Wait," I gasp, forcing my body to still beneath him even as every nerve screams to fight or flee. My voice comes out shaky, almost pleading. "Thorne... please. Not like this. I want to talk first. Before we... you know." Playing along might buy me time.
The system is still dead silent, energy drained from all those failed shifts. No goat, no bird, no teleport. Just me, trapped in this wooden house with a giant who thinks I'm his prize.
He pauses, his massive frame hovering, those storm-cloud eyes narrowing with surprise and hunger. That low, creepy laugh rumbles through his chest again, vibrating against me. But he eases back a fraction, one hand still pinning my wrist while the other rests heavy on my hip. "Talk? My wild little wife wants words before the claiming?" He tilts his head, amused. "Fine, Elara. Speak. But don't think you can trick me. I smell your fear... and something else."
