Page 71 of Nightmare Island

HEL

4 Weeks Later

It’s been four weeks since Sten died in the Gravewater pool up on the mountain and when Ghost took over as Alpha of the entire island. Now every shifter bows to him, and I still can’t wrap my head around it. The man I’m falling for—okay, who am I kidding, the man I’ve already fallen for but was too stubborn to admit it—holds absolute power over this place. Yet somehow hasn’t let it go to his head. Though the hungry way he looks at me sometimes makes me wonder if all that power finds… other outlets.

“Are you ready?” His voice comes from the doorway, and my heart is suddenly racing. He’s leaning there like some kind of sinful god in low-hanging jeans and boots, a tight black T-shirt riding up just enough to show a strip of those abs that make me lose all brain function. One arm is propped against the door frame, muscles flexing in a way that should be illegal.

Meanwhile, I’m wrapped up in our bed, wearing his shirt that smells like him. Lately, I’ve been craving his scent like it’s an addiction, to the point where I actually caught myself sniffing his laundry yesterday. Yes, I’ve officially become that Omega. Someone should just put me out of my misery now.

“You look so adorable nesting,” he says, his good eye glinting with amusement. “Are you thinking of me in there with you? Touching yourself?”

“Ha, you wish.” I’m a terrible liar because my inner thighs are soaked. “And don’t say thenestword,” I grumble, burrowing deeper into my blanket fortress. “I’m not nesting. I’m… strategically arranging comfort items.”

His chuckle is dark honey as he shuts the door and strides into the room, all broad shoulders and predatory grace. He’s not wearing his mask today, and lately, these maskless days have become more frequent. The scar tissue around his dead eye doesn’t seem to bother him as much, or maybe he just cares less about the stares. Not that many people dare to stare anymore—not since they saw what he did in the Gravewater pool. Now they whisper that he’s part ghost, which would be funny if it weren’t partially close to the truth.

“Hard not to think you’re nesting when you’ve literally wrapped yourself in our blankets and buried yourself in my clothes,” he points out.

“Well, then you shouldn’t have been away from me for so long.” The words come out needier than I intend, but fuck it. Four weeks of this growing heat inside me has stripped away most of my pride anyway.

He crawls onto the bed, moving with the grace that reminds me he’s all animal inside. My body reacts instantly, fire racing down my body, my pussy already tingling at the idea of him pleasing me, desire crackling along my skin like electricity. It’s ridiculous how little control I have around him, but at least I’mnot dealing with a psychotic Alpha. Instead, I’ve got one who looks at me like I’m both prey and goddess, who treats me like a queen while making it clear he could devour me at any moment.

His lips find mine, and I melt fast. My hands slide around his neck, pulling him closer, trying to crawl inside his skin. But before I can get too comfortable, his hands scoop under me and suddenly I’m airborne.

“No!” I protest laughingly as he lifts me out of my nest—damn it, now he’s got me saying it.

“Do you know how impossible it is to resist you?” His tone is rough, hungry. “Your scent is driving me insane. It’s like you were crafted specifically to torment me, and you haven’t even hit full heat yet.”

I glare at him for bringing that up again. I prefer ignorance. “Can we not discuss my impending hormone apocalypse?”

“My little flame,” he growls, and the possessiveness in his voice makes my toes curl. “You can sass all you want, but we both know what’s coming. I can smell it on you, can see it in the way you’re surrounding yourself with my scent. You’re getting ready to be claimed, to be bred.”

“I am not—” I start to argue, but he cuts me off with a kiss that melts my bones.

“Come on,” he says, unwrapping me from my blanket cocoon. “I have something to show you. It’s urgent.”

I blink up at him, trying to focus through the haze of desire. He grips my chin, tilting my face up, and licks my bottom lip in a way that makes me whimper.

“You’re mine,” he purrs against my mouth. “Every inch, every breath, every storm you create. And soon, everyone will know it.”

His smile is all predator. “Now get dressed before I change my mind and keep you in this bed all day.”

I scramble for clothes, very aware of his burning gaze on my skin. The way he watches me dress is almost as intimate as watching me undress—like he’s memorizing every movement, every inch of skin before it’s covered.

“I can’t wait to see you pregnant,” he murmurs darkly, making me freeze with my shirt half on. “To watch your belly swell with our child, your breasts grow heavy with milk. I’m going to worship every new curve, fuck you every moment I get, taste your milk.”

The raw hunger in his voice makes me shiver. “Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren’t we?”

He stalks toward me, backing me against the wall. “Am I? Your heat is coming, little flame. And when it does, I intend to make sure it takes.” His hand splays possessively across my stomach. “I want to see you round with my pup, to know that everyone who looks at you will see that you’re mine in every possible way.”

“Ghost…” I whisper, caught between desire and surprise at the intensity of his words.

His smile is knowing, dangerous. “You have no idea how crazy your scent is making me.”

“Deep breath,” I tease him, and he’s got me in his arms, his face in my neck, inhaling, licking me. He’s relentless.

“What I’m going to show you will change a few things and will ensure that none of those Alphas out there can reach you when you’re in full heat.”

I smooth down my clothes, trying to regain some composure. “Okay, then let’s do this.” Anything to get him to calm down… For a moment there, I wasn’t sure we were going to leave the room today. Not that I would have minded.

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