7. Rachel

7

RACHEL

I made my way down the trail beside Ellis, wondering if this was even a trail at all. Usually there would be a dirt track that was clearly visible, not grass that was barely bent and nothing more. The dense woods felt as though they were closing in around us while we walked, the trees overhead sheltering us from the gray skies above.

Nothing could shield me from the storm brewing inside my head, though.

You’d think my thoughts would be spiraling out of control because of how morbid it sounded to be gathering dirt from a dead man’s grave, but that wasn’t what had me all twisted up.

Ellis did.

Being close to him while we walked through the woods had an energy to it. Something was shifting between us—something I wasn’t sure I was ready to face, but also something I couldn’t ignore.

“You’ve been awfully quiet today,” Ellis said, breaking the silence as we started down a dip on the trail. “You didn’t have to come, if you didn’t want to.”

“Aunt Maribel wouldn’t have let me stay behind. She was adamant that I come with you today. Plus, Serenity’s fever broke in the night. She’s fine, so there wasn’t a reason for me not to come with you,” I said, smoothing a stray strand of hair away from my eye. “I’m just lost in thought.”

“About?”

“Everything, I guess. This Xander guy’s possession, this whole thing with Aunt Maribel.” I paused. “You.”

“Me?” He shifted to look at me, but I kept my attention focused on the trail ahead.

I shrugged, trying to play it off like what I said wasn’t a big deal, but I could feel my cheeks warm. “Yeah. Meeting you. Us working together. It’s not what I expected.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked.

I risked a glance at him and my heart fluttered in response to the quiet intensity burning through his eyes and the half-smile stretching across his face.

“Good,” I admitted, my voice barely louder than the crunch of leaves beneath our feet.

He didn’t say a word, but I could feel the air between us shift again, the connection sprouting between us growing stronger.

“I’m glad,” he said after a long moment of silence passed. “Meeting you and working with you on this has felt good to me, too.”

I smiled, unable to help myself, as we continued along the path that I could barely make out. While we walked, I stole glances at him, watching the way his jaw tightened or his eyes scanned the path ahead and surrounding area. He was alert, and I found that comforting.

I, on the other hand, was not alert. My foot caught on a root beneath the leaves and I stumbled. The ground rushed up to meet me, but Ellis caught me before I fell. His arms wrapped around my waist, steadying me.

“Whoa there.” He chuckled. “You okay?”

I blinked, my breath catching as I realized how close we were suddenly. His hands gripped my waist while our bodies were mere inches apart. Warmth from his strong hands seeped into me, grounding me in a way nothing else ever had. Electricity crackled in the air between us like a livewire, and it danced across my skin where we touched. Our eyes locked, and the world faded away.

All I could focus on was the magnetic pull between us.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t.

Not with the way his eyes brightened faintly with his bobcat or the heat that crept into them in the next heartbeat. A spark of something flared to life between us.

Was I imagining it, or was he about to kiss me?

The tension was there—building. I could feel it. My heart pounded as anticipation simmered through the tiny bit of space between us, causing it to shrink even more. I licked my lips, feeling hesitant and eager for the touch of his lips against mine all at once.

But then a noise rippled through the silence.

Ellis’s body tensed as his eyes darted in that direction, and his hands dropped from my waist. The moment between us shattered, and the energy I’d felt building was quickly replaced by a wave of unease that settled over us both.

“What was that?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure,” he said, his voice low. “We should keep moving, though. Let’s get the soil we need and get out of here.”

I nodded, glancing at him. His whole demeanor had changed. There was nothing casual about him anymore. His alertness wasn’t of a man on a hike. It was of a man on edge. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were sharp.

Had his bobcat picked up on something? Was Xander out here? Watching us?

As we crested a small hill, Ellis’s steps faltered. It was then that I spotted a small, unmarked grave beneath a dense patch of trees ahead. If he hadn’t known where to look, I would have missed it. As we approached, I picked up on a sense of heaviness that lingered here.

“This is it,” Ellis said.

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. My throat felt tight as goose bumps prickled across my skin. This place felt wrong and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t alone.

