Ravenous (Book 1, The Ravening Series)

by Erica Stevens

  ***

  It was falling over in the water that jolted me awake. I was disoriented and confused by my surroundings. Bolting upright, I splashed and crashed about in the water as I wiped the wet hair from my face. Blinking away the water clinging to my lashes I swiftly looked around the darkening woods. I didn't know how long I'd been sitting in the stream, but the sun was lower, and I was freezing and starting to resemble a raisin. My skin was covered with at least fifty red welts from the mosquito's dancing over the water.

  I shakily rose to my feet, wincing as the softened pads of them landed upon the rocks. I made my way out of the stream, teetering like a newborn foal as I tried to avoid the more jagged looking rocks. I rang my hair out when I reached the shore. The last thing I felt like doing was putting my filthy clothes back on. Unfortunately I didn't have any other options.

  I slipped the smelly clothing back on and shuddered at the feel of it against my skin. Now that my skin was clean, the smell of them was even more repulsive as it engulfed me. I didn't care if it was wrong or not, as soon as night fell I was going to search out some clean clothes. I was certain the owners of them would understand; if they were still alive they were probably looking for the same thing.

  I groaned in disgust as I slipped the dirty socks back on and shoved my feet into my sneakers. "Feel better?"

  I stumbled backwards and nearly fell over as the voice came from the edge of the woods. It took me some time to find Cade half hidden within the shadows of the day. "How long have you been there?" I demanded, trying to control the accelerated beat of my heart as I thought about what he might have seen.

  He shrugged, which was a highly annoying gesture that caused my jaw to clench. "Not long." His voice was causal, his posture almost indolent as his eyes perused me. He moved with the stealthy grace of a hunting tiger as he came toward me. I clung to my annoyance, even as my pulse began to escalate and a strange tingling filtered into my fingertips. Even dirty and disheveled he was gorgeous and a little overwhelming. I took a step back, struggling to breathe normally as he approached.

  "I didn't see anything if that's what you're worried about."

  It seemed he was taking pity on me as he uttered these words. I didn't want his pity, and I didn't want him looking at me like I was a child. I already got enough of that from Bret. "Good."

  "Bethany..."

  "We should get back. It's getting late."

  I turned away as I tried to retain my remaining shreds of dignity. He grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me back. A small cry escaped me but it was buried beneath the press of his lips. Even though I was frozen in place, my instant physical reaction to him was startling in its intensity. I knew I should pull away, this was completely wrong, but I couldn't find the strength to do so. He cradled my cheeks as he pulled me closer to him. For the first time I began to feel safe, for the first time I didn't hurt and I wasn't terrified. In his arms I felt as if there was no one else in the world, but us.

  His lips brushed against mine, just a butterfly caress, before he reluctantly pulled away. His forehead rested against mine, his fingers stroked my cheeks. I didn't want the moment to ever end, didn't ever want to part from him, but I had to. We had to.

  "Why are you doing this?" I whispered.

  His eyes deliberately surveyed my face. "Isn't it obvious?" I shook my head. He sighed as his lips brushed over mine again. Heat pooled through me once more, my heart beat a rapid staccato I was sure he could hear. "It should be."

  "But, Bret..." He didn't move away from me, as I'd thought he would at the reminder of my boyfriend. "Bret's a good person."

  "He is."

  "He loves me."

  "This has nothing to do with him Bethany."

  "But it does." I closed my eyes, unable to meet the stark candor of his gaze.

  "I'll tell him if you want."

  My mouth dropped as my eyes flew open. "That's not what I want!" I blurted. I didn't want Bret to know anything about this. It would be such a huge weight off my chest, such a giant burden taken from me to tell him about my infidelity. However, I wasn't going to upset Bret simply to ease my conscious. A part of me yearned to let this out so badly I almost wept at the joyous thought of it.

  "Then what do you want? I'll give you anything you ask for, just tell me." His voice was raspy with desire.

  My throat was clogged with tears for him, for Bret. I didn’t intend to hurt Cade either, but I knew I was. "I don't know Cade. I don't even know what this is. I don't even know if we're still going to be alive tomorrow morning. I know that I don't want to hurt Bret, I just can't, he deserves better. We, all of us, are all we have right now. We have to trust each other in order to survive. Bret is a good guy, he loves me, and I can't betray his trust anymore than I already have."

  "He does love you." I hadn't expected Cade to say that he loved me too, but I hadn't expected such a nonchalant confirmation like the one he gave.

