Heart of the Hunted (Infernal Hearts Book 1) Read online

  Stuck like a deer in headlights, Natalia was frozen in place as they stared at each other. She didn't know who was more surprised, her or the monster. By the look on his face, he appeared just as shocked to see her as she was him.

  There was no doubt in her mind that it was a male that stood before her. The size and shape of him gave it away that he was in fact a he without having to see his face close up.

  Taller than any Human she's ever seen by a long shot, he had dark red skin and black hair. His thick head of hair couldn't hide the horns that protruded from the top of its head. Natalia was glad it was still just before nightfall, because if it had been completely dark, then there would have been no way in hell she could have seen it.

  Dressed all in black, he would have easily blended into the night. Natalia might even have mistaken him for a shadow, or even thought that her mind was playing tricks on her. Which, after the last couple of days with barely any food or sleep, it was a high possibility that it could have just been her imagination.

  Natalia was jolted into action as he took a step towards her. Spinning on her heels, she darted to the entrance of the bunker. Hoping with everything in her that she made it in time.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Taredd

  Taredd knew staying in the area would pay off eventually, and he hadn't been wrong. It did take slightly longer than he had originally thought it would, but it still paid off in the end.

  Not even a week after restarting the bet with Arun, he had finally found a Human, and it was a female. It was only the one, but generally where there was one, there was more. Taredd wasn't interested in finding more at the moment. If he did, then bonus, but if not, it wasn't a big deal. Either way, he had won the bet.

  Now all he needed to do was catch the slippery little fucker. For a female, she was extremely fast and agile on her feet, disappearing from view before he had a chance to get anywhere close to her.

  Humans weren't normally so fast. He’d never come across a Human that had managed to disappear on him, especially not a female. So, Taredd had a sneaking suspicion that there must be a hideout around here somewhere. If he could just locate it, then he was positive he would find her.

  With that thought in mind, Taredd decided to search the area with a fine-tooth comb while there was still a little bit of daylight left. Walking over to where he had spotted her, Taredd searched the immediate area. He was just about to widen the search area when the setting sun glinted of something on the ground, hidden beneath a bush.

  Taredd walked over and moved the bush aside. He couldn't believe his eyes. In all the years he had been hunting down the Humans, it never occurred to him that they might be living underground. But the proof was staring him straight in the face.

  A small circular disk was sticking out of the ground. It was just about wide enough for him to fit through, and he was much larger than most Humans, so it would be a perfect size for them.

  Taredd didn't know for sure if she was down there, but it was the only explanation he could think of as to how she managed to disappear so quickly.

  On closer inspection, Taredd noticed that it had a curved handle sticking out on one side. If this was definitely how the Humans had been hiding from them, then it was going to be a complete game changer. Especially if there was more than two or three in there.

  That's how they were usually caught, in twos or threes at a time. Trying to find more than that in one go was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But if they were living underground in larger groups... well then, that would mean they could be rounded up much easier. It would also mean that the end of their existence could be a lot sooner than he thought.

  All they would have to do is look for these little disks to find where they were taking shelter. These things were bound to be far easier to find than the Humans, especially since these things didn't move around like the humans did. At least, not that he could see.

  Leaning down, Taredd was about to pull the handle up when he stopped himself. Changing his mind at the last minute, he decided to watch for any other Humans. Instead of going in there straight away... and winning the bet... he wanted to see if anyone else came or went.

  So, moving further away, Taredd positioned himself so that he could easily see the area with the disk but without anyone being able to see him. Then, he waited.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Natalia

  Natalia's heart was racing so fast she thought it might explode from her chest. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was still out there. She didn't have a clue how she knew it, but that didn't change the fact that she did.

  The question was, did he know she was in here? And if so, then why wasn't he coming in after her? It didn't make any sense. Unless he was waiting for something, but then if that was the case, then what was he waiting for?

  If he was waiting for her to go out to him, then he would be waiting a long time. The same goes for if he was waiting for another one of her kind to either leave or arrive. Natalia just hoped that he wasn't out there waiting for more of his kind to arrive.

  It would be really bad news for her if that was the case. All she could do, was hope and pray that he hadn't found her hiding place, had given up the search, and was now on his way back to wherever it was he came from.

  When her heart finally stopped racing, Natalia explored the new bunker. It wasn't much different from all the other ones she has stayed in over the years. It consisted of one main living area, a sleeping area, and a small washroom.

  Luckily enough for her, whoever it had been that stayed here prior to her arrival had left plenty of food and water. It was more than enough to last her a good couple of days at least, even longer if she rationed it well.

  After that she would have no choice but to leave the bunker, or starve to death... which definitely wasn't an option she was willing to even consider. Especially not when Amberly and Donovan counted on her so much.

