Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
* * *
A teasing sensation of excitement and fear slithered through Daisy’s belly. They were giving her an out. But an out of what, exactly?
Words popped from the text. Hunters. Tributes. Physical interactions. Hunt. What the hell was this?
* * *
SECTION III: MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS
* * *
All tributes must submit to the following screenings prior to The Feast: complete blood panel, STI screening, pregnancy test, physical examination, and psychological evaluation.
* * *
Upon arrival, all tributes will receive a mandatory contraceptive injection effective for ninety days. No exceptions.
* * *
Her brain stuttered to a stop. Contraceptive? Was this about sex?
Things started to click. They were demanding protection because there was something the tributes needed to be protected from.
The hunters.
* * *
SECTION IV: HUNTER PRIVILEGES & TRIBUTE OBLIGATIONS
* * *
Her stomach flipped. This was it. The fine print beneath the fairytale.
Her gaze returned to the timer at the top of the screen, and she sucked in a breath.
* * *
01:28:01
01:28:00
01:27:59
* * *
She read quickly, hoping speed might make what she was reading less shocking. It didn’t.
* * *
THE CHASE: Tributes agree to be pursued across the designated grounds from dusk until dawn. Hunters may track, follow, corner, and capture tributes using any non-violent means.
* * *
CAPTURE: A tribute is considered “captured” when physically apprehended by a Hunter for sixty continuous seconds. Upon capture, the tribute enters the Hunter’s possession until released or until the tribute employs the safeword.
* * *
RESTRAINT: Hunters may employ physical restraint, including pinning, holding, binding of wrists and ankles, and the use of bondage.
* * *
INTIMATE CONTACT: Upon capture, Hunters may initiate intimacy, including kissing, touching, fondling, oral contact, digital penetration, and sexual intercourse at whatever degree of intensity the hunter deems desirable. All intimacy must cease immediately upon use of the safeword.
* * *
“Jesus.” Her heart was racing, and her mouth had gone completely dry.
Her phone had grown hot in her hands. She forced herself to exhale. She didn’t know what was more shocking, the terms or the fact that something so depraved could exist at all.
This feast wasn’t a dinner party. It was a hunt. An actual hunt, where she would be the prey, chased through darkness by wealthy strangers who had paid for the privilege of catching her.
And if they caught her...
She shivered and threw her phone onto the bed.
She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t give herself to a stranger—let alone several. She’d never even given herself to a friend.
How many were there? Who organized such a thing? The depravity of it all was dizzying.
Her tooth throbbed as she massaged her jaw, but found no relief.
A million pounds…
Her stare snagged on the box holding her mother’s ashes. The thought of doing what they described was unthinkable. Her imagination simply couldn’t fathom such an experience. But could she do twenty more years of this? Could she accept a lifetime of feeding sheets through machines? That she could picture, with all of its mundane, unrewarding misery.
She chewed her lower lip. The safeword anchored her thoughts. Her mind kept coming back to the safeword, the way her tongue returned to her aching tooth.
Reluctantly, she reached for her phone and continued reading.
* * *
SECTION V: GROUNDS & BOUNDARIES
* * *
The Hunt will take place on a private estate comprising approximately 200 acres. Designated safe zones will be marked with green lanterns. The Hunt begins at sunset and ends at sunrise. Tributes still uncaptured at sunrise will receive their full participation payment of £1,000,000.
Sunset to sunrise. Twelve hours. Two hundred acres. That was a lot of ground. If she found good hiding spots, stayed mobile, and avoided the obvious paths, she might survive the night without being caught.
They said the million pounds was for participating. A capture resulted in more. If she participated…
A million pounds…
Her brain couldn’t envision such a sum.
She continued to read. Her eyes roamed over pages and pages of terms in what seemed like an unending and very well-thought-out agreement. The sheer detail made her believe this sort of twisted event had happened before. She considered the other women who might have had the courage to go through with such a crazy request. She wasn’t sure if she could be that kind of woman.
A million pounds…
With less than twenty minutes left, she read the final section.
SECTION VI: CONFIRMATION OF UNDERSTANDING
* * *
By signing below, you affirm that you have read and understood all terms, consent freely to participate in The Hunt as a Tribute, and accept responsibility for your own experience while acknowledging the safeguards in place.
Upon submission, a good-faith deposit will be transferred to your designated account immediately.
With only a few minutes left to decide, she tried to make up her mind. Her brain was on overload. Her choice could be a life-altering decision—or not.
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Questions flooded her mind, filling her head in a deafening roar as she searched desperately for answers that didn’t exist. How was she supposed to make up her mind in such a state?