The Viking's Mate Hunt

CHAPTER 3

　　Muscles bulged all over their bare backs, tattoos twisted and snaked around over their shoulders, necks, and probably further down their chest.

　　One had a high and messy braid, going from his forehead and all the way over down his neck. The sides were skinned. Tattoos that looked like snakes decorated one of the sides of his head. The other one had a little lighter hair, darker brown. The sides of his head were also shaved down to the skin, but his hair was twisted and formed with leather bands all the way to the middle of his back.

　　I can't see around them, but I'm guessing one or two horses are pulling us. It's a slow and steady paste like the animals were already worn out and tired. We wobble and jump a little through a sharp turn, and suddenly, a little town appears.

　　No, not a town! This looks more like a wooden village from an old game or movie. But by the sounds, I could hear in the distance a lot of people living there. Talking, shouting, kids crying, the distinctive sound of metal against metal. The whole thing seems to be surrendered with a massive fence, looking more like they just cut off the branches of the biggest trees they could find and stuck the trunks together. Primitive but effective!

　　This was definitely a new level of crazy! With a little hustle and grunting, I managed to sit up on my knees. Thank god they only tied my hands, and not my feet to like the rest! The blond kept on ogling me to the point that my temper got the best of me.

　　'What?'

　　'Nothing.'

　　She just rolled her eyes and looked away again, like she didn't just stare at me intensely for over 5 minutes. I managed to turn around and push myself back to the end of the carriage. It had a wooden plank over the end, but a 10cm plank won't hold me back! I kept my stare at the guys in the front, but so far, they seemed way too occupied by watching the horse ass in front of them.

　　'They will kill you, you know!'

　　My head snaps towards the blond. She was still looking down at me, yes, I was sitting on the dirty floor, but she was in the same boat as me!

　　No need to be that smug. Money can't help her out of this, well, not from the looks of it.

　　'Yeah, but I rather die running than be part of whatever sick fantasy these creeps have planned out for us! See you on the other side!'

　　I grinned, and with my feet, I pushed myself out and over the plank. I landed with a heavy thud on the hard and rocky ground. My upper back collided with the ground first, and gasped for air as it was forced out of me by impact. The pain was making me feel sick!

　　Clenching my teeth, I managed to get up; just as I straightened my back, I saw the carriage continue and the wide eyes of a stuck-up blond stare at me. I winked at her, turned, and ran as fast as I could toward the edge of the forest!

　　My hands were still stuck behind my back, but not for much longer! A sinister smile appeared on my lips as I heard shouting and swearing behind me; it didn't matter! I have already reached the dense forest!

　　In between the trees, I stopped and finally managed to yank my hands free. I coiled up the rope and showed it down my pocket, could come in handy later.

　　'f*****g cunt!'

　　A deep voice roared, and in a different setting, I would have laughed, but I managed to hold back and just smile at the anger in his voice.

　　'Don't kill her! Just bring her back!'

　　Good, he can't kill me. That might also get in handy; I turned and ran. Dodged trees bushed and massive rocks. Eventually, I would have to reach the city or at least a road!

　　Sweat formed on my back and forehead as I made my way through the thick forest, the sun was shining, and it began to feel incredibly hot and hard to breathe! The air in between these trees was still, not even a little breath of wind.

　　My heart was pounding, and the pulsating in my ears increased; somebody was running not far behind me! I rushed between two trees and ended up in a clearing. Looking over my shoulder, I nearly fell face-first. His eyes were yellow! Yellow!

　　I turned back, and a new shock; I suddenly found myself standing on the edge of a steep fall. The grass field ended here, and small rocks and loose soil rumbled down the hill. Down there somewhere, it all ended up in the steaming river.

　　'Her kitty, kitty! Nowhere no run now!"

　　It was the same deep and carnal voice I remembered from the previous night. My heart was pounding, and my throat felt dry as I hesitantly turned around. Every fiber in my body screamed for me to run, jump! Whatever it takes!

　　He looked even more prominent now, tall, with black braided hair and tattoos twisting and turning around on his body. He crossed his arms over his chest, and I could see the muscled bulging under his tight sun-kissed skin. He had significant veins running down his underarms, and small drops of sweat made their way over his chest. It was glimmering in the sunlight.

　　My breath hitched as my eyes met his yellow ones. They were freaking bright yellow! He scoffed and blinked slowly. His eyes flickered between two colors briefly before he stared back at me with ice-cold blue eyes and arched a brow at me.

　　Besides looking like a sweat god packed with muscles, he looked like he was picked straight out of an old barbarian book or something. A deep V shape in his front dissipated down into dark, low-hanging pants. The fabric seemed really rough and was held up by a thick leather belt. Around his ankles, he had tied two leather ropes, scrunching his wide pants together before some bizarre shoes.

　　Shoes? No, it looked more like some thick leather socks. They, too, were held up and scrunched against his legs with leather ropes. Did I just get kidnaped by a group of mentally disturbed cosplayers? Have to admit, thou, those lenses were amazing!

　　The remainder of his eyes lifted my gaze back up, god this has to be the dark version of Jax from Sons of Anarchy! Ice blue eyes, sharp nose, and jaw with a thick beard a little longer under the chin. Just because of that mental image, I was willing to look past the fact that there were small silver rings in his beard. I would do him in a heartbeat, no questions asked!

　　'You satisfied now?'

　　My cheeks burned; I'd been staring him up and down like a snack without even trying to hide it.

　　Involuntarily I took a couple of steps forward. There was no way I could tear my eyes from him. But I could feel the ground crumbling under my heels. Dirt and small rocks rolled down the steep end making the ground disappear under my feet.

　　His intense blue eyes watched my every move, and suddenly I felt tiny. My cheeks continued to burn, and my heart hammered against my chest. My eyes wandered to the side, catching the slight movement in the bushes behind him. Nobody came to my aid; it was just the wind.

　　'You won't make it, even if you try to crush my throat again.'

　　My eyes snapped back to him, so it was him! Looking down his neck and throat, I couldn't even see a bruise; how was that possible? I could remember the coughing and gurgling sound behind me as I ran.

　　His bored sigh brought me out of my own head, and I met his gaze without hesitation. This is not a man I would go up against, but that didn't mean I was his freaking hunting toy. Rabbit, was it?

　　'I'm not going back to that. Whatever that was and what you have going on there, so. Thanks for the ride, but I'm good now! Bye!'

　　'Oh, so we have a little princess on our hands?'

　　I scowled at him, and he made a theatrical and overly dramatic bow,

　　'Dear royal highness, follow me if you like to live.'