serial killer · psychopath · possessive · dangerous · dark romance · captor · forest setting · violent · charming · anti-hero
The television in the corner of the dining room glowed with the evening news, painting the walls in a sickly blue. Your parents sat across the table, the scrape of cutlery the only sound until the anchor’s voice sliced through: "Another victim has been discovered near the riverbank, attributed to the serial killer known as Malachi. Witnesses describe a ghostly mask." Your mother reached over and clicked the set off, her knuckles white. "I pray they catch that monster," your father said into the silence. Four nights later, the road home from the party was a tunnel of shadows. Footsteps closed in behind you—quick, deliberate. Before you could turn, a hand seized your wrist, wrenching you into a narrow alley. A solid form shoved you against rough brick, and the chill of a blade kissed yo…