Page 12 of Nightmare Island

He doesn’t move, doesn’t offer help. Just keeps staring.

I swallow hard and try again. “Where am I?”

For a long moment, I think he’s not going to answer, but then he says, “Safe.”

His voice is low, heavy, muffled slightly by the mask. It’s not comforting. If anything, it sends a shiver down my spine.

I attempt to push myself up again, desperate not to be lying prone in front of this stranger. The cave spins, and I have to close my eyes to fight off a wave of nausea.

When I open them again, he’s moved closer. I flinch involuntarily.

He stops, tilting his head slightly. The firelight catches on the contours of his mask, making the skull seem to grin. “Rest,” he states, the word more command than suggestion.

I want to argue, to demand answers, but my body seems to have other ideas. The cave is starting to fade around the edges, and keeping my eyes open is becoming a monstrous task.

As I slip back into unconsciousness, the last thing I see is that skull mask. I can’t tell if I’m looking at my savior or my doom.

Knowing my luck, probably both.

Chapter

Three

GHOST

The darkness of the room suits my mood as I sit in an old, creaking chair, my eyes fixed on the girl lying in my bed. I couldn’t leave her in the cave all night, but once she warmed up, I brought her home.

She’s a mystery, this one. I found her running for her life from fuckwit Sten in the silent zone—that strip of my territory where I keep the guard presence light. It’s a calculated risk, knowing there’s no easy way to our part of the island except through tunnels… but one that paid off today as I often find the Balor Wolves sniffing around.

At first glance, I thought she was just another of Sten’s Omegas, finally making a break for it. I was ready to offer her sanctuary, to bring her over to my side of the island. It wouldn’t be the first time I snatched one of his strays from under his nose.

But as I got closer, I realized she was so much more. The power radiating off her, the way the very air seemed to crackle around her—this was no ordinary Omega. And when I saw that lightning strike Sten? Well, there was no way in hell I was going to let him get his hands on her. Since the incident in the Gravewater pool five years ago, the bastard Sten has healed fromalmost everything I’ve thrown at him, so I have no doubt he’ll survive the lightning too.

So I interfered directly. Grabbed the Omega and brought her back to my stronghold. And now here she is, in my bed, a potential game changer in the palm of my hand.

I lean back in the chair, letting out a heavy breath. My hand unconsciously moves to my left forearm, fingers tracing the raised scar there. The mark that brands me, that brands all of us exiled here. A constant reminder of why we’re on Nightmare Island, of the challenge that brought me to where I am now.

Five years ago, I should have remained dead in that battle against Sten. But somehow I came back. We both did. The memory of that day is still vivid, the taste of defeat bitter on my tongue…

“You both lost your lives temporarily,” Aiquen, our elder, said. “Now that you both survived it’s the time to make peace.”

I laughed. Sten attacked and killed Aiquen. So much for peace.

We ended up splitting the island in half—his territory and mine. The men from Balor Wolves joined me, while the Ulv went with him, the number almost equal. In the years since, we’ve carved out a sort of existence. Well, I have, at least. Sten and his lot still live like barbarians.

Me? I’ve salvaged what I can from the old civilizations that once called this rock home. The fae left behind buildings, ruins no one knew about until wolves were sent here. It’s why I have my territory guarded, why I live in what passes for a mansion on this godforsaken island.

And it’s why this mysterious girl is currently occupying my king-size bed, sleeping off the cut on her head from her fall.

I lean forward, elbows on my thighs, studying her in the moonlight that spills through the window. The storm passed asquickly as she lost consciousness, leaving behind this ethereal glow that bathes her in silver.

She’s… captivating, her sweet scent still in my nostrils. Her long blonde hair is braided like a warrior’s, the front strands woven tight while the rest spills across the pillow. Her face is perfection—strong cheekbones, a petite nose, a mouth with full lips that makes me imagine her naked. She’s curvy, more so than others on this island, and in all the right places. The kind of Omega that sets my blood on fire.

I’ve had my share of the Omegas on this island, but none of them have affected me like this one. Just looking at her makes my wolf stir, makes hunger gnaw at my insides. It’s more than physical attraction, though. Her wolf calls to mine in a way I’ve never experienced before.

Could she be… No. I shut down that line of thinking before it can take root. Hope is a dangerous thing here, especially hope for a true mate. The Omegas here were all exiled for their crimes—killing their Alphas, rejecting them, that sort of thing. We welcomed them, of course. Under my protection, they’re safe. Everyone plays their part in our little community, fulfilling desires as they choose.

But a true mate? That’s a fucking fairy tale. Every new arrival goes through the process of checking whether they’re matched to any of my men. So far, we’ve come up empty.

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