Chapter 31 Hard Toss
Grace reeled back from the bathroom door in shock, her mind struggling to process what she'd just heard
.
‘She's selling me…’
Her hand flew to her mouth, trying to muffle the gasp that wanted to escape. The old woman who had seemed so kind, so concerned about getting her to safety, had been planning to sell her all along?!
Grace took a stumbling step backward, her thoughts racing. She needed to get out of here. Needed to run. Needed to escape before that man came inside and she ended up chained in another truck or worse.
She turned quickly, too quickly, and her vision blurred so fast that her foot caught on something.
A metal bucket that had been sitting beside the sink.
Grace watched in horror as her shoe connected with it, sending it toppling over. The bucket hit the tile floor with a deafening crash that seemed to echo through the entire house. It bounced once, twice, then rolled across the bathroom floor, clanging against the wall before finally settling with one last metallic ring.
The sound was impossibly loud in the small space, Grace instantly froze and slowly glanced at the bathroom door.
The voices outside the bathroom door stopped mid-sentence. Complete and utter silence fell over the house, so absolute that Grace could hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.
Then the old lady's voice cut through the quiet, sharp and alert.
"What was that?"
Grace didn't wait to hear more, she had to think fast. She yanked the bathroom door open and saw the old woman in front of her, watching her.
“Sorry, I had slipped on some water on the floor. I accidentally kicked the metal bucket. That was the sound you heard.”
The woman stared at her for a minute before smiling a slow smile, that didn’t reach her eyes, “Oh, that’s alright.”
"Oh dear," the old woman continued, her voice dripping with false concern that made Grace's skin crawl. "You look so pale, child. Come, sit down. I called a doctor and he’s here now. He can help you through this, hope you finished your tea?"
She gestured behind her, toward the living room.
Grace's eyes followed the movement, and her blood turned to ice.
Standing in the middle of the living room, silhouetted against the dim light, was a man. Grace was right, he was massive, easily six and a half feet tall with shoulders so broad he nearly filled the living room. But he still looked like a sleaze.
His body was pure muscle, the kind that came from hard labor or hard living or both. His face was rough, weathered, with scars crisscrossing his cheeks and jaw. And his eyes, when they caught the dim, reflected it with an inhuman gleam.
Wolf eyes.
But unlike Zion's, unlike the others who'd rescued her, there was nothing kind in this man's gaze. His eyes were fixed on her, unblinking, it was filled with cold calculation and had a hunger that made Grace want to shrink back.
"The doctor will take very good care of you," the woman continued, taking a step toward Grace. Her hand reached out, fingers extended toward Grace's shoulder. "Just sit down and let us help you through this difficult time. It will all be over soon."
The words were meant to sound comforting, but they sounded like a threat.
Grace didn't think. She just reacted.
Her hand shot out and slapped the woman's arm away with enough force to make the lady stumble backward, surprise flashing across her face.
"Don't touch me," Grace snarled, and she barely recognized her own voice. It sounded feral, dangerous, nothing like the girl she'd been just hours ago.
The old woman's expression transformed completely. The false kindness left and was quickly replaced by cold fury. Her lips pulled back from her teeth in something that was almost a snarl.
Grace began to move, headed straight for the door, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She could see the front door ahead, freedom just a few yards away.
She just had to reach it.
But the old woman stepped into her path, with a speed that shouldn't have been possible for a woman her age.
The older woman's entire demeanor had changed. Gone was the kind, concerned grandmother who'd offered her shelter. Now her expression was cold, calculating, her eyes hard as they fixed on Grace.
"You stupid little bitch," she spat, all pretense gone. "Do you have any idea how much you're worth? How much he is paying for an unmated female in heat? You should be grateful I'm even giving you the courtesy of a transaction instead of just handing you over."
The confirmation of what Grace had overheard sent a fresh wave of terror through her body. This was real. This woman had planned to drug her and sell her to that monster standing in the living room.
