13

“Let me think for a second,” Mike tried to calm her down, despite panicking inside.

He had caught Zane’s gaze when they fled, and he knew that they might have enraged him and his demon family by attempting to escape.

“Mike, we don’t have time for this!” Gem snapped, her voice broken and low. “What if they come after us?”

“I know, I know! But if we keep running without a plan, we’ll only make things worse,” he replied, his mind racing with thoughts of how to escape a trapped space. He had never anticipated a day like this, so he was at a loss for what to do next.

They couldn't use their phone to call for help because of poor reception. There had been no signal even before they reached the haunted mansion, plunging them into a terrifying reality— they were completely cut off from the outside world!

Mike’s heart beat faster as he remembered that no one in his family knew he had joined Light and Reed on their usual, mysterious adventures.

His mother had always warned him to steer clear of them, claiming they were trouble, but he couldn't because they had grown up together and were the only friends he felt truly comfortable with. They accepted him for who he was, never humiliating him for being gay.

Now, trapped in a haunted mansion with terrifying sex demons, her cautious words pressed down on him like a heavy fog.

What if something happened to him? What if they never made it back?

He had an admission letter to his first choice university waiting for him in his mail, so he must return home. If anything happened to him here, his whole family would be devastated. His mother might have another heart attack, and the doctor had said she might not survive this time.

“What if we try to find something that can help us? Like a map or a clue about this house?” he whispered, careful not to alert the demons to their location.

Right now, they were in the kitchen, and thankfully, there was no ghostly light here.

“Okay, let’s find the library or the master room.” Gem nodded after listening to Mike’s voice.

Mike’s eyes widened in terror. “Wait—the master room?” he gasped. “That’s the first room we passed by!” He couldn't help but exclaim, recalling that it was the room Jaxon had left to get the lubricant from.

“Fuck, what do we do now? We can’t go back there.” Gem asked, hysterical tears streaming down her cheeks.

She was already exhausted from running. It was a sport she despised, and her heart was pounding so hard she felt she might faint.

“Let’s just find the library,” Mike suggested his voice barely above a whisper.

As they rushed through the darkened halls, Gem felt Mike’s hand slip from hers, but she kept running, desperately checking each room for the library.

Her heart raced as she scanned for fire escapes and the balcony she had glimpsed at the back when they arrived, but every door seemed to lead to more dark shadows.

“Mike?” Gem called out, her voice trembling as she turned, only to find that he was gone.

The blood instantly drained from her face.

A cold dread settled in her stomach as she frantically searched the dimly lit hallway, her mind spiraling into terror.

“Mike!” she shouted, panic clawing at her throat as silence enveloped her.

The fear that gripped her heart intensified.

She felt herself shaking as she dashed into the nearest open room to hide.

Their hopeless attempts to escape infuriated the Blackwood brothers. They had been waiting patiently for them to regain their senses and surrender to pleasure like their friends had, but it seemed they assumed there was an escape route hidden somewhere.

Which was utterly impossible.

“Let’s go after them and fuck them without mercy,” Zane growled, the deep tone of his voice sending shivers down Red’s spine. It was so primal and intoxicating that she felt her body responding against her will.

“This is wrong,” she thought frantically, trying to push aside the heat rising within her.

Zane’s words and the grim reality of their situation should have extinguished her arousal, yet an irresistible urge compelled her to gaze at the demons before her.

They were nothing like the handsome men who had welcomed them, but their dark aura was undeniably captivating. Their heights towered over them, and their storm cloud wings and horns made them look dark and ethereal.

“Are you okay, Red?” Reed asked as she trembled uncontrollably in his arms. Assuming it was fear, he wrapped her tighter in his embrace.

“It’s alright,” he murmured, gently stroking her hair to calm her.

“You all keep having fun. We’ll be back,” Jaxon said, his deep, sultry voice laced with menace. “We’re going to make your friends regret ever thinking they could escape.”

Light saw the thrill of the hunt dancing in his eyes, and for a moment, he regretted ever bringing Mike and Gem along with them.