  "He deserves better."

  Cade frowned at me. "Than you?"

  I licked my lips as my anxious gaze darted toward the trees. His fingers slid over my face again. "Yes, he deserves far better than me. I'm so confused."

  "I'm not. There is nothing better than you."

  Before I could protest his statement he kissed me again. His arms were around me and I was no longer confused, I suddenly knew where I belonged. It was the oddest, most bewildering, and breathtaking feeling I'd ever experienced. How could I feel like this for someone I barely knew? How could this feel so right and good, when it would only hurt people?

  It was the sound of Cade's name being called that tore me away from him again. I was so ensnared in a cocoon of warmth and pleasure that thoughts weren't properly coalescing in my brain, but Cade was quick to recover. My eyes widened as a thunderous expression crossed his face. He cursed as he released me and stalked toward the forest as my name was called.

  "Jenna!" he snarled. "Jenna be quiet!"

  "Where are you? Is Bethany with you?" His eyes smoldered as they met mine again. I felt as if I was just seeing him for the first time, who was this person so undeniably angry over such a small thing? "Cade!"

  "Quiet!" he hissed, but it was too late. I heard the loud crunch of underbrush at the same time he did. I stared at Cade in horror, uncertain what to do. I wanted to bolt in a million different directions at once, but I didn't know which way was the safest one. "Run Jenna!"

  Then Cade was in front of me, grasping hold of my arms as he pulled me toward the woods. "Cade," I breathed.

  "Run Bethany. Run."

  I had picked my way carefully through all of the thorns on my way to the stream, now I dove into them with reckless abandon. I was scratched, bloodied and bruised but I didn't care as I shoved my way through the trees and vegetation. I thought I should try to go with a little more ease, but I was too terrified to slow down right now.

  I could hear Cade behind me, and although we were both traveling through the same crap, I was certain he was a thousand times quieter than me. My foot became entangled in a mess of briars, tripping me up. I cried out as I tumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap. Thorns tore into my flesh and dug into my palms.

  Cade grabbed hold of me and lifted me up swiftly. I turned to run again, but he held me back. Before I knew what was happening he was pushing me against a tree. "Climb," he breathed in my ear.

  I drew on all the things I had learned as a child as I pulled myself up the tree. I glanced back at Cade; he was rapidly scurrying up behind me as I moved higher and higher into the limbs of the giant oak. Then he was next to me, pressing me against the trunk of the tree. His breathing was loud in my ear; I could feel his heartbeat as he pressed flat against me.

  "Stay perfectly still."

  That was easier said than done as every part of my body was trembling from apprehension and exertion. I was frightened of what was coming, afraid of the unknown, and consumed with terror for my brother and sister. Cade wrapped his arms around me and flattened himself against me. I did
n't know where Jenna had gone; I prayed she was safe, that she’d heard the approaching danger also.

  "Jenna," I whispered.

  Cade rested his head in the hollow of my neck. "You're the only one who matters Bethy." My mouth dropped, he lifted his head to meet my disbelieving stare. The words were harsh, almost cruel in their detachment, but there was something heartwarming and reassuring in them that left me trembling and weak. "You've always been the only one who matters."

  Now how did I respond to that? How did anyone respond to that? I thought I should protest. I should tell him of course other people mattered, and always would. I thought these things, but I didn't say them, mainly because I was unreasonably pleased by the conviction behind his fervent words. My breath was robbed from me, I wasn't certain I was ever going to breathe right again.

  I thought he was going to kiss me, but his eyes slid away. The noise of the forest was getting closer; it seemed as if a herd of deer were tromping their way through. For a moment relief filled me, maybe it wasn't the aliens, maybe the wildlife was starting to move around again.

  Cade pressed me back when I tried to move away from the trunk of the tree. He shot me a look, his jaw clenched as he shook his head briskly. The muscles in his lean arms bulged as they constricted around me. Even now, terrified, bloody, and cornered, I felt myself reacting to him. He must have sensed a change in my breathing, or in my body, as his gaze slid back to me. Those eyes were dazzling, liquid pools of onyx that gleamed in the light filtering through the leaves.

  He leaned close to me, his lips pressed against my ear. I reveled in the feel of him, of the breath whispering over my skin. "I'm not confused Bethany," he whispered so softly I barely heard him. "I never have been."

  I shivered in response as the woods suddenly erupted with motion.