Page 29 of Nightmare Island

“I’ve got you,” Ghost repeats, stroking my hair. The gentleness of the words is not what I expect from him. “But we need to get out of here.”

Without warning, he lifts me fast toward the gaping hole in the ceiling, powerful hands gripping my hips like I weigh nothing. The strength in his arms, the power coiled in his body, comes through his touch. Suddenly, I’m at the hole in the ceiling of the basement and frantically scrambling up, pulling myself free into the open air.

He’s out in seconds too, having leapt to grab the edges and hauled himself up. My eyes locks on those flexing, thick biceps, and I’m admiring him way too long. When he glances up and notices me staring, I quickly lift my gaze to the moon.

That’s when I feel a difference in the air. Or maybe it’s the moon, full and blood-red in the sky. Or the distant howls that echo through the night. Whatever it is, it’s awakening something primal in me. Adrenaline courses through my veins, but it’s more than that. It’s a need, an instinct so powerful it threatens to overwhelm me.

My wolf, usually a quiet presence in the back of my mind, surges forward. She’s stronger than I’ve ever felt her. I stumble, caught off guard by her sudden push to emerge.

My bones start to shift, my skin prickling as fur threatens to sprout. I fall to my knees, hands braced against the ground as convulsions rack my body. Clothes tear off me, falling away in shreds. In seconds, I’m standing on four white paws.

Ghost takes a step closer, his hand outstretched. “It’s okay,” he reassures. “You don’t need to be afraid. I’ll keep you safe.”

A growl rips from my throat, surprising even me. My lips pull back, baring teeth that are already sharpening into fangs.

Ghost freezes, his body tense.

The change is faster than I’ve ever experienced before.

“Hel,” Ghost says, his Alpha command in his voice. “Don’t run. Listen to me. Do not run. Wait for me to take you back.”

My wolf is already backing away from him, not listening. All she knows is the need to escape, to run, to find safety. Before I can stop myself, before I can even think, I’m darting into the woods.

Ghost curses behind me, but I don’t glance back. I just run, letting the wolf take control, surrendering to the primal instincts that now guide me.

The forest swallows me up, branches whipping past as I plunge into the woods. Part of me knows this is dangerous, knows I should turn back, but the wolf is in charge now, and she has only one thought—run.

Then there’s the sound of tearing fabric behind me. He’s shifted too. I don’t look back. I just keep running.

The forest is a blur around me. Branches slap at my face, leaving stinging scratches. Roots threaten to trip me at every step, but I’m faster in this form, more agile. I leap over fallen logs and duck under low-hanging branches. The cool night air rushes through my fur, carrying a thousand earthy scents as small animals scurry out of my path.

Twigs snap behind me, and I know he’s gaining ground with every stride. His growls send shivers down my spine, a mixtureof fear and something else I don’t want to examine too closely. Part of me, the Omega part, wants to submit, to bare my throat and let this powerful Alpha claim me, but I push that feeling down. I never felt this way before, not even with my husband.

My paw catches on something sharp, and I trip as it feels like someone drove a blade into my back leg.

I crumple instantly, collapsing and whimpering from the agonizing pain lancing, stabbing and immediate. I yelp, the sound pitiful, even to my own ears.

In an instant, Ghost is there. He shifts back to human form, naked, kneeling beside me. His hands are gentle as he examines my injured leg. He makes a sighing sound, the kind that tells me the injury is bad.

“Stubborn little flame,” he mutters, but there’s no real heat in his words. “I told you not to run.”

The pain triggers my own shift back, and I lie there, naked and trembling, crying from the worst pain in the world traveling up my leg. I can’t even speak, can barely move. Ghost has me in his arms in seconds, cradling me. And I’m holding onto those huge muscles, but my eyes are blurring, every movement sending me into another round of whimpers.

“I’ve got you,” he says, his voice gruff but not unkind. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

As he carries me through the forest, I find myself softening against him. There’s something about his strength, his presence, that makes me feel… not safe, exactly, but less afraid. The steady heat of his body covers me, and the smell of his scent comforts me.

We break through the tree line, and I gasp. The sky above is a riot of stars, more than I’ve ever seen before. And there, hanging low and ominous, is the blood moon, casting its eerie red glow over everything.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ghost says, following my gaze. “Terrible, but beautiful. Like so much on this island.”

I look at him,reallylook at him, for the first time in the moonlight—with his mask and his strength and the gentleness with which he holds me.

And it makes me realize that I know nothing about this Alpha.

When he moves up a slope, the pain shoots again, and I’m writhing with agony.

“Hang on, you’re losing a lot of blood,” he tells me.

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