The Prey: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Romance (Oakmount Elite Book 3)

It’s dark. There’s an overhead light shining down on me, but not fully as a person towers over me, blocking out part of the light. No, this is different. This nightmare is different. I don’t see the tattooed hands, or hear Yanov cursing. My entire body aches, pain radiating throughout my limbs. I strain to hear something, anything, but it’s quiet except for the soft whisper of a fire crackling nearby. Even if I can’t feel the heat of it, I hear it.

I try to squint, to make my eyes work so I can at least make out the features of the person towering over my body, but there’s no point. The light is too bright, and I’m barely holding on as it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if that very light was me passing into an alternate dimension. Death clings to me. All I can do is brace for the fists that will inevitably come.

But after a few seconds, there are no fists.

Forcing myself to focus my gaze on one thing, I finally make out the barrel of a gun pointed at me. It’s weird how a tiny part of me relaxes. All I can think is, yes, finally, someone is going to do the right thing and put me out of my misery.

I don’t hear the gun, but I feel the bullet. Feel it as it rips through my skin, pulling the flesh from my bones. A cry of pain catches on my lips.

I wake with a gasp, and find myself sitting up in bed. My shoulder throbs, like it’s trying to send me some unwritten message. I flex my arm and try to massage the pain away while I ignore the sweat beading my brow, and the hammering of my heart against my rib cage.

Shit. It’s okay, it was just a dream. Well, more like a nightmare.

It takes me a couple of minutes to calm down, but once I do the events of the night before return. Sebastian, myself. The Hunt. Never in a million years did I think yesterday would end the way it did. I turn to look at Sebastian and find the bed empty.

I try not to feel disappointed. I’m sure he got up to make breakfast or get coffee.

I scoot closer to the edge of the bed so I can hop down off it. My ankles shake, along with my thighs when I land on my feet. Every muscle in my body aches, and I hurt all over.

I spot Sebastian’s football shirt folded neatly at the end of the bed, and I grab it, smiling as I pull it on. I don’t need a mirror to know my hair is sticking up all over the place. Not that it matters. I don’t know anyone who wakes up looking like they’re ready to compete in a beauty pageant. My belly rumbles loudly, and I head off to find Sebastian and breakfast.

I poke my head out into the hallway. It’s empty, thankfully so. The last thing I need is Tanya making an appearance and catching me sneaking out of Sebastian’s room.

I look down the length of my body, watching the light catch on the scratches and bruises that mar my legs. Somehow they feel like a badge of honor. Along with the fresh cut on my arm, which matches the previous one. It might be stupid, maybe even silly, but it makes me feel special and desired. Knowing that even if he’s been with others, there is no one like me.

The trip downstairs is short, and when I reach the bottom step I turn to go toward the kitchen but pause when I notice a light is on in the front room, the study to be precise.

A feminine voice echoes out into the foyer. Tanya.

“We both know you can’t treat me this way, Sebby. I’m going to be the mother of your child, for heaven’s sake.”

What? My heart freezes in my chest, threatening to fall out and shatter.

I tiptoe closer to the door and plaster my back against the wall.

The sound of a fire in the fireplace undercuts Tanya’s voice. “Let’s do this the right way. We can raise the baby together.” There’s a desperate edge to her voice, and it makes me sick to my stomach. “It’s what we always wanted, Sebby. This isn’t a death sentence. It means we can finally be together.”

Seb answers, his voice low and ice-fucking-cold. “From the moment you took my virginity, Tanya, I’ve made it clear that I don’t want you. That I’ve never wanted you. Throwing yourself at me in a fit of desperation doesn’t change that.”

“Stop; you don’t have to lie to me.”

“No, you fucking stop. This is disgusting.” The air shudders out of my lungs. “Even if you were pregnant, and it was mine, which I don’t fucking believe for a second, what in the fucking world would make you think I’d want to raise a child with you?”

Something that sounds like glass, or maybe marble, shatters. Shit. I automatically flinch away from the noise, as if what used to follow at my father’s house will come barreling out of the office at me.

