Page 69 of Nightmare Island

I glance back, and my heart slams against my ribs.

Hel is scaling the rock face, her small form barely visible through the rain. She’s found handholds in the black stone, pulling herself up inch by treacherous inch. My throat closes up as I watch her foot slip, then catch again. Every instinct screams at me to fly up there and grab her before she falls, but I understand why she’s done it. More of Sten’s wolves have emerged from the tree line behind us, cutting off any escape route on the ground. They’ve cornered us.

Look at her climb.Like a scared little rat.

Desperation and fury bleed through me. This ends now. All of it.

“Like old times,” I growl at Sten, baring my teeth. “You and me, you piece of shit.”

The wolf inside me howls for blood, and I don’t hold back.

The transformation rips through me in seconds, clothes falling away. The world sharpens, sounds becoming crisp, smells intense. I don’t wait for Sten to complete his own change—I launch myself at him, catching him mid-shift. We hit the ground hard, and my teeth find his throat. I clamp down hard, fangs sinking into flesh. Blood coats my mouth, and I go deeper.

He whines, thrashing beneath me, finally transforming into his wolf but making horrible gurgling sounds. I love the sound of his suffering.

Amateur,Jarl sneers in my head.You should have gone for the spine.

The momentary distraction costs me. Sten’s back leg catches me in the gut, claws raking through flesh. Pain explodes across my abdomen, and I flinch—just enough for him to writhe free. Blood mars his neck as he scrambles away, but he’s fully wolfnow. Some of his wolves close in, growling and howling, drunk on the violence.

I risk another glance at Hel. My blood runs cold when I spot two men in human form climbing after her. She’s too high now. If she falls…

Sten slams into me like a freight train, knocking me off my feet. We roll across the stone ground and in the rain, a chaos of teeth and claws. Years of hatred fuel every bite, every slash. This isn’t just a fight—it’s vengeance. For the way he tortured me, for every person he’s killed on the island.

You fight like a bitch, Jarl taunts as Sten’s teeth graze my shoulder.I’d have killed him by now. You’re pathetic—no wonder she lets you fuck her. She always did have a thing for weak men.

My concentration splinters between the fight, Hel’s precarious position, and the poison being spewed in my mind. I miss a dodge I should have seen coming, and Sten’s teeth suddenly find purchase in my side, crunching down with bone-crushing force. I howl as he tears at the wound, pain shooting through me.

The husband’s laughter echoes in my skull.You pussy. I could take him so easily. You’d be dead by now if I was fighting.

Something clicks in my mind as I snap at Sten’s head, my teeth tearing at his ear. He snarls, releasing me, shaking his head. I scramble to get up.

Fine, you fucker,I mumble back at him.Show me. You and me…let’s fight. Winner gets Hel.

Jarl goes quiet.

That’s what I thought,I snarl internally.

How?Jarl’s voice is suspicious but interested. Hook, line, and sinker.

You go into Sten’s body and take over. Then, the real fight begins.

I’m going to fuck you up so good, he growls.

Sten comes at me once more, and with every ounce of strength left in my battered body, I rush at him, head low, slamming Sten in the chest. The force throws him off me, and I scramble to his side before he can recover. Then I lunge forward with all my strength and crash into his side as he gains his composure. He’s stumbling over the water’s edge and hits the shallow pond with a splash that sends spirits scattering.

Go, you fucker,I growl at Jarl.Show me what you’re made of.

I leap into the water, driving a paw against Sten, batting to get up over the slippery rocks underneath. The spirit moves through me with speed, flowing backward through my veins. It’s a violation, a wrongness that makes me want to claw my own skin off, but then… blessed relief as it leaves my body through my paw touching him. I retreat instantly, pulling back my wolf, flesh rippling as I return to human form.

Sten stumbles in the water, shaking his massive wolf head. Confusion clouds his eyes as the possession takes hold. He growls and shakes his head, stumbling about. I don’t waste a heartbeat.

I wade in, ignoring the spirits swirling around my legs, and slam both hands into his side. He loses his footing, his massive body crashing into the dark water.

I leap back onto solid ground as the spirits surge forward like a tidal wave. They swarm him, dozens, then hundreds of forms drawn to the dead soul now trapped in living flesh. The sight turns my stomach. It’s like watching sharks in a feeding frenzy.

Sten thrashes in the water, his wolf form melting away as panic overtakes him. His human face breaks the surface, mouth open in a scream that bubbles through the water. His eyes are wide with terror—he knows what’s happening. The spirits aren’tjust coming for Jarl—they’re claiming Sten, too, dragging them both down to whatever darkness waits below.

His hands claw at the water’s surface, desperate for purchase, but the spirits pull harder. Dark water floods his mouth as he screams. Then, with a final, violent convulsion, he goes under. Bubbles rise to the surface, then nothing.

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