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

  If he thought for one second that she was going to go down without a fight, then he was sorely mistaken. Natalia was going to go out fighting if it came to it, she didn't stand a hope in hell of winning, but she certainly wasn't going to go down quietly.

  It would be fantastic if she could take out one of the monsters at the same time, but that was highly unlikely. Even if she did know how to fight, she still wouldn't be able to take out one of them, even the weakest of their kind were too strong for her to take on.

  If entire armies of Humans with a multitude of weapons that were readily available couldn't defeat them, then what could a single woman on her own with nothing but a knife do to them? Absolutely fuck all, that was the answer. Maybe piss them off a bit, but there was no way she could cause them any harm.

  Natalia raced into the bedroom when she heard him begin to descend the ladder. Laying down next to the bed furthest away from the door, she shuffled as quickly and quietly as she could across the floor until she was pressed up as tightly against the wall.

  Staying as still and silent as possible, she listened to his footsteps as he moved around in the other room.

  Shit!

  Natalia remembered that she had left the bowl of water next to the chair. That was bound to be a dead giveaway someone had been staying here, and recently as well. She could have kicked herself if it wouldn't have given away her position.

  Trust her to leave shit lying around, and trust her to be the one that finally showed the monsters how and where they had been hiding from them for all these years. If Natalia ever got herself out of this position, she swore to be a better, kinder, and more considerate person.

  Natalia sucked in a breath when the door opened and he walked in.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Taredd

  Taredd didn't waste any time in climbing to the bottom of the ladder. He didn't know what to expect when he reached the bottom, but it certainly wasn't a small room the shape of a tin can.

  How anybody in their right mind managed to stay down here without going stir crazy was beyond him. No air flowed through, and there was very little natural light that reached this far down. Luckily enough he found a light switch just inside the room, but the tunnel between the entrance at the top of the ladder and this room there was nothing except what shone through the open grate.

  There was hardly any furniture in this room, which was a good thing since it wasn't the largest of spaces. What passed as their kitchen area, was just three cupboards and a work top, that was it. The only other items in the room, was a small table with a couple of chairs dotted round it and a ratty looking sofa and arm chair.

  What caught Taredd's attention the most though, was the bowl of water on the floor just under the table next to one of the chairs. He wondered why someone would feel the need to put a bowl of water there, they must have a good reason for it, but he couldn't think of a single thing.

  There was another door at the opposite end of the room from the stairs. Intrigued to know what was on the other side of the door, Taredd didn't hesitate to open it and find out.

  This room wasn't much better than the other. It was a similar size and shape, but the only things in here were beds... and not very large ones at that. Taredd would have a hard time fitting on one of these beds, they looked more suited to children than adults. He had to admit though, that Humans were shorter than any of the other species.

  Taredd didn't know how many Humans stayed down here at any given time, but there were only eight beds, stacked in twos on either side of the room. If there were any more than that, did that mean they slept on the floor?

  To be honest, Taredd wouldn't want to stay down here with just two people, let alone eight or more. It was probably because he was a good foot and a half taller than most of the Humans he has come across, but it was way too small in here for his liking. Even if he was shorter, he wouldn't want to stay down here for any longer than necessary.

  It was cold and dirty down here, plus it made him feel as if he was in a can of food. Why on earth anyone would want to live in these conditions was beyond him.

  Taredd wondered if the Human female was in fact down here. She wasn't in either of the rooms as far as he could see, and there weren’t many other places she could hide. There was only one other door in the place that he hadn't look inside of yet, but he wasn't holding his breath that she was in there either.

  As soon as he opened the door, he knew for sure that he had assumed right. The size of a small cupboard, the only things in this room were a toilet and sink. Definitely not a hiding space. So, unless there was a secret passage that he hasn't found, then there was no place down here to hide. Which meant he has spent nearly two days hanging around for nothing when he could have been looking elsewhere.

  No, she had to be here somewhere, there was nowhere else she could have gone. He knew that for sure because he had searched the area and the only footprints, he had found of hers were right next to the entrance to this place. He hadn't found any other tracks than the ones that lead him to here, so she must be around here somewhere. There had to be something he was missing, but what was it?

  Taredd walked back into the other room and followed his footsteps back to the ladder so he could check that there wasn't anything he had missed, but there was nothing. No secret hatch, latch, or anything.

  Going back into the bedroom, he moved further into the room this time and was about to check under the beds. As he neared the far end of the room, he heard the slightest sound of movement coming from under one of the beds. If he hadn't been listening intently, he could have easily missed it, but luckily enough he had been.

  "Hmm, looks like there’s nobody home," he said aloud. "I suppose I best get going, there's no point in wasting any more time here."

  Taredd had no intention of leaving the underground hovel, but he wanted the person under the bed to think he was. So, turning on his heels he quickly vacated the room, remembering to shut the door again as he left.

