Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 335

The pain in Ruby’s hands cut through the haze in her mind, jolting her awake. She remembered something she’d seen on a nature show once—most animals are afraid of fire.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself upright and dug a lighter out of her pocket. She grabbed a handful of twigs and flicked the lighter, her hands trembling. By some miracle, the flame caught in just a few tries. The wild dog’s amber eyes locked onto the fire for a few tense seconds, then it turned and bolted back into the darkness.

Ruby didn’t dare relax. She tossed the burning twigs to the ground and grabbed whatever she could reach—leaves, branches, even bits of moss—and threw them into the growing fire.

If she wanted to survive, she couldn’t let the fire die.

Just before she’d left, that man in the mask had told her, “If you want to live, don’t take off the camera.”

Sniffling, Ruby crawled over and retrieved the camera she’d dropped. She didn’t know if it was broken. As she picked it up, her dirty, tear-streaked face stared right into the lens.

On the other side of the screen, Mogan had been watching for a while. Suddenly, the face on the monitor overlapped with a memory he’d tried to bury. His breath caught.

That face…

Ruby clipped the camera back onto her jacket, then went to gather more sticks, carefully tending the flames. The fire lit up the circle around her, and the warmth seeped into her bones, making the fear a little easier to bear.

Sitting by the fire, feeding it steadily, she tried to think. The flames kept most animals away, but she couldn’t stay here forever. Fire was only a temporary shield. What if something wasn’t afraid of it? She was still in danger.

Ruby frowned, searching for a plan. A thought flickered in her mind—those weren’t just wild dogs. They were jackals, pack animals, experts at hunting together.

Almost as if they’d heard her thoughts, she looked up to see several pairs of reddish-brown eyes glowing in the darkness around her.

Not just one. There were several.

Her blood ran cold.

The leader was the biggest, its mouth open to reveal a row of razor-sharp teeth. It stalked toward her, eyes locked on its prey.

Ruby couldn’t move. She knew this was it—there was no way out. Strangely, she didn’t cry. She only whispered, barely loud enough to hear, “Goodbye, Mom…”

The jackal crouched, muscles tensed, then leapt.

BANG!

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