Page 34 of Knox's Fate

Her hands trembled as she set down the journal and got to her feet. Moving as quietly as she could, she crept toward the attic door, pausing with her hand on the knob. She listened again, but the house had fallen silent once more, the faint hum of the encroaching night pressing in from outside. Her grip on the knob tightened, and she steeled herself, slowly turning it and easing the door open.

She slipped out, each step careful and slow as she made her way back down the narrow staircase. Her pulse thudded in her ears, her mind racing with what could be waiting below. She had locked the door; she was sure of it. No one could have gotten in. And yet, the sensation of not being alone clung to her, a sharp reminder of the dangers she might be inviting by being here.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped, her eyes sweeping the room. Nothing looked out of place; the door was still locked, the windows shut tight. But that didn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She took a step toward the living room, her body tense, every instinct on high alert.

And then she heard it again—a faint rustling, this time from the kitchen. She edged closer, peering around the corner, but theroom was empty, bathed in the soft glow of the single lamp she’d left on. She let out a shaky breath, a part of her relieved, yet her unease only grew as she remembered the words she’d read in the journal. If her aunt had been hiding something here, protecting it from forces unknown, was she endangering herself simply by being here?

Suddenly, a shadow flickered in the corner of her eye. She whipped around, leveling the shotgun at some unknown intruder, her heart lurching as she scanned the room, but saw nothing. The dim light cast long shadows across the walls, making everything seem distorted, unfamiliar.

Ruby’s breaths came faster, her mind racing as she tried to make sense of it all. She wanted to bolt for the door, to get out before whatever was hiding in the dark made its move, but another part of her, the stubborn, determined part, wouldn’t let her leave.

The silence stretched, and Ruby took another step forward, fighting the urge to flee. She reminded herself that this was her home, her sanctuary. No shadows or noises would drive her out. With a final steadying breath, she picked up her phone and turned back to the attic, deciding that whatever she needed to find, it was upstairs, in the journals and boxes her aunt had left behind.

As she ascended the stairs, every creak and groan of the wood beneath her feet felt magnified, each sound pressing against her nerves. When she reached the attic, she closed and locked the door behind her, hoping it would keep whatever was downstairs at bay. She crossed to the box of journals, determination flaring to life within her as she resumed her search.

The journals were dense, full of cryptic details and whispered warnings, and as she read, a picture began to form—a story of a treasure bound to the house, of guardians and seekers, of a power her aunt had tried to hide. Ruby’s fingers trembled asshe turned each page, her eyes scanning the faded ink, trying to understand the gravity of what she was reading.

And then she heard the sound again, louder this time—this time the unmistakable sound of footsteps, deliberate and slow, moving through the rooms below her. Her pulse hammered in her throat as she clutched the journal, feeling the weight of her aunt’s legacy settle on her shoulders. She knew now that whatever was in this house, it wasn’t something she could face alone.

For the first time, she felt the full weight of the danger surrounding her, the reality of the forces that Knox had warned her about, the very ones her aunt had tried to keep at bay. Taking a last look at the journals, feeling their secrets burning like embers, she felt like the situation was ready to ignite into something she could no longer control.

CHAPTER 18

RUBY

Ruby’s heart hammered in her chest as she carefully placed her aunt’s journal back into the box, her fingers trembling. The entries she had read were still a jumbled blur in her mind, fragments of secrets and warnings all circling back to one truth—that her aunt had hidden something valuable, something worth dying to protect. Her first instincts told her to stay hidden, to comb through every inch of this house, to unravel the mystery that seemed to have drawn so much darkness to this place. But a deeper instinct, one that came with an immediate sense of danger, was louder now. It was screaming at her to leave.

The house had fallen into an eerie silence, pressing against her senses like a suffocating weight. She could almost feel it in the air, thick and charged, as if the walls themselves were on high alert, listening for the intruder’s every move. Ruby took a slow, measured breath, trying to stay calm though her pulse thrummed loudly in her ears. She didn’t want to leave, but the instinct to survive was now stronger than her need for answers.Get out, Ruby. Get back to safety. Get back to Knox.

