The Mating Ritual Read Free Page A

she was frightened
and beyond exhausted. She couldn’t go on, and she knew she needed
to find a place to hide quickly.
    Toni turned to backtrack, but that’s as far
as she got. It was dark, but she could make out enough of an
outline to know that she was facing something big. A bear was her
first thought, but it seemed too big to be a bear. Then she
realized that whatever it was, was standing on two legs, which made
him appear even more threatening. She held her breath, fighting
down the scream that threatened to rise from her throat. When the
ominous shadow moved in her direction, she felt her knees buckle
and a crippling wave of terror overtake her. Before she could
decide or make a move, she heard a rustling, followed by feet
stomping on the ground coming toward them.
    “Come on, I think I heard her go this
way!”
    The dark shape her gaze had been riveted to
stopped abruptly and stepped quietly back into the shadows, just as
the bushes parted and the two men chasing her broke through. They
had flashlights, and stopped upon seeing her. She couldn’t make out
their expressions, but she could hear them panting and could well
imagine their sense of victory at finding her. An evil snicker was
all she heard as they began walking slowly toward her.
    When they were within inches of her Toni saw
movement behind them, and then everything was happening so fast.
The large silhouette moved quickly and silently up behind the two
men. Without hesitation it grabbed them by the back of their necks
and threw them over the bank with a gritty sound of force. She
gasped, hearing their screams diminish the further away they fell,
realizing that the ravine was deeper than she had first thought. A
distant splash that indicated at least one of them had hit
water.
    Toni stood frozen in fear, barely able to
breathe as the menacing shadow turned slowly back toward her. She
could just make out the glimmering reflection in his eyes. Oh
God, this isn’t happening! She swung around to jump, deciding
to take her chances in the river after all. But just as her feet
left the ground an arm encircled her waist, hauling her back
against a hard-as-granite body, while a large hand that smelled of
earth and something manly covered her mouth.
    The next thing Toni knew she was sinking into
a black abyss.

Chapter 2
     
     
     
    When Toni finally came to, she had no way of
knowing how long she’d been out. As she slowly regained
consciousness, she became aware that she was in some kind of cave,
lying on something that felt soft and furry. At first she thought
it was a dead animal. She jumped to her feet and moved away from
it, only to find that it was just an animal hide. Picking it up,
she examined it before wrapping it around her cold body.
    She glanced around the cave, wondering how
she’d got there, and then her memory returned. Where was he? That a
man had dragged her in there she had no doubts. She could tell the
cave went further back, she could see the flickering shadows
against the walls indicating some kind of lighting, but she wasn’t
about to go exploring. The loud sound of moving water reminded her
that she was still near the river. She turned toward the mouth of
the cave, walked to the edge, and glanced down. As far as she could
tell, it was the only way out of there.
    If she had jumped the night before she would
have killed herself. Nothing but boulders and large rocks lined the
steep incline down to the river. Something off to the side drew her
attention, and she gasped, recognizing one of the men that had been
after her. There was no question that he was dead. His twisted,
broken body was lying just inches from the river, his bloody face
and glazed, lifeless eyes were staring up at her. She shivered with
repulsion and searched around for his friend, until remembering
that she’d heard the sound of a splash.
    Her gaze shifted across the water to the
other side, wondering if he’d crossed the river or had been swept
away with the current.