Chapter 47 Chapter 48
Chapter 47 Chapter 48
Vanessa
The mansion did not sleep that night.
Neither did I.
Voices echoed through the hallways long after the guests had disappeared.
Doors opened and closed.
Servants whispered nervously.
Guards were stationed throughout the estate.
Everyone had seen the eyes.
Everyone.
For the first time since arriving at the Moretti mansion, I wasn’t the center of attention.
The beast was.
And somehow, that frightened me even more.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the rain streaking down the window.
The storm had arrived shortly after dinner.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Lightning illuminated the gardens for brief, terrifying seconds.
Each time the world flashed white, I found myself searching for those golden eyes.
I never found them.
Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were still there.
Watching.
Waiting.
The clock on the wall struck midnight.
I jumped.
Pathetic.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
I hated this wing.
I hated the silence.
I hated the loneliness.
Most of all, I hated that I was beginning to question my own mind.
Maybe I hadn’t imagined the eyes.
Maybe everyone really had seen them.
Which meant something was out there.
Something dangerous.
A sudden knock echoed through the room.
My heart nearly stopped.
Who would visit me at midnight?
No one visited me during the day.
The knock came again.
Three slow taps.
I stood carefully.
My legs still felt weak.
The hallway beyond the door was silent.
I approached cautiously.
“Who is it?”
No answer.
Another knock.
I swallowed.
Every sensible instinct told me not to open the door.
The maid’s warning returned immediately.
If you hear anything… don’t open your door.
A chill crawled down my spine.
I stepped away.
“No.”
Silence.
Then—
A low growl sounded from the other side.
I gasped.
The sound wasn’t loud.
It almost sounded…
frustrated.
I backed away from the door.
My pulse thundered in my ears.
The growl came again.
Then nothing.
Complete silence.
I stood frozen for nearly a minute.
Waiting.
Listening.
Finally, the sound of retreating footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Or perhaps not footsteps.
Something heavier.
Something larger.
My knees nearly gave out.
I rushed toward the window.
Rain pounded against the glass.
Darkness swallowed the gardens.
But there—
Near the edge of the forest.
Two golden eyes stared back.
Lightning flashed.
The eyes vanished.
I stumbled backward.
My breathing became uneven.
This was real.
This was actually real.
I wasn’t imagining it.
The thing outside existed.
And somehow…
It knew exactly where to find me.
The next morning, exhaustion dragged me from sleep.
I had eventually fallen asleep just before dawn.
The result was obvious.
Dark circles beneath my eyes.
An aching head.
And absolutely no patience.
A maid brought breakfast.
I barely touched it.
As she collected the tray, she hesitated.
Then whispered,
“Everyone is talking about last night.”
I looked up.
“The beast?”
She nodded quickly.
Some of the guards are refusing to patrol the east gardens.”
That caught my attention.
“Why?”
The maid looked around nervously.
Then lowered her voice.
“They say something slaughtered a deer near the forest.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
She nodded.
“There was blood everywhere.”
Wonderful.
Exactly what I wanted to hear before breakfast.
The maid hurried away.
Leaving me alone with that image.
Blood.
Golden eyes.
Growling.
I suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore.
Around noon, I left my room.
Mostly because I felt trapped.
The mansion seemed quieter than usual.
Tense.
Uneasy.
As though everyone expected something terrible to happen.
I wandered toward the library.
Books had always comforted me.
Books made sense.
Unlike this place.
Unlike Alaric.
Unlike the creature lurking around the estate.
The library was empty.
Thank God.
I selected a random book and settled into one of the armchairs.
For nearly an hour, I read peacefully.
Then the door opened.
I looked up.
And immediately wished I hadn’t.
Emma.
Of course.
She paused upon seeing me.
Then smiled.
That perfect smile.
The one that never quite reached her eyes.
“Vanessa.”
I lowered my gaze politely.
“Emma.”
She walked farther into the room.
“I didn’t know anyone was here.”
I suspected she had.
The library wasn’t exactly crowded.
She sat across from me.
Silence stretched between us.
Then she sighed dramatically.
“The entire mansion is terrified.”
I returned my attention to my book.
No response.
She continued anyway.
“Alaric spent all night searching the grounds.”
That got my attention.
I looked up.
Why?
Emma noticed.
And smiled faintly.
“He’s worried.”
The statement felt loaded.
I wasn’t sure how.
But it did.
I looked back down.
“He should be.”
Something dangerous was clearly wandering around.
Emma studied me.
“You’re not frightened?”
I turned a page.
“I am.”
Very much.
But I refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing it.
Emma stood.
“Interesting.”
I frowned slightly.
What was interesting?
Before I could ask, she left.
Leaving me even more confused than before.
That evening, another storm rolled in.
The sky darkened unnaturally fast.
Thunder shook the mansion.
I sat beside the fireplace in my room.
Trying to ignore the anxiety growing inside me.
Then the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The fire suddenly dimmed.
A cold draft swept through the room.
My stomach dropped.
No.
Not again.
A scratching sound echoed outside.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Across the window.
I froze.
The scratching continued.
My entire body went rigid.
I didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
The sound stopped.
Silence.
Then—
Tap.
Something struck the glass.
My pulse exploded.
Tap.
Again.
I stood slowly.
Every survival instinct screamed at me to stay away.
Instead, I approached the window.
One step.
Two.
Three.
The rain distorted everything outside.
I could barely see.
Then lightning split the sky.
And I saw it.
A massive shadow standing beneath the trees.
Far larger than any wolf.
Far larger than any dog.
The creature stood perfectly still.
Watching the mansion.
Watching my window.
Watching me.
Another flash of lightning.
Golden eyes.
My heart stopped.
The creature took a single step forward.
And the earth seemed to shake beneath it.
I stumbled backward.
A gasp escaped my lips.
Then—
A voice behind me spoke.
“What are you looking at?”
I screamed.
Spinning around so quickly I nearly fell.
Alaric caught my arm before I hit the floor.
For one stunned second, neither of us moved.
His hand remained wrapped around my wrist.
Strong.
Warm.
Solid.
My heart raced wildly.
Not because of him.
Because of the thing outside.
I pointed toward the window.
“There!”
His eyes narrowed immediately.
He released me and crossed the room.
By the time he reached the glass—
The creature was gone.
Nothing remained but rain.
Silence.
Thunder.
Darkness.
Alaric stared outside.
Then slowly turned toward me.
I was still shaking.
“It was there.”
His expression remained unreadable.
“What was?”
“The beast.”
The word sounded ridiculous.
Yet I knew what I had seen.
“It was watching me.”
A long silence followed.
The storm raged outside.
Finally, he spoke.
Cold.
Controlled.
“You need sleep.”
I stared at him.
Disbelief filled me.
“Are you serious?”
His jaw tightened.
“You’ve been isolated for weeks.”
“So now I’m hallucinating?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“That’s exactly what you’re saying.”
The words escaped before I could stop them.
His expression darkened instantly.
The familiar wall between us returned.
Cold.
Hard.
Impenetrable.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then—
A terrifying howl echoed across the estate.
Not from the forest.
Not from the gardens.
From somewhere much closer.
Much, much closer.
The sound shook the windows.
Both of us froze.
My blood turned to ice.
Because for the first time since this nightmare began—
I saw something flash across Alaric’s face.
Not anger.
Not irritation.
Not disbelief.
Recognition.
And then it vanished.
But I had already seen it.
And suddenly…
I wasn’t sure who I feared more.