  Natalia didn't know what she was going to do about Amberly and Donovan. She knew it wasn't them that had been the last people to stay here, Amberly would have left some form of clue if they had been. So, where were they? Was there another bunker close by? Or were they still along the pass?

  Natalia knew they wouldn't have moved too far away from the pass if they didn't need to, they would want to be as close as possible so she could find them easily enough, and she hoped to hell that they weren't still on the pass.

  Each day they spent traveling along the mountain pass increased their chances of not making it through alive. Now Natalia wished she had taken the time to checked each of the caves on her way past them, just in case they were still taking shelter in one.

  If they had made it and were just staying in a different bunker, then she hoped they didn't decide to go looking for her. If the monster was still out there, like she had a feeling he was, then they could get caught by him and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

  What if they were already caught by him though? It was possible that Amberly and Donovan had been staying here but had been caught. She hoped that wasn't the case, but until she found them, she wouldn't know.

  If they had been, then was that why he was still here? Was he waiting to see if any more Humans were in the area and she just happened to appear at the perfect moment?

  She didn't know, but, it was just her kind of dumb luck that it would be something along those lines. Natalia hoped that the others were as far away from here as possible. The last thing she wanted was for them to be captured and killed. Natalia would never forgive herself if anything happened to any of them, but especially Amberly and Donovan.

  Agitated, Natalia wanted to head straight back out to look for them, but she knew it would be the biggest mistake of her life if she did. If the monster was still out there looking for her and hadn't found where she was hiding, then her leaving the bunker so soon after being seen would definitely give away her location, if he was still looking for her.

  Not only that, but if he ha
dn't seen where she went, then it would also show the monsters how they had managed to stay hidden after all this time. She couldn't be the one to give away the secret to the survival of the Human race. It would ultimately mean that she had caused the end of their species, and that was not going to be what she was remember for. Not that there would be anyone left to remember her, but still, it wasn't going to happen. At least, not if she could help it.

  No, as much as she hated it, she was better off staying where she was for as long as she could. She had enough food to hopefully out last him, and once he was gone then she could safely go outside and find the others. She just hoped they didn't go in search of her and get themselves caught in the meantime.

  Amberly and Donovan weren't stupid though, but she couldn't stop worrying about them. She needed to stop thinking that they were going to get caught without her there to keep them safe. She needed to trust that they would do what needed to be done. Even if it meant she would never see them again.

  She knew they were both more than capable of not only looking out for themselves and each other, but also everyone else in the group. Natalia wouldn't have gotten everyone in the group as far as she had if it hadn't been for Amberly and Donovan standing by her side every step of the way. They didn't know it because she's never told them, but they were the reason she carried on each day, and the reason she climbed out of bed each day.

  If it hadn't been for them supporting her every step of the way, then she would have broken down and given up years ago. But they wouldn't let her, they forced her to face each new day as it came and she would eternally love them for it because it made her a better person. A person her mother would have been proud of.

  They made sure that she not only took care of everyone else, but that she took care of herself as well. They made sure she didn't miss a single meal and that she had plenty of sleep each night, even going so far as to taking over her night shifts when it had been a long few days with little sleep.

  Natalia grabbed a bowl from the kitchen area and filled it half way with hot water. She needed to clean and bandage the wounds on her feet before they got infected. She knew with all the walking she had done over the last couple of days that her feet were going to be covered in cuts and blisters. Plus, she still needed to warm them up because at the moment they were so cold she could barely feel or move them.

  Her socks and boots were both soaked through, which was preventing her feet from warming up on their own. She knew if she didn't deal with them quickly, then she wasn't going to be able to walk on them at all very soon.

  Carefully carrying the bowl of water over to the table, she set in down on the floor in front of a chair. She took her coat off and hung it on the back of the chair before taking a seat.

  Slowly, one by one Natalia took off her boots, wincing at the pain it caused. She placed them on the floor under the table before gently sliding off her socks. Natalia noticed cuts and blisters all over her feet from where the boots had rubbed so badly against them as she had walked.

  They were also starting to turn a bluish shade as well, which wasn't a good sign. Natalia hoped the hot water helped fix the problem, if not she didn't know what she was going to do.

  Natalia gingerly placed her feet in the water to help warm them up and get the blood flowing, as well as clean some of the cuts. Thankfully, as her feet began to warm up, she started to get some feeling back in them.

  Opening one of the bottles of water she had found, Natalia gulped it down as she leaned back, relaxing into the chair. It wasn't exactly the life of luxury, but it sure beat the hell out of sleeping rough in a freezing cold cave for another night.

  Placing the bottle on the table , she closed her eyes and rolled her head to stretch the tense muscles in her neck and then did the same for her shoulders. The feeling in her feet was returning with a vengeance. Pain radiated from her toes and the balls of her feet, through her arches to her heels.