Moving as silently as possible, she picked up the shotgun and crept across the attic, the floor creaking beneath her feet. Shepaused by the window, brushing aside a cobweb and peering out through the smudged glass. The yard lay quiet and empty, bathed in shadows under the weak moonlight. Knox’s truck sat parked exactly where she’d left it, the only vehicle in sight. But she knew better than to let herself relax at the sight of an empty driveway. These shifters didn’t need cars. Every time she’d seen one, they had come from the woods, emerging silently like phantoms, blending with the shadows until they were close enough to strike.

She thought back to her first night here, when she had seen a dark figure moving through the yard, disappearing into the trees. She had dismissed it then, telling herself it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. But now, every outside shadow felt like it was concealing someone or something, waiting for the right moment to step into the light. Had they been watching her all this time, lurking just out of sight, biding their time for her to be alone?

A shiver crept down her spine, but she straightened her shoulders, trying to keep her nerves from taking over. She tightened her grip on the shotgun, her knuckles white.This is your house, Ruby. You’re the one with the gun.She wasn’t powerless. She wasn’t some frightened damsel who would flee at the first sign of danger. She was a fighter, and this was her home. She wasn’t going to let them drive her out.

But as much as she hated to admit it, the thought of reaching Knox’s truck, speeding back to the compound and to Knox’s steady presence, was growing more tempting with each passing second.

Steeling herself, Ruby turned from the window and started down the narrow attic staircase, moving cautiously, barely letting her weight rest on each step to avoid the loudest creaks. She paused every few steps, listening intently, her senses straining against the silence. All she could hear was the fainthum of the wind pressing against the house, whispering through cracks in the walls.

But halfway down the stairs, she froze. A faint shuffling sound drifted up from below, the unmistakable sound of movement somewhere in the house. Her heart leapt, and she pressed herself back against the wall, holding her breath, trying to blend into the shadows. The sound came again, closer this time, sending a fresh surge of terror through her veins. She wasn’t alone.

She forced herself to keep moving, clutching the shotgun as if it were the only thing anchoring her to sanity. If she could just make it to the foyer, she could slip out the front door and reach the truck before whoever was in the house even realized she was gone. But each step felt heavier, the fear building in her chest like a weight threatening to drag her down. The house, once her sanctuary, was now a trap, its narrow halls and creaky floors betraying her with every movement.

Another noise echoed from below, louder this time, unmistakably the sound of footsteps. She slowed her pace to a crawl, barely daring to breathe as she neared the bottom of the stairs. She was so close to the foyer, her freedom just a few steps away.

But as she edged past the entry to the sitting room, she felt a sudden, sharp tug on the shotgun in her hands. Before she could react, the weapon was yanked from her grip, leaving her defenseless.

“I’ll take that,” a low, gravelly voice said from behind her.

Cold terror jolted through her, and she spun around, her eyes locking onto a tall, muscular man standing just a few feet away.How the hell had he gotten in?It didn’t really matter, the fact is he had and now held the shotgun with a practiced, confident grip, his eyes gleaming with a predatory intensity that sent a chill through her veins. His expression was calm, unreadable,but there was something in his gaze that told her he had been waiting for her. She had been his prey from the very beginning.

Ruby took a step back, feeling the solid frame of the wall against her spine. There was nowhere to run, no escape from the hard, unyielding look in his eyes as he leveled the gun at her. Her throat tightened, and she swallowed, searching his face for any trace of weakness, any hint of humanity she could appeal to. But his gaze was as cold as stone, his posture casual yet unflinching, as if he had all the time in the world.

“Now…” he said, his voice carrying a dark, quiet menace as he gestured with the shotgun for her to step into the sitting room. “About that treasure…”

Knox

Knox’s hands were calloused, rough against the heavy iron shackles as he tightened them around the wrists of the rogue shifter. The man snarled, low and menacing, but Knox growled back as he gave the man a predatory grin, tightening the grip until the metal dug into the man’s skin, grounding him with a cold reminder that there would be no escape.

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