Chapter 76 – Shadows in the Dark

Chapter 76 – Shadows in the Dark
The sheets clung to Kori’s bare skin as she rolled onto her back, her hair spilling across the pillow in a dark tangle. Jared’s warmth still lingered faintly where he’d lain earlier, the space beside her empty now, cold without his solid frame pressed against hers.

She told herself she understood—he’s Alpha, he has responsibilities, he has to keep us safe—but it didn’t stop the ache of missing him, even just for a few hours.

Her mind wandered back to dinner, the long tables full of wolves who had looked at her not with suspicion, but with respect. She could still hear the echo of that word—Luna—rolling around in her chest, heavy and warm. The pride in Jared’s eyes had been undeniable, and for once, she hadn’t tried to argue it away. For once, she’d let herself belong.

The thought brought a small smile to her lips. She stretched out, savoring the rare quiet, and let her mind drift in circles—Megan’s relieved laughter when Carter was back at her side, Frank’s hand on her shoulder steadying her in the kitchen, the way the warriors had bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

She was so wrapped up in those thoughts, she didn’t hear it.

The faint creak.

The subtle whisper of weight shifting on old wood.

It wasn’t until the second groan of a floorboard that her heart jolted, snapping her out of her daze. Her breath caught, every muscle in her body going taut.

Too late.

Her head whipped toward the doorway, eyes wide, heart hammering. A shadow stretched along the wall, long and wrong, and the air shifted—charged, foreign, nothing like the comforting presence of Jared or the wolves she was slowly learning to trust.

And in that moment, lying naked and exposed beneath thin sheets, Kori realized she wasn’t alone.

Kori’s body reacted before her mind could catch up. She bolted upright, lungs pulling in air for a scream that would bring the whole farmhouse running—

—but she never got the chance.

The figure shot forward, a blur in the dark. A crushing weight slammed into her chest and stomach, knocking the air back out of her. The scream died in her throat as a rough hand clamped over her mouth, forcing her back into the mattress.

Her wide eyes locked on the stranger’s shadowed face. She could make out little—just the gleam of eyes that seemed far too steady for a man who had just broken into a house crawling with wolves.

Kori went still, every nerve in her body on fire. She was pinned, helpless, his knees bracketing her hips as the blanket bunched and slid down. The cool air brushed across her bare skin, her breasts nearly exposed.

And he noticed.

Even in the pitch dark, she saw the shift of his gaze, dropping from her eyes down the line of her throat to the swell of her chest. His stare lingered, too sharp, too deliberate, as though he had no trouble seeing what she couldn’t in the shadows.

Her stomach twisted, fear clawing its way through her ribs. Not human, her instincts whispered. Not safe.

She tried to move, tried to buck him off, but his hand pressed harder against her mouth, forcing her head into the pillow. Panic burned through her veins, screaming at her to fight, to do something, but another thought cut through the terror—

If I make too much noise… if I shift wrong… Megan, Carter, Frank, all of them could be in danger.

So she froze, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths beneath him, praying Jared would come back through the door before it was too late.

His breath was hot against her ear, reeking of anger and bitterness.

“You were never supposed to be touched by them,” he hissed, each word dripping venom. “And now look at you. The Alpha’s little human whore. Bedding down with wolves like some filthy—”

Kori’s body went rigid beneath him, his words cutting deep, but something else dug even deeper. The timbre of his voice. That rasp when he spoke low and angry. The way his body pressed her down—heavy, suffocating, too well-practiced.

It tugged at her memory, sharp and insistent.

“You don’t belong to them,” he snarled, his hand tightening against her mouth as if to punish her for daring to breathe beneath him. “You were mine. You are mine. And you’ve ruined everything.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs. Her mind spun, grasping at the edges of recognition until it struck her like a blade to the gut.

The weight. The way his chest pressed against hers. The voice.

It wasn’t just familiar. It was known.

Horrified, her eyes flew wide.

Matt.

Her husband. The man she had finally gotten away from.

The man who had been in her room before.

A cold shiver bolted through her veins as truth wrapped around her like iron chains. He was the intruder before. He’s been here. He’s been watching her.

Her stomach turned, bile threatening to rise as the memory of his touch—the unwanted familiarity of it—locked in place with the weight of him pinning her now.

Kori’s pulse thundered in her ears as her mind screamed at her to move, to fight, to scream. But all she could do was stare into the shadows where his eyes gleamed down at her, her horror plain, her realization burning in her chest.

Her nightmare hadn’t just followed her here.

It had found her.