Page 8 of Nightmare Island

The way he’s staring at me, already starting to make his way over... I can tell exactly what he wants.

Me.

Dread coils in my stomach. This was supposed to be my paradise island, my escape from monsters until I found a way to reach my brother, but it seems the monsters have found me, anyway.

I turn and run for the mountains, praying there’s a cave, a crevice, anything I can hide in. I keep my human form—if I shift to wolf, he’ll track me even faster by my scent. My legs burn, my lungs heaving as I push myself harder than I have in years.

Heart pounding wildly in my chest, I know I’m panicking, but I’ve encountered enough men in my life to know they’re all the same. They want to control, to rut, to breed us. So, if I can just hide, I can spy on who else lives on this island, if they’re dangerous, and plan my next move.

I risk a look behind me and nearly trip. He’s right there, so close, I can see the individual raindrops on his skin. True fear slams into me, stealing my breath.

“Well, well.” His voice is a deep growl that sends shivers down my spine. “What do we have here? A little Omega, all alone out at night?”

I try to dodge faster ahead of him, but he’s too fast and keeps up. As I stumble and glance over my shoulder once more, he’s there, so damn close. His face is round, framed by light hair plastered to his head by the rain. Scars all over his arms and chest, a horrid grin, but it’s his eyes that terrify me most—there’s a hunger there that tells me everything I need to know. To him, I’m just a meal to sate his Alpha savage desires.

Not bothering to answer him, I sprint away. His mocking laugh follows me.

“Come on, little Omega. Don’t you want to play? I promise to keep you safe from the others on the island.”

I turn once more, desperate to know how close he is. Then something red catches my attention from the inside of his left arm. It’s a tattoo—two half circles pressed close with a gap at the top and bottom, made of red flames, and in the middle, a straight line of more leaping fire.

I know that mark!

I’ve seen it before.

A cry catches in my throat as the awful truth hits me. Of all the places I could have landed…

Back in Denmark, both my family’s pack, the Ulv Wolves, and my dead husband’s pack, the Balor Wolves, use it. It’s a mark for the worst of Alpha kind, those cast out of their own packs for crimes too heinous to forgive. They’re sent to this prison island, and the magic mark that is burned into their flesh keeps them trapped here.

So, this place... it’s filled with feral shifters who once lived in Denmark. The universe is playing a cruel trick on me, isn’t it?

I’ve heard so many rumors about the violent acts they performed, tales told to scare children into behaving.Be good, or you’ll end up on the island with the feral Alphas.

Fuck me.

Of all places, I had to land on fucking Nightmare Island.

Chapter

Two

HEL

The realization that I’m on Nightmare Island feels like a punch to the face. Fear floods my system, but with it comes a surge of adrenaline. I have to run, hide, escape. Hell, I’d rather take my chances with the sharks than these Alphas. I know they’re Alphas because only crazy strong ones would survive a monstrous island like this.

I duck under a low-hanging branch, the leaves slapping against my face. As I frantically stare back, the man’s arm is swinging out toward me, grasping at air as I dart just out of reach. My heart scales up to my throat, and I somehow escape his clutches.

“Where are you going, little Omega?” His words drip with false concern. “You must be so scared. I can make it all better.”

“Yeah, sure you will,” I remark, though my words are stolen by the howling storm.

I sprint across the open land leading up to the mountain, my boots splashing in the muddy ground, and plunge deeper into the woods, hoping the dense foliage nearby will give me cover. Except, it’s dark and I can barley see anything, so I’m going slower, reaching out for the trees to guide me.

The rain intensifies. Lightning cracks across the sky, illuminating the forest in stark flashes. I’ve always been this way—the weather reflects my emotions. If only I could control it, summon it at will, but it’s as unpredictable as my life has been.

Mom’s words about my ability echo in my head.Don’t tell a soul, or it’ll get you killed.She drilled into me the dangers of being an Omega with such power.You won’t be a wife, she’d warned.You’ll be an experiment.

Another burst of lightning, another crash of thunder, and I use those spurts of light to see where I’m going.

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