Page 14 of Feral Possession

The twisting stopped.

Perhaps it was a member of Steele’s security team. She had been shouting for help a moment ago. She exhaled. That must be it. Some well-intentioned guard was attempting to come to her aid.

“Hey, uh, sorry for crying wolf earlier, but I’m fine. I was just messing around.”

Silence. She huffed in irritation. None of Steele’s men were the talkative types. Still, the least the guy could do was answer after the scare he’d given her.

She pressed her ear to the thick panel, hearing zilch on the other side. She gave it a smack of her own. “You almost gave me a heart attack, you big dummy.”

Wham!

“Jiminy Christmas!” She scurried back. That hit was even harder than the last. Like someone walloped the door with a sledgehammer. Behavior completely unbefitting for a member of Steele’s security team.

Maybe she was wrong, and it wasn’t a guard. Surely, they would have a key.

She got down on her hands and knees and pressed her cheek to the hardwood. Through the crack, she made out two lumpy shapes. Feet, perhaps?

“Whoever you are, you better believe Lord Steele will hear about this tomorrow,” she threatened. Though there was zero chance she was telling anyone about this little knocking incident for fear of looking crazier than she already did.

Wind buffeted her face, blowing her hair back, followed by a bone-chilling growl. Dove skittered backward, crab walking on shaking limbs until she was in the center of the room. She pressed her hand to her heaving chest. Perhaps Steele had constructed the door to keep the velociraptor out instead of in.

As her breath slowed, a new thought entered her head.

Wait a minute. That was no velociraptor. In fact, this was just like…

She scrambled to her feet and planted her fists on her hips. “Oh, ha, ha. I get it. Haze the new kid. Very original.” Because she hadn’t lived through this scenario before. She’d learned all kinds of things during her time at Havenhouse. Number one, how cruel other children could be. Only problem with that theory was Steele, Ida, and Bishop were the only people she’d seen inside the penthouse. Was it possible Steele had other women locked away in his forbidden wing? Now that was a disturbing thought.

Goose bumps rose on her arms. The sense she was no longer alone prickled the fine hairs on the back of her neck. From beneath the door, an inky shadow invaded her room. She watched it spill across the hardwood, growing, spreading. Almost as though it were alive.

Gulp. That definitely narrowed the options of who lingered outside her door. Creeping shadows meant her midnight visitor wasn’t a guard, nor a velociraptor. In fact, there was an excellent chance it wasn’t even human.

She stepped to the left. It shifted left.

She stepped right. It shifted right.

Goddess save her, it seemed sentient and heading right for her. “That isn’t possible,” she whispered, toes curling against the rug. No way she was seeing this.

She darted to the dresser and flicked on the light. To her astonishment, the shadow stilled. Light! Light must be its weakness. Game on. She raced around the room, turning on every fixture in the place. To the nightstand. The switch on the wall for the ceiling. Bathroom. Finally, the side table.

Once done, she eyed the space in front of the door. The creeping shadow was gone. She pumped her fist in the air. “Hah! Take that!”

The light on her dresser flickered and went out. She tensed. Surely, it was a coincidence. The nightstand followed.

“No, no, no.” She flung out her arms like she could hold the darkness back by sheer force of will. Seconds ticked. Did it stop?

Sparks fizzled above her head and the fixture on the ceiling died. Shit! Next, the bathroom followed by the side table. Both out.

“No, no, no!” she repeated, hustling to the light switch, flicking it up and down. Nothing. Save for the moonlight shining through her windows, her whole bedroom was cast in darkness.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she shouted, heart racing. I will not panic. I will not! For once, she would not freeze in the face of danger.

She shook her finger at the door. “Oh, you’re good. Really good. But I’m not falling for this hazing nonsense. There’s no such thing as shadow monsters.” She hoped. At Havenhouse, she’d learned about all kinds of underworld species. That didn’t mean they’d covered every creature in existence.

Fortunately, she was equipped for just such an emergency. She rummaged blindly through the dresser drawer until her fingers hit a cylinder. Got it. She plopped down in the middle of the bed and flipped the switch. Her telescoping flashlight illuminated a two-foot space around her. She pulled the end out, extending it to its full size. Ha! Behold her glowing rainbow sword.

Okay, as far as being a defensive weapon, the festival souvenir was laughable. At least she wasn’t sitting in the dark anymore. Mostly. Asking one tiny lightbulb to brighten an entire room was expecting a lot.

Moonlight spilled through her windows, casting long shadows on the walls and floor. Some resembled ghostly arms, stretching, reaching. Were they getting longer? Holy hot cakes. They were. The fine hairs on her forearms stood at attention. She shivered, icy tingles prickling her glyph. Her body warned—something wicked this way comes.

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