Her lungs ached from the overuse—her feet throbbed as they bled weakly into the rough ground—her hands shook with fear—

He was coming.

She knew it, but was oh-so tired. Her eyes begged to be closed; her limbs cried out for rest. But she could not stop. Maybe she could never. All she knew was—

And there—

A branch—

A branch just snapped now, didn't it—

Before she could finish the thought, a cold, sweaty hand clamped onto her jaw, pulling it, twisting it so she could not speak even if she had to energy to.

The wolf tutted, as though he was disciplining a child. "Why the hide-and-seek, little rabbit?"

She didn't dare to look back. She should not. She would not. So the rabbit stilled herself, her limbs straining with the feeble power they had to push against the wolf's hold.

The wolf just sighed, and tightened his hold on her jaw, causing it to crack against the weight of his strength. When the rabbit groaned in pain, she felt him smile against her scalp.

"Well, this wasn't the exact fun that I thought we'd have. Shall we have another go, little rabbit?"

She shivered with the rush of excitement in her veins at his words. She knew she shouldn't—but she wanted to—she wanted him to chase her—to bite her neck and spill her blood—to make her scream while he laughed in ecstasy—

And he let her go—

A rush of adrenaline flowed through her—

She dashed, stumbling, before steadying herself into a more stable run—

Her jaw still her, but what did it matter? He'd done it several times before.

And he'll do it again for her.