Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

HEL

M y lungs sting as I tear through the dark woods out of pure panic from the numerous howls, the damn branches whipping at my face and arms.

I'd started my trek by following the mountain of stone carved into the woods, hoping it would bring me back around to the mansion, but with the darkness and the fact that I'm moving fast, I've lost track of the wall. And now I swear I'm lost.

The sound of my ragged breathing fills my ears while the distant howls of wolves have me moving faster. And all I can think about is how much I really hate Eve, how I don't think she sent me down the stairs by accident. She doesn't even know me, yet she pulled this stunt?

But I'm tenacious, and I'll return to the mansion for the simple act of confronting her.

The forest is a blur of shadows and moonlight, each tree looking like a potential predator ready to pounce. Roots seem to reach up from the ground, trying to snag my feet. I stumble, catching myself against the rough bark of a massive oak, using that second of rest to catch my breath. I really need to take up jogging and improve my fitness.

Just keep moving. Don't stop. Don't look back.

I push off from the tree, leaves crunching under my sneakers as I resume my frantic pace. The air is thick with the scent of earth and pine trees. Something rustles in the underbrush to my left, and I instinctively veer right, not wanting to find out if it's a harmless rabbit or something with far sharper teeth.

Suddenly, the woods spit me out as if I'm an unwanted morsel. I stumble, momentum carrying me forward onto a stone path that appears out of nowhere. My hands scrape against rough stone as I catch myself, preventing a face-first meeting with the ground. As I regain my balance, I realize I'm standing between two decayed stone walls, their jagged edges reaching toward the sky like broken teeth.

"Well, this isn't ominous at all," I murmur. The constant background noise of the forest, buzzing insects and rustling leaves, has disappeared, leaving behind a stillness that has my skin crawling.

I take a tentative step forward. The path stretches out before me, winding between what appear to be the ruins of an old settlement. Most of the buildings are little more than piles of rubble, but I can almost imagine what this place might have looked like when it was alive—people bustling about, children playing in the streets, the air filled with the sounds of life and laughter. It makes me wonder if it's back from the time of humans living here.

And now, it's a ghost town.

The Blood Moon might light up the darkness to a degree, but thank the gods for enhanced werewolf vision, or I'd be stumbling around like a drunk. As it is, I can see every crack in the stones, every blade of grass pushing its way through the ancient path.

I step farther into the town, my attention darting from side to side. It's a single long road, seeming to wind ahead into the gloom. The hair on my arms stands up. I've never been one to believe in ghosts, but if they exist, this place is definitely prime real estate for them.

"Okay, Hel," I whisper, needing to hear a human voice, even if it's my own. "This could be a good place to hide out until sunrise." Just find a cozy little ruin and settle in for the night. Easy-peasy.

As I start to wander down the curved road, I catch movement from the corner of my eye. I whip my head around, heart pounding, but there's nothing there. Just shadows. Right? Bats, perhaps?

"Get it together," I whisper under my breath, running a shaky hand through my hair. "Next thing you know, you'll be jumping at dust bunnies." I try to tell myself to stop talking, but hearing my voice calms me in the dark, and I've always talked to myself. Something Jarl hated about me… well, that and a hundred other things.

I continue on, trying to ignore the way the shadows seem to move when I'm not looking directly at them. The ruins loom on either side of me, some barely more than foundations, others still reaching the sky with broken walls and gaping windows.

Rubbing the chill out of my arms, I listen for any sounds, for anything to indicate that someone followed me here.

A sudden snap echoes from the woods behind me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. My heart, which had just started to slow down, kicks into overdrive again. Without thinking, I break into a run, pelting down the curving road. The wind picks up, whistling through the ruins and carrying with it the musty scent of decay.

Finally, I spot a building that's mostly intact, which is surprising given the state of everything else. It's a two-story structure, though the upper floor is partially missing, open to the sky. The forest has begun to claim this one, too, with small trees growing through cracks in the walls and grass threading its way along the path leading to the door.

Another snap from the woods has me moving closer to the house. I pause at the open doorway that yawns with darkness, my stomach churning with dread. Part of me screams that this is exactly the kind of place in which people die in horror stories I've heard, but it's a shelter, and right now, that's what I need most.

