Page 36 of The Secrets of Roan Island

Fear spikes my heart again, breaking through the fog of lust. He’s a predator. And I’m prey. He could kill me without any effort. A bite, and I’d be dead. Or… transformed. Would he do that? Would I want him to?

He gathers my skirts, raising them inch by inch, eyes still locked on me. “Tell me to stop, Ruby.”

I swallow. A battle rages between my mind and my body. Am I really considering this?

He’s got my skirt pulled up to my knees now, hands on my thighs. “Tell me!” he shouts, though it’s more guttural, wild.

I need to choose. Need to say something. I can’t let this go on. “Stop.” My heart burns as I scratch out the single word on something like a sob.

The noise Noah makes is somewhere between a howl, a growl, and a scream. It rips from his throat as he throws himself away, pressing his back to the wall across from me. His hands spread against the wallpaper. His black eyes bore into mine. “Run, Ruby.”

I can see the restraint he’s fighting for in every vibrating muscle. My mind screams danger even as my body wants to push him, to take back that one word, pull up my skirts, and let him feast.

Survival wins. I dart down the dark hallway. He laughs, though it isn’t filled with joy but rather something feral.

“I love a challenge,” he shouts, and I know he’s lost his battle on restraint.

Holding my skirts high, I run toward the portrait and the passage back to the main house. I don’t think Noah would intentionally hurt me, but his intentions don’t matter right now. He’s Mavarri. He’s a hunter. And I’m the prey he wants.

His steps pound behind me.

I run faster.

He’s close.

My chest tightens. Pulse wild and erratic. I can see the portrait that blocks the passageway. Almost there! I reach.

His hands are on me.

We fall against the painting, and it rips.

“Noah!” I screech, grabbing hold of the gilded frame, trying to pry it open as I twist and struggle in his grip. But it’s stuck, or locked.

“Mine,” he says, his voice in my ear, his hands sliding up my thighs.

Every muscle in my body tenses with anticipation, every nerve sparking with an electric, tingling sensation.

“Noah, please,” I whimper, unsure if I’m telling him to stop or continue.

Suddenly, the painting shoves forward, pushing me into Noah. We both stumble to the floor as the door swings open.

Noah’s arm wraps my waist as he looks up, bares his teeth, and growls. “Mine.”

A laugh cuts through the space.

Jafeth stands in the doorway, his eyes completely black like Noah’s, his fangs bared. He tilts his head and grins. “You’re missing the party.”

19

Noah

She knows. Fuck, she knows, and I’m powerless to stop myself, my instincts in control of every whim and urge. I need to feed, and nothing I do will stop it.

I should be grateful for Jafeth’s interruption, for unlocking the door, for saving Ruby from me, but I know he hasn’t really saved either of us. He’s throwing us into the fire.

We climb the steps from the Gate House, the vortex flipping us back into the reality of the island. Above, we’ll find the debauchery of a normal new moon party. All those willing to debase themselves for the sake of one night of pleasure each month, no questions asked.

“You can’t go looking like that,” Jafeth says, assessing Ruby now that we’ve closed Zarah’s portrait behind us. He reaches out and touches her cheek. “You need a mask.”

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