  As he made his way over to the ladder, he didn't try to be quiet because he wanted her to hear him and think he was leaving. When he reached the ladder, he noisily climbed up the steps. Half way up he changed direction, but he made it appear as if he was still leaving.

  By the time he reached the bottom again he was barely making any sound at all. As far as the female was concerned, she would think he was no longer down here with her.

  Sneaking back over to the bedroom door, he stood to one side and waited patiently for the female to crawl out from under the bed and exit the room.

  It didn't take as long as he expected before he could hear movement coming from the room. It was only a matter of time before she was going to step out of there to see if the coast was clear. He was ready to pounce when she did.

  The door slowly crept open, and as he had assumed, the female from the day before stepped out. Without hesitating, Taredd pounced. Grabbing her by the shirt, he swiftly pulled her off her feet and threw her to the ground. Using his body to pin her in place so she couldn't escape, not that she would get very far with him chasing after her, but still, he wasn't willing to risk her disappearing on him again.

  Unlike last time though, she only had one place she could go and he was more than capable of stopping her before she even came close to reaching the ladder.

  "I have you now, little Human," he told her.

  "Get off me, you monster!" She shouted as she squirmed underneath him.

  "Fight as much as you like, you're not getting away from me again," he told her.

  "Of course not with you laying on top of me, you great fucking lump," she snapped. "Do you weigh a ton, or what?"

  Taredd laughed. He couldn't help it, because she had a lot of fire for a Human.

  "I'm not that heavy," he said. "You would know about it if I was."

  Most of the ogres weighed more than a tonne, and Taredd had seen first-hand what a Human looked like after one had sat on them. It wasn't a pretty sight.

  "Well,
you're heavy enough to limit my breathing," she said, trying in vein to push him off her.

  "If I was limiting your breathing, then you wouldn't be talking now, would you?" he said.

  "Smart arse," she mumbled.

  "Why, thank you," he said smugly.

  "That wasn't a compliment," she said adamantly. "Just get off me, already."

  "Nope," he said, shaking his head. "I can't do that because you'll try to run away."

  "Well, of course,” she said. “I'm not just going to stand still and let you kill me, am I? Why would I make it easier on you?"

  "I'm not going to kill you." That got her attention, and she instantly stopped struggling.

  "Why not?" she asked, perplexed.

  "Because then I'd have to carry you," he said honestly.

  Yeah, on hindsight he probably shouldn't have told her that because as soon as the last word left his mouth, she started struggling to get away from him again.

  "Just stop already," he told her. "You're not going to get me off you like that."

  "Well, I'm certainly not going to go anywhere with you willingly," she said. "If that's what you think, then you're sorely mistaken."

  "That's exactly what I think, and that's exactly what's going to happen,” he told her. “Whether you like it or not."

  Stopping again, she asked: "Why?"

  "Why what?" he asked.

  "Why do you need me to go with you?” she asked. “Why aren't you going to kill me straight away like your kind normally does?"

  "Because..."

  "Because what?" she prompted when he didn't continue.

  Taredd wasn't sure if to tell her the truth, or to lie to her. Either way, he didn't think she was going to like the answer, so he decided on the truth.

  "Because I have a bet going with my friends," he told her blatantly.

  "What? Is it on who's a better killer?" she asked sarcastically.

  "No, it's nothing like that," he said.

  "Then like what?" she asked.

  "Who can catch a Human the quickest." Saying it out loud like that made it sound pretty stupid, but what else could he say? It was something to do to pass the time, and at the end of the day it wasn't even his idea.

  "Congratulations to you if you're the winner. I would clap but... my hands are kinda stuck at the moment,” she said sarcastically.

  "Oh, it will be me," he said confidently.

  "Big headed or what."

  Taredd couldn't see her face from this position, but he could just imagine that she was rolling her eyes when she said that.

  "I'm not big headed. I'm honest," he said.

  "Yeah, right," she said, and again he could picture her rolling her eyes.

  "I'm telling the truth," he told her. "I am a better hunter than he is. So, it's not being big headed, it's stating a fact."

  "If it's a fact, then why do you have a bet going with him in the first place?" she asked.

  "For entertainment, why else?"

  She was silent for a moment before finally saying: "So, because you and your buddy are bored, you thought it would be a good idea to hunt down my kind?"

  "Something like that, yes," he admitted.

  "Great, just great."

  "What else would you have us do?" he asked.

  "Well, not kill my kind would be a great start."

  "I already told you, I'm not going to kill you."

  "Yet, anyway," she countered.

  After another moments silence, he asked: "Are you going to try running away as soon as I get up?"

  "Yes," she said without hesitation.

  "Why?" he asked. "You know I'll just catch you again."

  "Because..."

  "Because what?" he asked when she didn't finish this time.

  "Why do you think?" she asked him, but before he could answer her, she added "Because I don't want to die."

  "What if I promised that you wouldn't die?"

  Taredd didn't know why he said that, it wasn't something he has ever said to a Human before. But then, he's never spoken to a Human this much before either. So, it appeared it was going to be a day of firsts all around for him.

