Page 51 of Haunted

I smile as she takes her first hesitant step into the maze of metal spires.

I follow Mira into the Hall of Thorns, watching as the first set of spikes slides into place behind her with a mechanical hiss that echoes off the walls. The trap activates exactly as designed—the contestants become prisoners. At the same time, I remain free to move through hidden passages built specifically for hunters.

The blood-red lighting flickers across the metal spires, casting everything in crimson shadows as Mira realizes her mistake. She spins around to findthe exit sealed, spikes now blocking her retreat. Her breathing quickens as she takes in the maze of sharp metal surrounding her.

“Clever design, don’t you think?” I move easily through the hunter’s corridor that runs parallel to her position, my voice carrying through the chamber. “The prey gets trapped while we maintain complete freedom of movement.”

A loud moan echoes from deeper within the Hall of Thorns, followed by a woman’s breathless plea. “More... please, Vane, more.”

Mira’s head snaps toward the sound, her eyes widening as she realizes she’s not alone in here. Through the maze of spikes, we can both see Lia pressed against one of the raised platforms, her back arched as Vane draws a gleaming blade across her collarbone. A thin line of crimson wells up on her olive skin.

Lia’s response is immediate and enthusiastic. Her head falls back in ecstasy as she begs, “Deeper. Don’t stop.”

There’s no fear in her voice, no reluctance—only raw, desperate hunger for what Vane is giving her. She’s completely lost in the game, trembling with arousal rather than terror as he traces the knife lower, leaving delicate cuts across her chest.

“You see that?” I move closer to where Mira stands, frozen between the spikes. “That’s what complete surrender looks like. No fighting, no trying to escape. Pure submission towhat she needs.”

Vane’s green mask glints in the red light as he leans down to lick the blood from Lia’s wounds, making her cry out in pleasure. Her hands reach for him desperately, but the restraints keep her exactly where he wants her.

“Please,” Lia gasps, “I need?—”

“I know what you need.” Vane’s voice is low and dangerous as he positions the blade against her inner thigh.

Mira’s face pales as she watches, pressed back against the spikes behind her, close enough that the metal points brush her skin but don’t pierce.

“Still think running was the better choice?” I ask, circling closer to where she’s trapped.

I move through the hidden hunter’s passage, circling around Mira’s position. The spikes form a perfect cage around her, each step backward bringing her closer to the restraints I’ve placed strategically throughout this section.

“You’re running out of room,” I observe, noting how the spikes force her into an increasingly narrow space. Each backward step she takes brings her exactly where I want her to be.

Her shoulders hit the restraint post behind her—a tall metal spike designed specifically for this purpose. Before she can react, I’m through the hunter’s entrance and inside her section of the maze, moving fast enough that panic doesn’t give her time to think.

“No—” she starts, but I already have her left wrist, pulling it back around the post.

The leather cuff clicks into place. She yanks againstit, trying to free herself, but I’m already securing her right wrist to the same spike. The position arches her back slightly.

“Perfect,” I murmur, stepping back to admire the sight she makes—red silk barely covering her body, arms bound behind her, chest thrust forward by the position I’ve forced her into.

Her breathing is rapid with fear, but I can see the pulse racing at her throat. The same pulse that jumped when I touched her earlier, betraying the darkness she tries so hard to deny.

“You’re not ready for blades yet,” I tell her, running my fingers along her collarbone where Vane marked Lia moments ago. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be gentle.”

I lean in close and pull my mask off again, my mouth finding the sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder. Instead of kissing, I bite down—not hard enough to break the skin, but firm enough to make her gasp and arch against the restraints.

Her taste floods my mouth as I work my way lower, teeth grazing across the exposed skin above the silk. Every small sound she makes only encourages me to be rougher, to take more of what I want.

“You brought this on yourself,” I growl against her throat before biting down again, harder this time. “Your investigation, your choices—all of it led you right here.”

My teeth find her shoulder next, leaving marks that will remind her exactly who owns her now. She tries topull away, but the restraints keep her perfectly positioned for whatever I want to take.

“Stop,” Mira’s voice comes out breathless, strained against the position I’ve forced her into. “Xavier, stop this.”

I pull back enough to meet her eyes, letting a slow smile spread across my face. The kind of smile that makes hardened criminals nervous in my presence. On her, trapped and vulnerable as she is, the effect is even more pronounced.

“Stop?” I repeat the word like it’s foreign to me. “That’s interesting.”

I reach into my jacket pocket and withdraw the folded papers she signed. The legally binding document that sealed her fate the moment her pen touched the paper.

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