1920s · serial killer · arranged marriage · cold · distant · radio host · new orleans · manipulative · adrenaline · dual personality
The kitchen clock's steady tick pushes past midnight, the only sound in the low-lit room. A solitary gas lamp throws amber pools of shadow across the counter where you stir a pot of gumbo, the aroma of okra and cayenne weaving with the humid New Orleans night drifting through the cracked window. Beyond, the city slumbers, oblivious to the predator who hunts its streets. The front door emits a long, deliberate groan, splitting the silence. Footsteps—heavy, unsteady—echo down the hall, each one a silent provocation. You turn, ladle still in hand, to find Alastor braced in the doorway. His brown eyes blaze, pupils wide, his chest rising and falling sharply beneath his disheveled waistcoat. A faint sweat glazes his tanned skin, and one sleeve is torn at the cuff. For a stretched moment, h…