“Sebastian,” Tanya tries to subdue him, her voice twisting into something seductive.

My insides knot and coil into one big ball of anxiety. This can’t be true. It can’t be. Even while I’m afraid to know the truth, to hear another word spoken, I can’t bring myself to walk away either. I tiptoe closer so I can peer through the crack created by the hinges.

What I see makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Tanya is splayed across Sebastian’s lap, her pencil skirt shoved up around her hips as she straddles him.

She’s his fucking mother, or aunt, or I don’t fucking know. What I do know is that no matter who she is, this is wrong, so wrong, and it makes me burn with rage. I can barely restrain myself as she leans down, her dark hair curtaining her face along with his, so I can’t see him through it all. But I can hear her just fine, unfortunately.

“I’ve always thought what we shared was special. I need you, and we both know that you belong to me. The sooner you realize that, the better it will be for you and that little maid you’re sleeping with.”

I press a hand to my lips to stop myself from speaking. Sebastian wraps his hands around her hips and lifts her off his lap, sending her to the floor. She scrambles to her feet and lashes out, her nails cutting red lines into the side of his cheek. Tears sting my eyes.

The assault and mistreatment. It’s suffocating.

He stares up at her, murderous rage flickering in his green eyes. That look is so powerful and searing that it makes me afraid. She might be towering over him, but it won’t be long until he unleashes fury on her.

With a smile, she runs her hand over her flat stomach. “Certainly even you remember that night. Don’t you? It happened right here on the couch.”

That murderous glare fades from his eyes, and I watch him crumble right before my eyes. He looks sick, pale. One look at his face, and that’s all the confirmation I need. Even he knows there’s a chance.

“Deny the baby if you want, but it doesn’t change the truth. We both know you’re the father, Sebastian.”

I resettle my shoulders and keep my hands plastered over my mouth. I want to scream, to tell her to get away from him. But it wouldn’t change what’s already happened. The whole thing is disgusting, even if they aren’t related by blood.

Her voice grates on my nerves as she stalks closer to him, like she might try to straddle him again, but he stands and stalks toward the fireplace.

“Enough of the games, Sebastian. Let’s talk about this like adults.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“There is plenty to talk about. I’m going to give you the heir you need to hold the Arturo business. This couldn’t have happened at a better time. We can run it together, as a family. If you want, I’ll even let you keep your little pet as long as she understands her place and doesn’t get in my way.”

It takes me a second to realize she’s talking about me.

She’s telling him he can keep me…while being with her. Not that I think Sebastian would ever consider it, but even if he did, I would never allow it.

Sebastian stares straight ahead into the flames for a long moment, then he grabs a bottle off the mantel. His sweats hang low on his hips, and I have to look away from the bare expanse of his back as he flexes his fist against the stonework in front of him.

“Tanya. You need to leave before I do something I won’t be able to undo.”

His words ping inside me, and I’m not sure why they make my stomach turn even more.

Tanya doesn’t seem to care about his warning and approaches him anyway. As if that’s not enough, she skims her hands up and over his shoulders and then back down his back. He doesn’t move, doesn’t even appear to react.

How can he stand there and let her touch him?

“Sebby. We were so good together. I taught you everything you know…we can have that back.”

Sebastian shrugs her hands off of him. “Tanya…” he warns.

Oh no. It occurs to me then that if she comes out here, there will be nowhere for me to hide, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of her wrath. If she’s horrible enough to hurt her own…the man she raised this way…she will have no issue with hurting me.

I need to get back upstairs. The idea of eating after what I just witnessed makes me sick. I need a moment to wrap my head around things, and maybe build up the courage to talk to Sebastian about what I heard.

I tiptoe toward the stairs, but freeze when I spot one of the security guards standing there. Robin, I believe is his name. Weird. They usually don’t come into the house, that is unless Sebastian calls them. Hm, maybe he did. Maybe he’s going to have Tanya removed?

Robin leans down and waves at me to come closer. There’s a concerned look etched into his features. Over the weeks, I’ve come to trust Robin, as he’s always watching out for the animals and making sure I’m okay while I walk between the house and cottage.

