Page 39 of Haunted

“Well, shit,” he mutters as Xavier appears from the shadows, prowling toward us wearing a red skull mask. He makes another growl that doesn’t sound human—it sounds wild.

Knox’s blue eyes flash as they meet mine, and he looks wary.

“Looks like your boyfriend’s here,” he says. “Xavier never liked to share his toys when we were kids.” Knox is already backing away. “You better run, sweetheart. Fast. Because if Xavier catches you before you’ve had a proper chase...” He shakes his head, almost pitying. “Well, let’s say he won’t be as gentle as I would have been.”

I stare at him blankly as Xavier prowls toward us.

“Go,” Knox hisses, jerking his head toward the far end of the corridor. “Now. Unless you want to spend the rest of this hunt pinned under the Red Mask with no chance of escape. My brother is as feral as they come.”

I don’t look back. I don’t think. I run.

My bare feet slap against the cold marble as I sprint down the corridor, the red silk streaming behind me like a banner. The torchlight blurs past in streaks of orange and gold, and I can hear my own ragged breathing echoing off the stone walls.

Behind me, Knox’s footsteps fade away. Still, they’re replaced by the pace of someone who knows exactly where I’m going and isn’t in any hurry to catch me.

Yet.

I take a sharp left turn, then another right, trying to put as much distance between myself and that sound as possible. The maze stretches endlessly ahead of me, corridor after corridor of cold stone and flickering shadows.

My lungs burn, but I don’t dare slow down. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to run faster, to find somewhere to hide, to?—

“Run, hide, resist.” Xavier’s voice echoes through the maze, amplified by the stone walls, until it seems to come from everywhere at once. “It only makes the moment I have you more exhilarating.”

The words make me fumble because there’s his tone is so different.

He’s not just hunting me. He’s savoring it like his favorite whiskey.

I force myself to keep moving, my feet finding purchase on the smooth marble despite the way I’m trembling. Left turn, straight corridor, another left. I’m trying to remember the path, trying to map the maze inmy head, but a bone-deep sense of panic is making it impossible to think clearly.

A grinding sound fills the air ahead of me—stone moving against stone. My heart sinks as I realize what’s happening. The walls are shifting again, rearranging themselves, cutting off potential escape routes, reminding me there is no way to map the maze.

I reach a junction where three corridors branch off, and I hesitate for just a moment, trying to decide which way to go. That’s when I hear them—footsteps behind me. Still measured, still unhurried, but definitely closer than before.

Xavier isn’t running. He doesn’t need to. He knows this maze like the back of his hand, and I’m just a mouse scurrying through passages he’s designed specifically to trap me.

I choose the middle path and run harder, my heart hammering against my ribs so violently I’m surprised it doesn’t burst. The red silk clings to my sweat-dampened skin, and every breath feels like fire in my lungs.

I round another corner, my lungs screaming for air, when movement in an alcove to my right catches my peripheral vision. I stop in my tracks when I see her—Keira is pressed against the stone wall with two figures looming over her.

Both men wear identical black masks decorated with intricate yellow patterns that appear to shift and dance in the torchlight. One has his hand tangled in her dark red hair, tilting her head back as he kisses her. The othertrails his lips down the curve of her neck, his hands roaming over the scraps of fabric.

Keira’s blue eyes are wide, but not with terror. Her hands grip the leather of one man’s jacket, not pushing him away but pulling him closer.

“Please,” she gasps between kisses, but the word sounds less like a plea for rescue and more like a plea for more.

The taller of the two masked men lifts his head from her throat, and I catch a glimpse of ice-blue eyes. “Exactly right, beautiful,” he murmurs, voice rough with desire. “Tell us what you want.”

The other man’s hand slides down her side, and Keira’s back arches against the wall. “Both of you,” she breathes.

My feet falter for a moment, shock rooting me to the spot. This isn’t what I expected to find.

The shorter man notices me first, his head snapping up. Dark eyes meet mine for a split second before he dismisses me, returning his attention to Keira’s flushed face.

I should help her. I should do something, say something—but Keira’s soft moan echoes off the stone walls, and I realize that she doesn’t want to be rescued.

Behind me, Xavier’s footsteps continue their relentless approach. Closer now, close enough that I can almost feel his presence like heat against my back.

I can’t stop. I can’t help. I can’t even process what I’m seeing because if I pause for even a second, if I let myselfthink about the implications of what’s happening to Keira, Xavier will catch me.

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