Chapter 34 - Crippled Life

Chapter 34: 34 - Crippled Life

Dickhead stopped when we were far enough and set us down on the ground. "He threw the scorpion gas around Precious despite knowing its effect... I thought eagles were supposed to be honorable and all that."

Noodle coughed, his chest heaving as he tried to get the gas out of his lungs. He glared in the direction where the eagle had flown off.

"We need to move," Noodle said, struggling to his tail. "More of them will come."

"Cooling gas, is it?" Dickhead rubbed his temples in exasperation. Having two disobedient, stubborn individuals who didn’t listen to him was starting to wear him out.

The only way he could get them to do what he wanted was to use force, but even that wasn’t as effective as he had hoped. I was a lost cause, and Kurus was close to being one too.

"Lead the way." Dickhead threw a miracle core at Noodle so casually, as if it were just a pebble he’d picked up along the way. He did it twice, without batting an eye. "Put Precious to sleep. It should nullify the pain from the scorpion gas. The faster we move, the faster we will lose the eagles."

Kurus bit into my arm with his fangs. He released some sort of venom into my body, which put me in a dream-like state. I saw the world through foggy lens, barely aware of what was happening around me. The pain had indeed subsided, but was I happy about it? Absolutely not.

The weights around me were removed as well, and like that, our midnight break turned into a night run for our lives.

Of course I would get the short end of the stick. And sleep through my own fucking journey because I was deemed too dangerous to be left conscious. Selfharm, Dickhead explained to Noodle, who couldn’t understand the opposite concept of survival. I would call it a lack of options. And Dickhead was the one who was taking them away, one by one.

Whenever Kurus tried to feed me his saliva, Vick was there to stop him and feed me mashed nuts and fruit instead. He also forced some liquid down my throat to keep me hydrated.

I thought I was over the crippled period of my life, but it seemed like I was going backward.

The scorpion gas had worn off, but it would take time before I figured out how to filter out the venom. The weights had been removed, but a heavier burden had replaced them.

"Mate is not breathing," Kuruss hissed at Dickhead in panic midway through our journey. "I can’t feel her breath."

Dickhead put his fingers on my throat. "I will perform CPR if you won’t start breathing, Precious. If you don’t want that, open your mouth and take a deep breath right now."

They put me on the ground, and Vick was ready to give me mouth-to-mouth if needed. He began pushing my chest up and down, trying to get my lungs working again.

Kurus also removed the venom from my system, biting the same spot on my arm again. "Mate is rejecting the mating bond. She wants to die..."

"She won’t. It will alert her father, and she will not risk that." Dickhead blew into my mouth, his lips pressing against mine, forcing air into my lungs. "Let’s make a truce, Precious. You go where we go, and I will make sure your father doesn’t lock you up. Deal?"

He didn’t wait for my answer, and instead used his tongue to push something cool down my throat. It melt as it went. I counted five miracle cores. A burning sensation followed. The pain in my body subsided, and I took a deep breath, my lungs finally working again.

I slowly opened my eyes, looking at the face of the guy who had just kissed me. My fist connected with his cheek, sending him flying backward.

Dickhead didn’t even try to dodge the punch, taking the hit with a grin. He wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, "It’s been a while since we last kissed, huh?"

Scrambling to my feet, I spat his taste out of my mouth. "Come here, I’ll show you how to properly kiss the ground."

I launched myself at him. He moved to the side, avoiding my attack. We went back and forth like this, me trying to hit him, and him dodging. I could finally match his speed and strength.

We lost Kurus at some point. The mate bond on my tongue tingled in response, alerting me to his distress. I stopped, looking in the direction where I could feel him. I followed the bond, running through the trees. Dickhead was hot on my heels, but I paid him no attention.

Noodle was standing in the middle of a clearing, veins bulging on his forehead and arms, his muscles straining against his skin as he fought off something that had a hold on him. His sharp nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood. He turned his head toward me, but his eyes were clouded over.

"...Mate...you are...back..." he said through gritted teeth, his voice strained. "...You weren’t taken from me... right...?"

I couldn’t see who or what was affecting him. A shadow loomed over him, but it had no physical form. It looked like a dark mist, swirling around him. Kurus’ fangs were out, hissing at the invisible enemy.

"You called, so I’m here." I slapped his ass, snapping him out of it. "There’s a waterfall nearby; you can go for a dip there."

"...Okay." Kurus looked confused, but he nodded and followed me while rubbing his behind. The dark mist dissipated, and his breathing slowly returned to normal. He still looked pale, but he was no longer struggling to control himself.

We stopped at a waterfall, where Kurus jumped in to wash off whatever had been clinging to him.

Dickhead also took a dip, but not before removing his clothes and armor. He dove into the water, his pale ass flashing in the sunlight, and disappeared.

I sat on the rock, rubbing my temples. Follow them? Or kill them and go my own way?

Whatever path I chose, I would still end up in father’s hands. The only difference was how and when. Dickhead would snitch on me the moment he lost control over the situation. That’s for sure.

I needed a plan, one that didn’t involve being a good little girl and playing house with these two.

Kurus emerged from the water, blinking the water droplets off his lashes. His gaze settled on me, and his eyes almost fell out of his eye sockets at the sight of me. "Mate... your scars... they are disappearing..."