was pressed against the tree. Surely the metal would imprint itself as a mark on her throat. His body closed in further on her, his lips skimmed over her temples before his teeth latched onto her earlobe, biting hard. This time she was unable to silence the cry of pain and her eyes closed in fear.

"I expect an answer." Her hair became woven around his arm. "Give me what I want." A stretch of silence washed over them after that. Rosalyn unable to voice her apologies or beg for her life. Acceptance, resentful acceptance made her body twist, but he held her with more force then, until it almost pained her.

"Kill me quickly." A soft murmur from her, a soft proclamation of her fate. Another wave of silence stretched into minutes but felt like hours. Hot tears escaped from her closed lids, and anger consumed her body. She hated that she was crying in front of him, because of him. She was unable to hide her weakness, but she was doomed from the start because she had never stood a chance against him, and now she was pressed against him like a punished lover.

The metal coil loosened considerably, Rosalyn took a few shaky breaths to try and calm her nerves.

"Kill you?" The chain was dropped altogether and fell like a coil around their ankles, entwining them. He relaxed his hold on her before he spun her around to face him, his hands rested above her head on the tree. "Now why would I do that?" His voice was a spoonful of sinister pleasure that she knew he used to his advantage.

"I-" her voice cracked and she took in a deep breath, not wanting to sound so meek despite feeling so. "I hurt you."

"Not hard enough." One of his hands slipped around her neck and she felt her skin become coated with his blood. His presence was dominating, she could feel him everywhere. It didn't help that her dress was in tatters and hanging by a few threads that he could easily flick away. Never had Rosalyn felt a man like this in all her life, never had she been touched like this, like he owned her.

She felt like she was in a game that he already knew the outcome for. "Are you going to kill me?" There, the obvious question had blatantly been asked and now she braced herself for the obvious answer.

"No." His voice was definite, held some type of accountability. The answer ran through her and it shocked her. "I'm going to hurt you." His lips molded over hers in a punishing kiss, just as his grip on her throat tightened. Soon consciousness began to fade away as shapes distorted into shadows which melted into smudges.

He had lied to her, her mind shouted. Rosalyn found herself accepting death much more easily then she thought she would. His kiss was savage, nearly cut her skin open which he probably wanted. His tongue forced its way into her mouth, she could taste his blood and her's mingled together. Her first kiss and it was such a brutal thing to bear. Her insides were screaming for release, for air but all she could do was surrender as her life slipped into his fingers. Rosalyn's eyes closed then she went limp.

A kiss of death before an eternity of darkness.