Page 8

EVE

The sharp smell of cleaning chemicals stung my nose as I scrubbed the oven’s interior, steel wool rasping against blackened metal. My arms ached, hands slick with grease and soap, but I kept going. The minutes dragged, each tick of the clock stretching longer.

Orion still hadn’t shown. I didn’t want to feel what I was feeling—a mixture of disappointment and regret. He didn’t owe me anything anyway—even if he’d promised.

Still, I’d been watching the clock since my shift ended twenty minutes ago, hoping he’d show.

I gritted my teeth and scrubbed harder. “Ridiculous,” I muttered. I was freaking out over nothing.

“Talking to yourself again?” Sam’s voice made me jump. He leaned in the doorway, coat slung over one arm. “You sure you don’t need a lift? It’s late.”

I straightened, brushing hair from my face with the back of my wrist. “I’m fine. I’ve got to finish the oven anyway.”

Sam frowned. “You sure? I always think it’s creepy when you’re the last one here.”

I forced a smile and shrugged him off, even as a prickle climbed the back of my neck.

He hesitated, hand lingering on the frame, then nodded. “Alright. Night, Eve.”

The door jingled softly as it closed, leaving the diner eerily quiet.

When the oven finally gleamed under the overhead lights, I leaned back on my heels and wiped my forehead. The clock caught my eye again—thirty minutes late.

I shook my head and dried my hands. Maybe work ran late, and he forgot. That didn’t make sense. He didn’t seem like the type to just forget. But what did I really know about him? Not much. Maybe I’d let Louise and Darcy’s matchmaking hopes get to me.

I was overthinking it. Definitely.

I bit my lip, wiping down the counters again just to keep busy.

Eventually, the busy-work ran dry, so I grabbed my coat from the hook and flipped the lights, plunging the diner into darkness as I stepped outside. Cool air hit my skin, my breath fogging as I locked up and scanned the lot.

There was no sign of his truck. The parking lot stretched empty before me, the flickering sign casting a pale pink glow across the asphalt. The woods beyond loomed, mist curling at their edges.

I wrapped my coat tighter, swallowing the lump in my throat. With nothing else to do, I locked up and crossed the empty lot, sitting on the curb by the side of the road. The concrete bit through my jeans, and the cold crept up my legs.

I glanced at my watch. Ten minutes. I’d give him ten more minutes, then I’d go back inside.

Crossing my arms, I tried to push away the cold and the embarrassment.

If he didn’t show, I’d have to call Louise and ask her for a ride.

The idea made my stomach twist. I didn’t want more of her fussing or questions over Orion’s timekeeping skills. That would just make this worse.

Come on, Orion. Prove me wrong.

I stared out at the empty road like I could will the headlights to appear in the dark. The trees surrounding the diner were usually a blessing, shielding it from the worst of Alton Creek’s winter winds. But now, in the stillness of the night, they felt like a cage, pressing in from all sides.

My pulse jumped as something shifted in the corner of my eye.

A figure stood at the edge of the lot, slowly walking towards me. He was cloaked in mist and shadow, just beyond the reach of the neon glow.

It was him. I was so sure of it. He looked just like the man I’d seen last night—the man who’d forced me to crash to avoid hitting him.

He didn’t stop his approach, which was starting to creep me out. How had he gotten here without a car? My heart pounded, rhythm sharp and erratic. Slowly, I pushed to my feet, nerves ablaze, but my legs felt rooted to the concrete.

“Hello?” My voice trembled, sounding too loud in the silence around the diner. “The diner’s closed.”

His steps didn’t falter as he moved into the glow of the neon. Fuck no, I had no intention of waiting to see what he wanted from me. Then the shadows peeled back like curtains, revealing just enough about his appearance that alarm bells sounded in my head.

Was that blood? His expression was almost feral as he continued straight towards me, his speed picking up as he closed the distance.

I ran back towards the diner. I fumbled the keys in my hand, wondering if I’d be able to get the door unlocked before he caught up to me, but those thoughts scrambled as I skidded to a halt.