Grace didn't waste time responding, she spun around and bolted toward the kitchen.
There had to be a back door, Grace screamed in her head, there had to be some way out of this house that didn't involve going through that giant man.
"Don't let her escape!" The old woman shrieked behind her, her voice loud with fury.
Grace heard the man curse saying this wasn’t what was planned before she heard heavy footsteps, the floor shook as the man moved but she didn't look back. She crashed into the kitchen, her eyes frantically scanning for an exit.
She saw it. A door on the far side, next to the refrigerator.
Grace ran for it, her hands reaching for the doorknob.
Locked.
No, no, no.
Her fingers fumbled with the deadbolt, slipping on the metal as panic made her clumsy. Behind her, she could hear the man's footsteps getting closer, could feel the vibration of his weight on the floor.
The deadbolt finally gave way, and Grace struggled to pull the door open.
But she knew she wouldn't make it in time. The man was too close, moving too fast.
Grace's eyes landed on the window above the kitchen sink. It was small, probably too small, but it was her only chance.
She jumped onto the counter, her shoes scrabbling against the wooden surface. The man lunged for her, his massive hand closing around her ankle.
Grace screamed and kicked backward with her free leg, her heel connecting with something solid. She heard a grunt of pain, and the grip on her ankle loosened just enough.
She threw her arms up to protect her face and launched herself at the window.
The glass shattered on impact, exploding outward in a shower of glittering fragments. Grace felt pain as the broken edges sliced through her uniform, cutting into her arms and sides, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop.
She fell through the window and hit the ground hard on the other side, the impact knocking the air from her lungs. For a moment she just lay there, gasping, her body screaming in protest.
Then survival instinct kicked in, and Grace scrambled to her feet.
She was outside. The house had a long path before getting to the next building, though the building looked close in sight, the path to get there was long.
Her head snapped to the left and there were the woods, dark trees looming in the darkness.
That old woman knew what she was doing in bringing her to such a place.
Grace’s train of thoughts were going many miles per second. She heard shouting from inside the house, heard the back door being wrenched open.
She ran.
The forest floor was uneven, littered with roots and rocks that threatened to trip her with every step. Branches whipped at her face and arms, adding new cuts to the ones she'd gotten from the window. Her legs throbbed with every movement, but adrenaline kept her moving.
Behind her, she could hear crashing through the underbrush. The man was following her, and he was fast. Faster than any human should be.
Because he wasn't human. None of them were.
Grace pushed harder, her lungs burning, her legs shaking with exhaustion. The heat that had been plaguing her body all night seemed to intensify with the exertion, making it hard to breathe or even think.
She didn't know where she was going, didn't have a single plan beyond putting as much distance as possible between herself and the members of that house.
The trees began to thin ahead, and Grace caught a glimpse of moonlight reflecting off the water. A river, cutting through the forest like a silver ribbon.
Maybe she could lose them in the water. Maybe the current would carry her downstream, away from here.
Grace angled toward it, her feet pounding against the forest floor. Her body was on fire, the heat making her dizzy, everything seemed so surreal and distant, her school uniform was almost in shreds now.
She was maybe twenty feet from the river's edge when she heard a sound that made her blood freeze.
A whistle. Sharp and piercing, cutting through the night.
Then pain.
Blinding, excruciating pain that exploded in her left leg.
Grace screamed, the sound tearing from her throat as her leg buckled beneath her, she caught a glimpse of a rock, easily the size of her fist, bouncing away into the darkness.
Someone had thrown a rock and had thrown it hard enough, accurately enough to break her leg from at least fifty feet away.
Grace's momentum carried her forward even as her broken leg gave out completely. She tumbled down the slight embankment, unable to stop herself or do anything but fall.
Then she hit the water.
The cold was shocking after the heat that had been consuming her. The river swallowed her whole, the current immediately grabbing her and pulling her under. Grace surfaced once, gasping and choking, her arms flailing uselessly.
She couldn’t swim!