Page 5 of The Stalker
I catch a flicker in his expression, a shadow moving across his face, though nothing passes between us.For a heartbeat, his features distort, his dark eyes flash an almost green, like someone else is staring out from behind them.
I blink, and it’s gone.But I remember the stories, tales of dark nights in Ashburne that have been whispered since before I was a kid.About Halloween, about the veil thinning, and about people being possessed by spirits that force them to reveal their true selves.I used to laugh ...after all, ghost stories are for bored small-town kids.
But tonight, I don’t laugh.I can’t.Because Griffin doesn’t feel like just Griffin anymore.He feels like something more.Something dangerous.
“Bianka,” he murmurs, drawing me out of my thoughts.Hearing my name on his lips after all these years makes my stomach clench.
I shouldn’t want this.I shouldn’t wanthim.But God help me, I do.
I always have.
Chapter Three
I’m No Stranger
Griffin
She says my name like she doesn’t know me.Like I’m some stranger who just appeared on her porch, dripping in shadows and hunger.
I want to laugh, but I don’t.My jaw is locked too tight, my teeth grinding with everything I’ve been holding back.For a year, I’ve been patient.For a year, I’ve told myself she needed space, time, and silence so that she can heal before I come for her.That I could just watch, and it would be enough.Patience is a chain holding me down, but tonight I will free myself of the weight.
She doesn’t understand.She never could.That car accident didn’t ruin her—it ruinedme.It stole five years I could’ve had with her.Five years of kisses, hundreds of touches, of a life we should have had together.And now she stands in front of me, wrapped in shadows and fear, acting like she doesn’t know who the hell I am.
“You have no idea,” I say softly, “how long I’ve been waiting.”
Her eyes widen, chest rising fast beneath that too-big sweater she hides in.I can almost see the thoughts slamming through her head.He’s dangerous.He’s not the same.Run.
She doesn’t run.Not yet.
“Make her run.”The voice coils through me, sharper now, digging into my skull like claws.It’s been whispering all night, but now it’s screaming.A man’s voice, deep and urgent.“She wants to be chased.They all do.Don’t you remember?She’s always been yours.Take her before someone else does.”
“Shut up,” I mutter under my breath.
Her brow creases.“What?”
I step closer to her, mere inches separating us now.“Nothing.”
