Page 36 of When Death Whispers

“What… who—what the hell is happening?” I stammer, glancing between him and the glowing eyes still lurking in the kitchen. The air crackles with tension, the two presences clashing like storm fronts.

The creature lifts one clawed hand in a mock greeting. “I go by many names. But let’s keep it simple. Call me Rad.”

Rad?

I almost laugh, but I don’t.

Those glowing orange eyes in the kitchen narrow. The presence behind them seethes.

The creature—Rad—grins wider. “Oh, come now. I told you already,” he purrs, speaking to the shadow. “She’s mine now.”

My pulse skips.

His gaze snaps back to me, his smile widening. “Beholden,” he adds softly, almost like a lullaby. “You summoned me. Your blood. Your fear. It called me to you.”

“What—what does that even mean?”

Rad steps closer, his grin sharpening, predatory. “It means you’re tethered to me now. You feed me. And in return…” His smile turns dark, knowing. “I protect you. Fromhim.”

He jerks his chin toward the kitchen in a strangely human-like gesture. Which should look ridiculous considering he does not look human at all, but it doesn’t. Instead it makes him appear less… dangerous.

And I’m delusional.

“You don’t know what he is yet. But youwill. And when you do, you’ll thank me for this.”

The shadows hiss. The eyes pulse once, then vanish.

Gone.

Rad watches for a moment longer, then exhales through his nose, like a predator who just chased off a rival.

Okay. It’s official. I’ve fucking lost it. The stress finally got to me and broke my mind. That’s the only thing that can explain this. Honestly, it’s surprising it hadn’t happened already. Now I’m actually the crazy lady everyone thinks I am.

Rad turns his frosty gaze toward me, his expression softening slightly like he’s reading the panic bubbling up inside me.

His voice lowers as he steps closer, slow and deliberate. “You’re not crazy,” he says, his voice steady, almost soothing. “But you need to breathe, Parker. Breathe.”

“I don’t… I can’t…How do you know my name?” I finally ask, breath catching.

He taps his chest. “Tethered, remember?”

He crouches beside me. “Sleep,” he murmurs, his voice like a lullaby threaded with command. I try to fight it, but my knees buckle, the room tilts, but his clawed hand catches me before I hit the floor.

The last thing I see is his sharp grin softening further, his tail flicking behind him lazily as he gently lays me on the couch. “You’ll think this is all a dream,” he whispers, his words curling around me like a warm blanket. “For now.”

The world slips away, and the tension gripping my chest fades into nothingness.

15

I don’t remember fallingasleep. My brain feels fogged over, like someone hit the dimmer switch on my thoughts. Flashes of my monster’s orange eyes, his shadows trailing over my skin, and… a beast play on repeat in my mind.

Was that really all a dream?

I blink blearily, rubbing my eyes, trying to make heads or tails of anything when I hear the quiet crunch of gravel outside. I jolt fully upright.

Shit. Hudson.

In all the strangeness, I completely forgot about him.

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