  Bending down she gently scrubbed them clean, and then lifted them out of the water to dry them off. Before she pulled on a clean and dry pair of socks, she rubbed antiseptic cream into all the cuts and wrapped them in bandages.

  Natalia bit her lip as the cream caused the open wounds to sting. She would rather put up with this slight pain than deal with an infection later on if she did nothing to prevent it now.

  Pushing the bowl to one side when she was finished, Natalia then stood and made her way to the bedroom. After the last few days of getting little to no sleep at all, she was more than ready to get a good night’s sleep.

  Settling for the first bed she came to. Natalia pulled out her blanket and pillow from her satchel, she laid them out on the bed before grabbing the pile of blankets that were folded neatly on the top bunk and doing the same with them.

  Natalia didn't go anywhere without her blanket. It didn't matter that it was old and tatty because her mother had made it for her when she was little, so no matter what it looked like, she would always keep it.

  She lifted the blankets to climb underneath them, then curled up on her side. Not long after her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Taredd

  Taredd waited in his hiding spot until late the following night, but not once did he see any other Humans coming or going. Even the female from the night before hadn't shown herself again. In fact, other than the local wildlife, he hadn't seen another living being in the area the entire time he had been sat there.

  When the sun had set, and night had shrouded the area in darkness, he decided it was time to make his move. Taredd made sure to keep the entrance in his sights at all times as he searched the ground for anything he might have missed the night before. Once he was completely satisfied there wasn't anything else to find, he walked back over to the entrance.

  As he inspected the area more closely, Taredd didn't see any peepholes of any kind. How the Humans expected to know if it was safe to leave or not without something to look out of was beyond him. That would be one of the first things he did if he was in their shoes.

  He checked around the circular disk for a latch of some kind, that might be keeping it locked. When he didn't find any, he tested the handle. It was easier than he had expected to lifted up the hatch, but he should have known it wouldn't be too difficult. It was a Human hideout and they were a lot weaker than the rest of the species.

  Apart from the light shining down and a slight squeaking of the hinges as he opened it, there was no other indication that anyone else was here. Taredd listened intently for any sounds that were coming from down below before he opened the hatch wide enough for him to fit through.

  When he didn’t hear anything, he laid the hatch on the ground and inspected the tunnel that lead down. There was a metal ladder sticking out on one side of the entrance, and Taredd could see a tunnel leading away.

  There was no light coming from anywhere inside the tunnel that he could see, but that meant nothing. There could still be a bunch of Humans hiding out inside, or at least the female he had spotted the other day. If she wasn't down here, then he didn't have a clue where the fuck she had disappeared to, but he was certainly going to find out where she was hiding.

  Knowing Taredd's luck, she was probably going to be the Human Arun would find if she wasn't down there. If that did turn out to be the case, then there was no way in hell he was going to tell either Arun or Dain that he spotted her first.

  He would never hear the end of it from either of them that a Human female had escaped from him. Not only losing the bet to Arun, but to also let a Human... especially a female one... slip through his fingers would be the ultimate humiliation.

  With that thought in mind, Taredd quietly lowered himself into the tunnel and descended the ladder.

  ***

  He was coming in.

  Natalia could hear the hatch to the bunker as it was opened and froze at the sound, unsure whether to run or hide. Not that there was anywhere she could run to. For that matter, there wasn't exa
ctly many places she could hide in here either. The only thing she could do was to find a cupboard or something that was big enough for her to fit inside.

  That was easier said than done when there was only a handful of cupboards, none of which were big enough for her to fit inside, a child maybe, but definitely not an adult.

  Natalia just hoped that he turned out to be a stupid monster that didn’t look in every nook and cranny. If he did, then there was no doubt she would be found, and easily since the only place she could hide was under one of the beds.

  After all, this entire bunker was supposed to be their hiding place. They didn't expect the monsters to find them down here, but in hindsight they probably should have prepared for it anyway. They should have known that it was only a matter of time before their hiding places were exposed. They were lucky to have lasted this long without it being found.

  Natalia never thought in her wildest dreams that she would be the one responsible for giving away their location. If anything, Natalia thought it would have been Bella that ultimately gave it away. But no, it appeared it was going to be her fault, and now she had to deal with the consequences of her actions.

  With her hiding choices limited to either behind the sofa or under the bed, Natalia didn't hold out much hope of not being found. The bunker only had three rooms, one of which was a bedroom with a couple of built-in bunk beds. The largest was the living space which had a table and chairs, and a small kitchen area with a couple of small cupboards.

  The only other room in the place was the washroom, a tiny little room with a toilet and sink. It was barely big enough to stand up and turn around in that room. So, the only place big enough for her to fit, and didn't involve her moving furniture around, was under one of the beds.

  So, she was well and truly up shit creek without a paddle. There was no way in hell he was going to come down here and not find her. She might as well save them both some time and just hand herself over to him now, but she wasn't going to make it that easy for him.