Page 20 of Insatiable

My gaze darted around the room. Alex and Brian—what was left of them—lay torn apart, half-eaten. Their lifeless eyes stared into the void, their mutilated bodies painting a scene that sent ice through my veins. A wave of nausea twisted my stomach.

Then I saw him—the creature—turning his attention back to Katie, his claws poised to strike, ready to finish what he had started.

Without thinking, I screamed, “No!”

The Creeper froze, his head snapping toward me. Those glowing eyes locked onto mine, still burning with that terrible hunger. But this time, there was something else: recognition.

He moved toward me, dropping to all fours, his dark, hulking shadow creeping closer. My breath came in shallow gasps as he loomed over me, blocking out everything else. The air grew thick, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.

Then, in a strange, almost gentle gesture, he reached out. His claws brushed my cheek, wiping away the tears that had started to fall.The touch was shockingly soft, completely opposite to the brutality I had just witnessed. His glowing eyes softened as he looked at me, as if I were something different—something he didn’t want to destroy.

For a moment, the world went still.

Behind him, Katie lay motionless, her chest barely rising, her skin smeared with blood. My heart clenched at the sight of her—so still, so fragile. The fear that had been gripping me turned into something sharper, more desperate. The Creeper’s eyes never left me, as though he was waiting for something.

My voice cracked as I forced the words out. “Please... don’t hurt her.”

He stopped for a second, tilting his head and narrowing his glowing eyes as he took me in. For a brief moment, it seemed like he was trying to figure me out. Then, in a voice that felt like it was rising from the ground, he finally spoke.

“You beg for her life,” he rasped, the sound more growl than speech. “But what has she ever done for you?”

I blinked, my mind reeling. He could talk. The creature that had hunted us could speak. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t find words. He was already moving, circling me like a predator testing its prey.

“You can talk?” The question slipped out, my disbelief hanging between us.

His lips curled, something close to a smile but colder, darker. “I’ve walked this earth longer than you can imagine,” he said, his voice low and rough. “Of course, I can speak. But it’s a waste on most.”

I swallowed hard, my gaze flicking to Katie’s limp body. Her head was bleeding, and the sight of her was too much. “Leave her,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Please, just leave her alone.”

The Creeper stopped right in front of me, his massive body casting a shadow that swallowed me whole. His glowing eyes narrowed, as if he found my request amusing. “And if I refuse?”

My stomach knotted, my pulse hammering in my ears. I couldn’t make sense of this—the fact that he was speaking to me, taunting me, while Katie bled out behind him. But I clung to the only thing I could—the hope that maybe, just maybe, I could save her.

“Please,” I whispered, choking on the word.

He stepped closer, his presence suffocating. “When I take them,” he murmured, his voice like gravel, “I take more than just their lives. I see their secrets... their desires.” His tone sharpened. “Their lies. Their betrayals.”

It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. He wasn’t just circling me—he was tearing through every raw nerve I had left. His words sliced deeper than anything else.

“I know what they’ve done to you,” he said, his voice softening in a way that only made it more dangerous. “The things they’ve hidden from you.”

A sob clawed its way out of my throat. He was right. Maya’s cruelty, Brian’s obnoxious behavior—all of it rushed back, overwhelming me like a flood. The reality of everything I had tried to bury crashed into me, brutal and unrelenting. And the Creeper? He fed on it, drinking in my pain like it was fuel.

He leaned in close, his breath cold against my skin. “They hurt you.”

It wasn’t a question. He knew. He could see every betrayal, every heartbreak. His claws brushed lightly down my arm, sending a shiver through me. It wasn’t pain he wanted. Not yet.

“But you... you are different.”

The words were heavier, laced with something I couldn’t place. My chest tightened, my heart racing. “Different?” I whispered, my voice trembling. “How?”

He leaned in so close I could feel the heat from his skin, the raw power he held in every inch of him. “You don’t hide like they do,” he growled. “You feel everything. It makes you... raw. It makes you real.”

The creature’s lips curled into a crooked grin, eyes flickering with something dark. “You don’t run from the dark.”

He leaned closer, his voice a low growl. “You embrace it.”

I sobbed, my body shaking uncontrollably. Before I knew it, I threw my arms around him, desperate for something—comfort, release, safety. I wasn’t sure anymore. The Creeper stiffened at the contact, surprised, but then his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in.

---