My gaze darted around, scanning the surrounding area, searching for anyone or anything lurking in the woods. There was nothing. No movement. No sound. Even the birds had stopped singing. My heartbeat thundered inside my chest. I watched as Ellis crouched near the grave and pulled a glass jar from his backpack. He quickly scooped soil into the jar.

A gentle gust of wind brushed against my skin, causing the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach to expand. Something was wrong here.

I could feel it in my bones.

“Ellis,” I whispered, barely able to keep the tremor from my voice. “Do you feel that?”

He glanced at me, his brow furrowed. “Feel what?”

“I don’t know,” I said, trying to make sense of what I felt. “Something feels off. Like we’re not alone.”

He didn’t say anything, but I could see a flash of concern enter his eyes. He screwed the lid onto the glass jar that was now filled with soil and stood.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” a cold, menacing voice said behind me, slicing through the thick silence.

I spun around to see a tall, lanky guy with dark hair that fell into his beady eyes.

This had to be Xander.

“Coming here was a mistake,” he said, stepping closer, his eyes locked on Ellis.

Something in the air shifted. A dark, cold, oppressive energy settled over us like a storm cloud bursting with chaos.

Ellis stepped to position himself in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking my view of Xander.

“We’re leaving,” Ellis said, shoving the jar in his backpack. “Just let us leave.”

“What’s the dirt for?” Xander asked. I peeked around Ellis at him. His lips were curled into a slow, predatory smile that unsettled me even more.

That look alone let me know that this guy was trouble.

“That’s none of your concern,” Ellis replied, his voice steady but edged with tension.

Xander’s eyes darkened as he took another step forward. “Oh, but it is my concern. You’re at my grave.”

I swallowed hard. He’d just said my grave , as though he was Lucius.

A shiver ran down my spine. This man was truly possessed. I could feel it—the cold darkness of a vengeful soul using him as its vessel. Panic squeezed at my chest. This was real. Everything Ellis had said about this man was true.

And all it took was one look at him to know that he wasn’t going to let us walk away without a fight.

“We’re not looking for trouble,” Ellis said, holding his hands up in surrender.

Xander let out a wicked laugh. “Doesn’t matter. You’ve already found it,” he whispered, his fingers flexing at his sides. “And now, I can’t let you leave.”

A chill entered the air—sending ice trickling through my veins. This man was evil.

Pure evil.

Ellis’s stance in front of me remained strong, but something wasn’t right. His breathing hitched, and he drew his hands up to his head while a low growl ripped from somewhere deep inside him, causing panic unlike anything I’d ever felt before to hit me so hard my knees grew weak.

“Ellis?” I whispered.

Another guttural and purely animalistic growl tore through him. His head tipped back as he fisted his hair, and I realized then what was happening.

Xander had gotten inside his head.

I watched, locked in helpless terror, as Ellis’s body stiffened, his muscles trembling with the effort of resisting Xander’s control. His face contorted in pain, his eyes—once so steady, warm, and kind—flickered with panic as his breath came in short, ragged gasps.

“Run!” he ordered.

But I couldn’t move.

I stood in place, trapped by the horror unfolding in front of me. His eyes brightened with his bobcat, their golden hue glowing fiercely as he struggled against the shift that Xander seemed to be forcing on him. His body trembled, muscles tensing as if caught in a violent tug-of-war between his human side and the beast within.

I could see the strain etched in his face.

Ellis let out a low, guttural sound, half-growl, half-scream. His bones contorted while his body unwillingly gave into the shift, and I couldn’t imagine how much pain he must be in.

“That’s it,” Xander muttered, stepping closer, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. “Let your bobcat out to play.”

“Run!” Ellis screamed at me again.

I had to do something. I couldn’t stand by and watch as Xander tore him apart from the inside out, forcing his bobcat to release, but I didn’t know how to help him. I had no idea how to break Xander’s hold on him, but I couldn’t lose Ellis to his sick mind control either.

I wouldn’t.

“Ellis,” I whispered, my voice trembling, raw with fear.

He didn’t respond. His eyes were vacant, as though he was lost in the darkness Xander had wrapped around his mind.

When Xander stepped closer, his gaze flicked from Ellis to me.

“You know what’s most gratifying about this situation?” he sneered. “He’s strong. But even the strongest have a weakness to break them. You. Are. His. Weakness,” he said, enunciating every word and I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice.