This is part of a scene from Moonstruck Consent, book 4 of NTSR, which features vampires, angels, demons, werewolves, vaewolves and other vae breeds.
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Gravel sprayed behind me as I pelted along the side of the cottage, then I was on firm ground, grateful that nobody had taken my boots away. I darted through the trees, staggering sideways into an enormous trunk when I tripped on a root, but I never stopped. Not for the tangled branches reaching for my hair. Not for the bushes springing into being in the flashes of moonlight. And not for the stinging presence of acrid bonfire smoke in my nostrils. I tried to count the seconds in my head, but my heart was beating so fast it threw my rhythm off. There was no sound behind me, not yet.
I didn’t remember that we dodged the security lights until I reached the tree line. I lurched to the side, but I needn’t have worried; Scarth had thought of that too. All the lights were all out. I surged forward. There was no sign of anyone lurking, no movement, nothing. The huge house was almost swallowed in the darkness, but vertical sticks of light shone through gaps in the curtains. The place must’ve had a thousand windows. I was halfway between the tree line and the house, my eye on the door, when I saw the fire blazing far off to the left. The idea that someone had set the fire as a diversion, that maybe someone was finally here to rescue me was cut off when I heard the dreaded pounding behind me.
My legs burned, but I kept moving. Four seconds to tear off a leg. My heart surged into my throat. Eight seconds to rip out a heart. A huge body crashed through the trees behind me, a triumphant growl escaping its jaws. I knew the moment it cleared the trees because my heart pounded in time with its thundering gait. It was so close, but so was I. I grabbed the door handle, flung the door open, but before I got both feet inside, a huge body slammed mine into the wall.
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