Being stuck in a house for eternity with two other guys? Awful, but not the worst thing I could imagine. No, that title would be reserved for being stuck in a house for eternity with the prettiest woman I had seen in a hundred years. There was only one way it could end–badly.

I sprinted out of my bedroom, stumbling over my own feet.

“Felix, bro? You okay?” Theo popped his head out of his bedroom, running his hands through his shaggy blond hair. I had told him a million times to cut it, but he wouldn’t. Usually he’d clap back at me to cut my own damn hair, which was a joke. He’d laugh at my expense while I fumed, because our hair hadn’t grown so much as an inch since the day we’d arrived.

I rolled my eyes, not bothering to stop running. “I’m fine, and for the last goddamn time, I am not your bro.”

“Whatever, man,” he said, completely unbothered. Theo was utterly unflappable, and it drove me absolutely insane. In fact, the only time I had ever seen him bothered in the thirty years we had been stuck together was when he ran out of his impressive pot stash. In fairness to him, he had made it last a lot longer than it should’ve. I had tried it once, too bored and lonely to say no when Theo had offered. I didn’t like it, which wasn’t surprising considering rule number two.

Always keep a level head. If I ever hoped to get out of this house alive, which was unlikely, I needed to be prepared for anything. So, no alcohol. No drugs. I needed to be sober at all times.

Not that I could begrudge him. After all, we each had our vices. Things we could smell, taste, dream. Theo’s was weed. Booze. Whatever he could get his hands on to not feel the emotions churning beneath the surface of his skin. And on a level I would never discuss with him, I understood why he did it.

A conversation for a different time, because right now I had to stop the blonde woman from opening the door. I made for the stairs, but before I could even round the long hallway’s corner, I heard it.

I felt it.

We all did, because the house was as much a part of us as we were a part of it. And the satisfaction, the utter glee, of a new soul being absorbed within nearly took my breath away. Fuck.

The sounds echoed up the hall, someone tripping, swearing, and the front door slamming shut. I sank to my knees before I could stop myself. A curse was one thing. I had brought that on myself. But to be trapped in here with her? I was certain I could already smell the shampoo she used that morning. Strawberry scented, and intoxicatingly sweet.