The Stalker Next Door: 29. Whispers in the Dark

The cabin smelled of damp wood and smoke. Mara sat cross-legged on the bed, her hands resting in her lap, but her mind was anything but still.

Every shadow felt alive. Every creak of the beams overhead seemed to press down on her like the tick of a clock. Tomorrow loomed like a blade at her throat.

The first Watcher had demanded proof — a mark of loyalty, something undeniable. He would expect it at dawn. If she failed, he would claim her by force. If she bent, she would lose herself completely.

Either way, she would bleed.

Unless she turned the knife back on them both.

She stood and crossed to the small desk in the corner, pulling out the scrap of paper she had hidden. Her hands trembled as she smoothed it across the surface, then picked up the stub of a pencil.

Words came slowly at first.

 He wants proof. At dawn. He wants me marked.

I’ll play along. But I’ll make him bleed for it.

Be ready. Watch for the signal.

She