You Can Run, But...

Aliana hid anxiously in the abandoned cabana beside the shore, listening to the calming lapping of the waves almost in time with her stuttering breaths. The structure was dark, with only hints of silvery moonlight streaming in through broken wooden shutters over the shattered windows. She kept waiting, waiting for Chimera to track her down like a predator in the night. She knew he was a master hunter, capable of finding his prey wherever they may hide, but it was the only hope she had right now. If she was lucky, Siren and the pups would demand all of his attention enough for her scent trail to have dissipated or been masked by the salt air enough that it might buy her some time to make a break for the mainland to find some more contraceptive herbs.

That was what Ali was trying to buy time for. The plants they'd brought from Ibon had lost their flowers and leaves, leaving them with living but barren plants until they took root in the new soil and began producing the medicines she needed. Ali had done all she could to rush the cultivation of the plants, but they hadn't flowered in time before her heat had begun. She had only a couple of days worth of preserved herbs, and knowing how insatiable Chimera's lust was, she knew it wouldn't be nearly enough, not enough to last her until the living plants began producing. She needed more time.

Unfortunately for the clouded fae, time was the one commodity she did not have any more of. She was hiding in the small bedroom when she heard the door to the cabana smash inward, drawing a squeaking yelp from the young woman. Ali nearly tumbled off the old bed, scrambling to the opposite side while Chimera stalked into the old building. The monochrome fae cowered, trying to keep the bed between them for space while she tried to reason with Chimera, hoping that her pheromone-laced perfume hadn't rendered him immune to discussion. "Chimera! C-Chimera, please, wait!" she begged of him, aqua eyes wide with fright and voice quivering. She kept her body low, submissive, ears folded and tail tucked between her legs. "We don't have enough contraceptives grown yet! If you don't stop, you know what will happen!" She would undoubtedly end up pregnant, fat and with a belly full of his pups, just like Siren and Viper. The nightmares she'd had about the slavers returned to her memory, and the screams of Siren in delivery still rang in her ears.

She tried to be diplomatic with the brute, hoping he would have some semblance of sanity still within him. As he drew closer, she waited as he rounded the edge of the bed, then leaped with all her speed and agility she could muster over the bed, diving across it to the other side to keep some barrier between them. "I belong to you! I do, I know it, and I promise you I'm not refusing it! But the pack... We can't handle another litter. I'm begging you to wait a few days, at least until the silphium blooms. Please, think! " Aliana glanced towards the open door. She didn't know if she could outrun Chimera or not, but if she stayed, she knew what outcome would follow. She didn't want to run though. She didn't want to be afraid of Chimera—but her king's new fetish for breeding his faes had her panicked.

Drawing up all the courage she required, Aliana made a bolt for the door. She rushed out of the bedroom, heading for the front door Chimera had smashed open. In the dark, she could only see the moonlight in the door. She didn't see the old rug across the worn floorboards until her scrambling paws got caught up in it. She yelped as she tumbled across the floor, legs scattered in every direction. She tried to recover and get moving again as fast as possible, but would it be quick enough to evade the lecherous brute pursuing her?

"Aliana"