I step inside cautiously, the floorboards creaking faintly under my weight. The darkness is almost absolute at first. I freeze, letting my eyes adjust. The musty smell of old wood fills my nostrils, and I can taste dust on my tongue.

Silence.

Slowly, shapes begin to emerge from the gloom as my vision improves. Moonlight filters through the windows and the hole in the roof, casting long shadows across from the broken furniture that remains in what must have been the main room. The building is larger than it looked from outside, with three doorways at the back leading to who knows where.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe," I whisper, eyeing the doorways. "Catch a wolf by his toe. If he hollers, run like hell and hope you don't die." Not my best rhyme, but I'll cut myself some slack. I'm under a lot of stress here.

I take a cautious step forward, wincing at the loud creak of the floorboard. Another step and I choose the far-left doorway, passing through it. It's dark, but the holes in the ceiling and walls let enough moonlight in to help me see that I'm alone in another smaller room… maybe a kitchen once upon a time?

Creak.

My gaze darts around the room, trying to take in everything at once in case I missed someone standing in a corner. Was that movement? Just a shadow, surely.

Get a grip, Hel.

Something rolls under my foot on my next step, nearly sending me sprawling, my stomach lurching. I stare down to see what looks like an old bottle, its glass cloudy with age. I bend down to examine the bottle, more out of a need to do something than actual curiosity. As I straighten up, my blood runs cold.

I'm being watched. I can feel it in the shiver that zips up my spine.

"Who's there?" I say softly, immediately regretting it. Way to announce your presence to any psycho werewolves who might be around, genius.

Silence is my only answer, but it feels… expectant. Like the whole house is holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

I take a deep inhale, needing to calm my racing heart. Okay, maybe this wasn't such a great idea. Time to find somewhere else to?—

A loud groan of wood cuts me off, the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the main room. I freeze, my throat constricting. The darkness seems to press in around me, and after a long moment, I swear I can hear something breathing in the house.

Slowly, carefully, I creep back toward the main room. The slight creak of wood under my feet has me cringing. I reach the doorway and peer out.

Nothing.

The room remains empty, moonlight streaming in through the broken roof. The wind has picked up outside, though, thrashing the trees and whistling through the broken windows and door. That must have been what I heard. Just the wind. Just the house settling.

I let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through me.

A door slams somewhere in the house, the sound like a gunshot in the silence. I yelp, spinning around so fast I almost give myself whiplash.

"Hello?" I call out. "Look, if this is someone's idea of a joke, it's not funny. I've had a really long day, and I'm not in the mood for?—"

A hot breath rushes across the back of my neck suddenly.

I freeze.

Shaking.

Struggling to take in air.

Every muscle in my body tenses.

I'm about to pass out, my body shuddering in terror. Slowly, so slowly, I turn around.

But there's nothing there, only darkness. Yet I swear that's where I felt someone or something…

I turn back around, ready to leave this building, when I come face-to-face with a skull, almost glowing in the dim light.

"Boo!" he shouts.

I scream.

All logic flies out the window. It doesn't matter that my brain is telling me it's Ghost—my lizard brain has taken over, and it's screaming one thing: RUN!

I bolt, nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste to get out of the building. Terror leaches into my legs, spurring me on faster than I thought possible. I run blindly, not caring where I'm going as long as it's away from here.

Outside, the wind is blowing a blizzard, and the town blurs around me, ruins looming out of the darkness like grasping hands. The weather howls.

Fucking Ghost … Of course he'd pursue and scare me.

I chance a look behind me, trying to see if he followed me. In that moment of distraction, I nearly miss the intact building ahead of me.

Without thinking, I dart inside, drawing the door behind me without a sound. My chest heaves as I try to gasp for air, ears straining for any sound of pursuit. My hands are shaking hard, my teeth chattering.

I turn to the room, which is dark, but as my eyes adjust, I can make out the shapes of old furniture, covered in sheets that look like pale ghosts in the dim light.

Rushing forward, I leave behind the main room and try once more to find a place to hide. As the initial panic begins to fade, embarrassment and anger take its place.

Ghost . What a dick move!

"When I get my hands on him," I murmur, fists clenching at my sides. "I'm going to shove that mask so far up his?—"

A floorboard creaks behind me from deeper in the house.

