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His stick-straight hair fluttered around his shoulders as he cocked his head eerily. He threw my hand down, and I took the opportunity to stumble back, but before I could make it far, something slithered around my wrist, stopping me.

A dark shadow wound itself around my arm, slowly making its way up to my elbow. I desperately yanked and swatted at it, but the inkiness tightened, pulsing and expanding to grab my other arm. They tightened, keeping me in place.

“Let me go,” I whimpered.

His large wings stirred, causing his loose shirt to flutter.

“Let me think about it.” He was suddenly an inch from my face. “No.”

His sharp teeth were much too close.

In a swift movement, I was dragged by the hold on my arms and landed on the bed with a hard bounce that rattled my brain. I screamed, struggling against the shadows that had manifested into a more solid entity to pin me on the mattress. The very shadows that always appeared at the corner of my eye, but dissipated before I could get more than a glimpse.

But this proved it, I wasn’t insane. Each time I’d heard things or seen things, they’dreallybeen there.

The creature approached until he stood over the bed. I lifted my head, straining for freedom while he watched me writhe. He did nothing but watch.

“Why are you doing this?” I cried out, panting.

“You know what you did, Beatrix.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t know you,” I said, energy leaking away with each attempt to get free.

His large hands took hold of my thighs. He forcefully spread them, and my skirt pooled around my legs. His claws dug into the skin above my knees, causing small punctures. The sharp, stinging pain zipped to my shin. I flinched, but my legs refused to close.

“You should have obeyed.”

The shadows inched my skirt higher and higher until it wrapped around my waist. With a quick movement, the shadows delved under my underwear and ripped them off, causing the cool air to brush against my bare sex.

This wasn’t happening.Oh, God, please no.

Tears blurred my vision as I thrashed with more effort, using every ounce of strength possible to break free. It was no use. The bed dipped as he crawled onto the mattress, slowly inching up—torturing me.

“We-we can talk about this. I don’t know what I did, but please, I repent. I’ll be a better person.” I trailed off once his face hovered over mine. His hair fell forward, and the tips tickled my cheek.

“You should not have fucked the human male,” he said.

My mind raced. There was only one person I’d slept with. Andrew, my ex-boyfriend. Each moment of intimacy had led up to the night we fucked. But in the lead up, we’d fooled around, and without fail, the voices became so intense I couldn’t get into it. The time I’d shown up at his apartment in the middle of the night, I’d felt rebellious and angry. It felt like the voiceswere trying to deprive me of happiness, so I went to him, pushing through the insistent, indiscernible voices. But they’d won. I couldn’t focus on sex, which made the entire event . . . unsatisfying.

But how did he know about that? And why punish me? The shock stopped the pleas in my throat.

“You belong to me.”

The memory of the hushed whispers overwhelmed my thoughts. It dragged me back to that night. How I had squeezed my eyes tight and gritted my teeth through them. Except, unlike before, they weren’t unintelligible, and it wasn’t multiple voices; it was the creature hovering over me.

“You have always been mine.” His mouth spread into that creepy smile again. That cadence—thatvoice. . . The whispers were always him.

A touch grazed my leg, but his hands were braced on the bed.

“Why?” I croaked.

“You should have obeyed.”

Something cold touched my knee, and I gasped, peeking down between the sliver of space between us. It felt as tangible as a hand against my skin.

More shadows slithered up and wound around my wrists, pulling my arms up so high it verged on pain. Struggling against them was useless. They were too strong.

He rose onto his knees and sat back on his legs. His long limbs were covered in clothing; the linen shirt split at the top to allow me a glimpse at his too-smooth flesh. The pose seemed inconspicuous and laid back, like he didn’t have a worry. Even though his eyes were pure black, I couldfeelhis attention on me. The shadows slackened the slightest amount, and I took the window of opportunity to slap my thighs together.