Page 22 of Cursed

Sadie quickens her pace, taking a left turn at the intersection ahead. I count to five before following, maintaining distance.

When she reaches the blue-lit corridor, her posture changes. She thinks she’s safer here, with better visibility. Another miscalculation that makes me smile behind my mask. She doesn’t understand that the Hunt isn’t about hiding—it’s about submission.

She glances back again, eyes narrowed behind her porcelain mask. For a moment, I think she’s spotted me, but her gaze passes over my position without recognition. Still, her body language speaks volumes—shoulders tight, hands clenched.

“Sadie.” I keep my voice low, letting it echo slightly through the corridor. “I see you.”

The effect is immediate. She freezes mid-step, head snapping toward the sound. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, fear stealing her breath.

“Did you think you could hide from me?” I continue, still concealed in shadow.

I step forward enough for the blue light to catch the edge of my white mask. Enough for her to know I’m here, not just a voice in the darkness.

Her fear is tangible; I can almost taste it in the air. My cock hardens instantly as her breathing quickens, those little gasps of terror feeding a darkness within me.

“I’ve been inside your apartment,” I say, circling closer but remaining partially hidden. “Inside your computer. Inside your head. Did you think I wouldn’t get inside you, too?”

The blue light catches the tears forming in her eyes. Perfect. The moisture makes them glitter like precious stones. I want to collect those tears, preserve them as trophies alongside the videos I’ve compiled of her most vulnerable moments.

“Your fear is beautiful,” I whisper. “It makes me hard. Makes me want to hurt you to see what sounds you’ll make.”

She backs away, her shoulders hitting the wall behind her. Trapped. The realization crosses her face—a flicker of panic that sends electric pleasure coursing through my veins.

“Run,” I suggest. “I’ll give you a ten-second head start. I’ll enjoy the chase almost as much as I’ll enjoy breaking you.”

The rational part of my brain—the part my brothers still believe rules me—acknowledges this isn’t normal. Healthy men don’t get erections from terror in a woman’s eyes. They don’t fantasize about collecting screams like rare artifacts.

But I stopped pretending to be healthy long ago.

“Eight seconds now, Sadie,” I continue, reaching down to adjust myself through my pants. “I’m counting. Seven... six...”

She bolts, her footsteps echoing down the corridor. The sound of prey in flight. My smile stretches wider beneath my mask, teeth bared in a feral grin. The pressure builds in my chest—that familiar, wonderful tightness that comes before I let the monster out to play.

“Ready or not,” I whisper to the empty corridor. “Here I come.”

10

SADIE

Itake a sharp right, then left, desperately trying to put distance between us. The labyrinth seems endless, all concrete walls and strategic lighting that creates more shadows than illumination. Perfect for predators. Terrible for prey.

The corridor branches again, and I choose left without thinking, running blindly, driven by instinct. Then I hear it—a sound that cuts through my panic and stops me in my tracks.

A woman’s muffled cry, somewhere nearby.

I slow my pace, forcing my breathing quiet. There it is again—coming from a half-open door to my left. I should keep running. Landon could be right behind me. But the sound draws me in.

I edge closer, peering through the gap.

The room glows dim and red, bathed in bloody light. On a padded leather bench in the center lies a woman, spread-eagled, wrists and ankles strapped down with thick cuffs. Her porcelain mask is still in place, but the chestnut waves spilling over the edge give her away instantly.

Cora Pike. The Mayor’s daughter.

We met in the preparation room before the Hunt started.

Three masked men surround her, completely naked. One stands at her head, his cock thrusting between her lips. Another pounds between her spread legs while the third waits his turn, stroking himself as he watches.

My stomach drops as fragments of conversation from earlier flood back to me. Before the Hunt began, I’d slipped into the bathroom to calm my nerves. That’s when I overheard three male voices on the other side of the wall.