With one final peek over my shoulder, I creep up the stairs, stopping once I reach the landing.

“What’s wrong?” I whisper.

“Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be inside, but something is wrong with the dog in the cottage. He’s been crying and barking for hours. I feel bad for him, and the thought of leaving him there to suffer. Plus, shift change is coming soon. The other guards might shoot him instead of questioning if he’s someone’s pet if they hear him.”

The words “shoot him” send me back down the stairs and into the kitchen. I can’t do anything about the situation with Sebastian, at least not yet, but I can take care of that dog.

Robin follows close and disables the alarm at the door, sliding it open for me. I rush out into the cold, dark night, goose bumps skating across my skin as I jog across the brick patio, my bare feet sinking into the dew-dotted grass.

“When did you first hear him crying?” I ask, carefully picking my way across the grass.

“Couple of hours ago. I was looking for you, but I didn’t know how to find you without Mr. Arturo seeing me.”

Shit. A couple of hours. What could’ve happened? I guess anything. He could’ve eaten something? Or something might have fallen on him. The possible scenarios are endless. God, I hope he’s okay.

My heart lurches in my chest, fear ruling my instincts. Once I reach the cottage, I grab onto the door handle, but that’s as far as I get before someone’s hand closes over my mouth, clamping down and sealing whatever scream was going to escape back inside.

Struggling, I crash into Robin’s chest.

“Sorry, Elyse. It’s just business, nothing personal.”

My eyes go wide as I stare up at him, mumbling against the hard grasp of his hand. “What?”

He wraps an arm around my waist and turns me, dragging me into the cabin, back first. What is he doing?

The cottage is dark and quiet. Too quiet. A different kind of fear unwinds in my gut, urging me to fight harder. So I do. I thrash in Robin’s grasp, but his hold is tight, and he’s so much stronger than me that I don’t even manage to land any hits on him. Opening my mouth the salty taste of his skin fills my mouth. I know how to get him to get me go.

Without thought to the consequences, I sink my teeth into the palm of his hand.

“You fucking bitch!” he growls and pulls his hand away, giving me a hard shove now that we’re inside. I stumble, nearly falling to the dusty floor.

“Oh, Robin. You made a fatal error in judgment.”

That voice.

That terrible, thick voice trickles out of the dark like it has so many times before, the sound circling around my throat and tightening. Every moment in my life seems to be threaded with that voice, taunting me, beating me, yelling at me.

“She fucking bit me,” Robin growls and leers toward me.

I take a wobbly step back. “You don’t know what you’ve done.”

“There are consequences for every action, and I told you what would happen if you did anything other than what I instructed you to do.”

Robin stops mid-step, his gaze falling on the man who’s behind me. “I didn’t do anything to her.”

A sharp crack ripples through the room, followed by a flash. It all happens so fast; one minute, Robin’s standing, and the next, he’s falling flat on his back, a bullet hole in his head. Paralyzing fear tightens its grasp on my throat. I have to get out of here. I have to find a way to escape because I’ll be the next person with a bullet in their head.

Dazed, I turn to face the man I’ve hated since I was a child and figured out what it was that he truly wanted from me.

He sits in a chair on the far side of the cottage near the small kitchen. I stare at him for a long moment before my eyes drop to the small lifeless body…no…I can’t.

A sob rips from my throat, and tears flood my eyes. No. No. No. I press a hand to my mouth to stop the agony from spilling out.

“Ah, my beautiful Ely. I knew we’d get here. It took a little work, more than I expected, but we’re back to where we were before.”

“No! No!” I scream and step away from the monster in front of me.

I forget Robin’s lifeless body is behind me, and in my haste to escape, I trip over his legs. I land hard on the cracked and pitted floor, my head bouncing like a basketball against it.

Get up. Move, I scream at myself.

Black spots appear in my vision, and try as I may to blink them back, to hang onto the present, the throbbing sensation in my head makes that impossible.

“Yes, Ely. Mine. All fucking mine.” Yanov’s voice haunts me, even as the world around me goes dark.