  "You would promise that?" she asked.

  "Yes," he said.

  "But... why?" she asked, confused.

  "Because I can." Taredd didn't know why, so he couldn't give her any other answer.

  She thought about it for a moment before she replied: "Okay, I won't run."

  "Do you promise?"

  Huffing out a breath, she said: "Yes, I promise I won't run away from the monster, just like a good little girl."

  "I'm not a monster," he told her. "I'm a Demon."

  "And that's supposed to make it better?" she asked.

  "Yes."

  "Well, it doesn't," she said. "So, are you going to get off me then, or what?"

  "Of course," he said but he still didn't budge right away.

  He wasn't completely convinced that she wasn't going to try to escape, even with her promising not to he still didn't totally believe her.

  "Well? Come on then, get the fuck off me," she said, trying to roll him off her. "I wasn't joking when I said you were fucking heavy."

  "Fine, but don't run," he told her again.

  "I already said I wouldn't, didn't I?"

  Taredd didn't believe her for one moment, but he still climbed off her. Once on his feet, Taredd held out his hand for her to take, but she swatted it away.

  "About bloody time," she said, climbing to her feet and brushing herself off.

  Taredd couldn't help but smile. For such a small thing, she had a lot of fire in her, and that impressed the hell out of him.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Natalia

  Natalia couldn't believe it. How the hell did she manage to get herself caught by possibly the only Demon in the world who has ever promised not to kill a Human?

  She was positive that he had planned to kill her in the beginning, but then changed his mind. But why? Was it just because he couldn't be bothered carrying her dead body to prove to his friends that he had in fact caught one of her kind?

  Natalia didn't know the answer to any of the questions floating around in her mind, but then again, she didn't really care what the reason was either. At the end of the day, if he wasn't going to kill her, then she wasn't going to complain about it.

  The question now was, were his friends going to do the killing for him? Was that the real reason he wasn't going to kill her? If that's what he planned, then he could think again. As far as she was concerned, he promised she wouldn't die, and that meant by his friends’ hands as well.

  "You don't have to look so smug about it,” she told him.

  "I don't look smug," he said.

  "Of course, you do. Otherwise your face wouldn't be doing that," she said, pointing her finger at his lips… his kissable lips.

  Whoa, where did that come from? Natalia thought as she mentally slapped herself.

  Nothing about him was kissable, he was a monster through and through, and she had to remember that.

  "Are you saying that I'm not allowed to smile?" he asked, still grinning at her.

  "That's exactly what I'm saying, especially if that's what you call a smile," she told him.

  If for no other reason than to keep her own sanity, because god that smile affected her more than she cared to admit. It was a mix of saint and sinner, tempting her to lean in for a taste.

  Natalia gave herself a mental slap. How she could find a Demon attractive she didn’t know, but there was something about this one that got her all hot and bothered, and it had nothing to do with him pinning her to the floor a moment ago.

  Well, I could blame it on lack of sleep, she thought. Maybe I banged my head somewhere along the line and just didn’t realize.

  Now she was grasping at straws and she knew it, but she wasn’t prepared to accept that she found a Demon attractive, even if it was just to herself.

  "Of course it's a smile, what else would it be?" he la
ughed.

  "Looks more like a smirk to me," she lied, because there was no way in hell, she was going to admit the truth.

  "Well, you obviously haven't seen many smiles in your life before, then."

  "There's not really much to smile about when you're constantly on the run for your life, now is there?" she asked.

  "Yeah, I suppose you haven't had much to smile about, have you," he said, finally dropping the smile from his face.

  Natalia had a really weird feeling that she had just upset him, but the weirdest thing about it was she wanted to take it back so he would smile at her again. But that was just plain stupid.

  Why on earth should she care if she hurt his feelings or not? After all, his kind - and even he - openly hunted and killed her kind and they didn't give a shit if they hurt anyone’s feeling, so why should she?

  "So, where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

  She didn't want to look too deeply into why hurting his feelings affected her so much, so it was safer just to think about something else instead.

  "I don't know yet," he told her.

  "You don't know where your friends are?" she asked.

  "No."

  "So, what? We're just going to wonder around until we find them?" she asked. When he nodded his head, she added: "No wonder you didn't want to carry me the whole time."

  "It shouldn't take too long to find them," he said.

  "Do you even know where to start looking?" she asked with a raised brow.

  "I have a rough idea of which direction they went in," he said.

  "At least that's something, I suppose," she said.

  Not only that, but the further they had to travel to reach his friends, the more opportunities Natalia would have to escape him. Because even though she promised not to, that was the first thing she was going to do the first chance she got.

  "Let’s go then," he said.

  "It's dark outside."

  "And?"

  Shaking her head, she said: "I don't know about you, but I can't see very well in the dark, so I'm not going anywhere until morning."

  "I don't think you understand," he told her. "I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. We are leaving now, and we will travel for as long as I say."