I whirl around, fists raised, ready to give Ghost a piece of my mind. But the words die in my throat as I take in the scene before me.

This isn't Ghost.

A figure stands in the shadows, its form shifting and twisting in ways that defy reality. It's as if the darkness itself has come alive, taking on the vaguely humanoid shape of my dead husband.

Jarl.

I blink hard, certain my mind is playing tricks on me, but when I open my eyes, he's still there. Jarl, or something wearing his face, stands before me. He's translucent, edges blurring and shifting like smoke in the wind. His eyes, still cold and cruel like before.

He opens his mouth. No sound comes out, but I can almost hear the echoes of his voice in my head, the cutting words that used to tear me down day after day. His hand reaches out toward me, fingers elongating unnaturally, grasping at the air between us.

"Get away from me, you asshole," I manage to choke out. "You treated me like crap enough when you were alive. No way you get to come haunt me now. Don't you have some other poor Omega to torment in the afterlife?"

As he takes a step forward, I recoil, my heels hitting the wall behind me. A scream builds in my lungs. This can't be real. It can't be happening.

And then, nothing.

He's gone just like that.

I feel lightheaded and dizzy, and I'm darting into another room, still confused as to whether I actually saw a fucking apparition of my husband or if I had imagined it.

"What are you doing out here, sweetheart?"

I flinch hard at Ghost's deep, raspy voice coming from somewhere in the house… though he sounds like he's in the new room with me. I frantically search the darkness.

"Going somewhere?" he continues, yet it's as though his voice is coming from all around me. Must be weird acoustics and I assume he's somewhere else in the house. "You don't think I'm going to let you leave, do you?"

Biting my lip, unsure if he's spotted me yet, I slide sideways into the shadows.

The floorboards creak somewhere to my left, directly where I moved to.

Pulse racing, I lift my gaze to where I thought the darkness would conceal me. Instead, I find myself staring directly into the deep eyes of Ghost's skull mask.

Seeing him there, just hiding and watching me has my blood running cold. Stalker.

I go to move, to slip away, but his hand shoots out, fingers wrapping around my arm with an iron grip. Before I can react, he spins me, my back hitting the wall with a soft thud that knocks the air from my lungs.

Ghost looms over me, his body a solid wall of heat and muscle. One hand is planted on the wall beside my head, effectively caging me in. The other is suddenly on my throat, not tight, but enough to hold me in place.

The warmth of his breath feathers over my face.

"You know, most Alphas buy an Omega dinner before they pin her to a wall. Just saying."

His laughter is loud and leaves me covered in goose bumps, the kind that excite me more than scare me. Which is so wrong.

And he's so close, the skull mask filling my vision, one of his eyes seeming to glow faintly blue, the other hidden by shadows.

"You should know by now… on this island, there's no escaping me."

I swallow hard. "And if I don't intend to stay on this island?"

"You're not going anywhere," he continues, and there's something different in his voice now. Darker. Excited. A predator who's caught the scent of his prey. "This is my domain, sweetheart. Every shadow, every creaking board… they all answer to me." He reaches down from his hand on the wall and curls a lock of my hair around his finger, his body pressed closer to mine, so close I feel his hard cock. "Unless you know a secret way of leaving Nightmare Island you want to share?"

He's enjoying this, the sick bastard, but what terrifies me most is that part of me kind of likes it. The thrill of him against me, the intoxicating masculine and woodsy scent, the way my wolf is awake in his presence, as if she's demanding to come out and play with him. Not to mention the way his voice makes heat pool in my belly, despite my fear.

Gods, what's wrong with me?

"Wish I had a crystal ball for you, but I don't," I say, aiming for sarcasm but hearing the tremor in my voice. "I'm just a desperate Omega trying to escape a dangerous island, doing my best not to fall victim to a tempting Alpha."

Ghost chuckles, the sound low and rich. His grip on my arm and neck loosens slightly, but he doesn't step back.

"You find me tempting?"

"It's called sarcasm."

"You're quick with those quips, aren't you? I admire that—a sharp mind to match that fiery spirit."

I shrug, smirking. "I try my best."

His hand leaves my hair and traces a feathery touch down my jawline. I suppress an excited shiver at his fingertips.