The man was now standing in front of me. One second, the lot had been empty. The next, he blocked my path, tall, unyielding.

His features were almost human. Light hit his graying skin, revealing jagged teeth that didn’t belong in any mouth.

His eyes were endless black pits, swallowing everything.

Thick veins pulsed along his throat, like poison ran through them.

His shirt hung in bloody tatters, exposing sinew and muscle beneath.

The man had… claws . Long, ragged things tearing from his fingertips, dripping something black that hissed as it hit the ground.

He tilted his head. His grin widened, splitting across his face.

“Do you know how long I’ve been hunting you, little bird?”

Move , my mind screamed. Run. Do something.

But I just stood there, frozen to the spot, staring at the horror unfolding before me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was having some kind of messed-up nightmare, but the dread coursing through my veins felt very, very real.

He chuckled. The sound crawled under my skin.

“Finding you wasn’t easy,” he said, slow and savoring. “But your fear…” He inhaled, eyes fluttering. “I can smell it. Sweet and thick. Worth the wait.”

I turned and ran, this time bolting for the highway. The lights overhead flickered faintly as my feet pounded the asphalt and my heartbeat rang clear in my ears.

I didn’t make it far before a mass slammed into me. The man tackled me and we hit the ground hard. Pain exploded up my side as my hip struck the ground. My wrist twisted beneath me, and my forehead cracked against concrete—white-hot pain flaring across my skull.

I gasped, air forced from my lungs, leaving me choking and disoriented. His body crushed me, pinning me to the cold, unyielding ground.

I thrashed beneath him, screaming with everything I had. I tried to shift his weight off me, dragging my nails across his arms, chest, face—anywhere I could reach.

His face hovered inches from mine, black eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. He leaned in, sniffing along my neck, jagged teeth glinting in the dim light.

“Stop squirming,” he hissed near my ear.

“Let go of me!” I shrieked, raw and desperate. I bucked against him, but his claws clamped onto my shoulders like vises. Pain exploded as they pierced my skin, hot blood seeping into my jacket.

“Your blood…” He inhaled, voice thick with anticipation. “One little taste first.”

His grin stretched wider—too wide. The jagged teeth lengthened, jutting outward until they crowded his jaw. His face darkened, veins writhing beneath the surface like they were alive.

He lowered his mouth to my neck. His breath hit my skin, hot and sour, and bile rose in my throat.

“No,” I choked out—but I couldn’t stop him.

I couldn’t breathe, could barely process what was happening. My scream tore through the endless night as his teeth sank into me. Agony lit up my body—a fiery bolt ripping through every nerve. It was like being burned alive.

I tried to fight, to shove him off, but it was useless. He bit deeper. A sickening crunch filled the air beneath my gurgled cries. Through the tears, I saw his bloodied mouth when he finally pulled his face back.

“Delicious,” he purred.

Then, in a single jarring instant, the weight vanished.

He was ripped off me so fast it felt like the air had been torn apart.

I gasped—the rush of oxygen burning down my throat. My vision swam as I rolled to my side, clutching my neck. But even through the haze, I saw him.

The creature now stood a few feet away, no longer looking at me. He was crouched before someone else—another towering figure, a faint glint of metal at his side.

Was that a freaking sword ?

I blinked, trying to orient my fading vision. The image stayed. My arms wobbled as I tried to sit up, but the pain and the blood loss dragged at my limbs like anchors pulling me down.

The creature snarled and lunged. His claws flashed, teeth bared, but the man was faster.

Steel arced in a blur, and the creature barely dodged. It lunged again, claws slicing through the air, narrowly missing another strike. Everything blurred—too fast to follow.

Then the sword came down in a single, vicious stroke. The creature’s head hit the ground with a sickening thud, the body collapsing as a black pool spread across the parking lot.

A scream ripped from my throat, and the man turned toward me.

It was too much. Blood loss caught up to me in a rush. I fought to stay awake, to hold on, but everything was slipping.

The last thing I saw was the gleam of blood-slick steel, a flash of green—then nothing.