"Watch what you say," he murmurs. "It's been a long time since such a delicious Omega caught my attention. And I'm a possessive bastard. You might not like what you're inviting."

The deepness in his voice makes my breath catch. Fire burns off him, his scent drowning me. He leans in closer, his mask nearly touching my cheek.

"I'm the darkness, sweetheart. And you? You're the flame. Bright, beautiful, and oh so tempting to extinguish." When he speaks in my ear, his voice rumbles through me, vibrating in my very bones.

A gasp escapes my lips before I can stop it. Damn him . His words are doing things to me, having me imagine myself beneath him as he makes me scream. As I squeeze my thighs together, the intensity of the tingling escalates through me. I'm going to lose control at this stage. I picture his hands on me while I'm surrendering to the darkness he offers. I want it so badly it hurts.

I shake my head, needing to come to my senses. The image of him with Eve flashes through my mind, steeling my resolve. I'm just another Omega to him. I'm not here to stay.

"I don't need you, so you can leave," I state.

"I'm going to make you mine," Ghost confesses, pulling back. "And anything that's mine stays with me, doesn't run off. Anyone who touches you will die."

The possessiveness in his voice should repulse me. Instead, it sends a thrill through my body, my traitorous Omega instincts responding to his Alpha dominance.

"You're crazy," I shoot back.

He chuckles, the sound curling shivers between my thighs. "Of course I am, little flame. Sanity is overrated, especially on an island full of monsters. But I'm the monster you want, sweetheart. The one you need."

I glance around, noticing that behind him is a door that heads into another room where I can directly see the missing back door leading outside. My way out…

"I don't need any monsters, thanks. I've had my fill."

"Oh, but you've only just met me," Ghost purrs, and I swear my wolf is whining in response, desperate for him. What is wrong with me?

"What makes you so special?" I ask, proud of how steady my voice sounds. "You're just another Alpha with delusions of grandeur. I've dealt with plenty of those."

"I'm not like the others, little flame. I'm the thing they fear in the dark. The monster under the bed. The shadow that swallows the light."

His words should terrify me, and they do, but not in the way they should. Instead of wanting to run, I want to step closer to the danger he represents.

I fight the desire and glance at the doorway behind him once more, at the open back door. Hope surges through me.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not interested in being anyone's chew toy. Even a big bad Alpha's."

He buries his face in my neck, inhaling deeply. A growl rumbles through his chest, the vibrations traveling through my body and settling deep in my stomach.

"You're going to destroy me," he breathes against my skin from under his mask.

I tremble, my nipples hardening against his chest, and a growing ache spreads through me. What is he doing to me? I try to ignore the way my body reacts to him, the heat gathering in my core, the way my breath speeds up.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you," I respond.

Ghost pulls back slightly, his grip on me loosening. Even through the mask, I can feel the intensity of his gaze, leaving me curious to what he really looks like.

He's laughing again, so I use that moment. I throw myself from under him and bolt to the back exit door while he just laughs.

"You'd better run now, little flame. I'll give you a head start, and you'd better use it." There's a hunger in his voice that makes my skin prickle. "Because when I catch you—and I will catch you—all bets are off."

Something in his tone, in the predatory stance of his body, tells me he means it. So I turn and run, hating how I respond to his voice, how this macabre game he's playing awakens a hunger inside me. I'm terrified, I'm turned on, and I'm so fucking confused.

Outside, the wind hits me like a physical force, nearly knocking me off my feet, seeming to push against me as if it's trying to force me back in Ghost's direction. "Are you insane?" I call up to the sky. In response, the wind howls, the trees swaying violently, branches reaching for me like grasping fingers.

I race around the back of the house, curving down its side. I scan the surrounding area for an escape route, then spot an old metal basement door near the house, the kind that leads down to an underground shelter. There's even a rusted lock on it, glinting in the moonlight, which I find strange.

Ghost's words echo in my head. I'm the darkness. Going underground seems like playing right into his hands. Besides, the idea of being trapped down there, in the dark, with him hunting me… it's not going to work.

So I keep going.

On my next hurried step, the earth suddenly gives way beneath me.

A scream tears from my throat as I fall, and I'm plunging into darkness.