Hunted By Shadows

Hunted By Shadows

Fountain A. Gidado · Completed · 143.1k Words

976
Hot
976
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Psychic investigator Sam Drewsbury has spent three years hunting the demon that murdered her twin brother, using her ability to see death echoes to track supernatural killers through Seattle's underground. But when she's hired by mysterious tech mogul to find his missing daughter, Sam discovers the girl wasn't kidnapped—she was sacrificed to open a portal between worlds.
Enter Kieran Braut, a centuries-old hunter bound by ancient magic to destroy demons before they can establish permanent footholds in the human realm. Cursed to feel every death he causes, Kieran has sworn off working with humans after his last partner's betrayal cost innocent lives.
But this isn't just another demon incursion. Someone is systematically weakening the barriers between dimensions, and Seattle is becoming a supernatural battleground. As Sam's visions grow stronger and more dangerous, she realizes her psychic gifts aren't natural—they're the result of demonic blood passed down through her family line.
Kieran needs Sam's unique abilities to track the portal locations, but her demonic heritage makes her both the key to stopping the invasion and the perfect vessel for the demon lord trying to cross over. With each use of her powers, Sam becomes more connected to the demon realm, slowly losing her humanity.

Chapter 1

The concrete is still warm with blood.

I crouch in the alley behind Pike Place Market, pressing my fingertips against the stain where victim number four died three hours ago. The familiar chill of death echo preparation runs up my spine, and I close my eyes, opening myself to the psychic residue that clings to violent endings.

"Um, Sam? This is really gross," Tyler whines behind me. "Can't you just, I don't know, look at the crime scene photos like normal investigators?"

I ignore my assistant and let the death echo hit me.

Ice water floods my veins. Claws tear through flesh like paper. Inhuman snarls fill the air as something massive pins a struggling woman against the brick wall. Her final scream cuts through the night, terrified, desperate, hopeless. But underneath the victim's terror, I taste something else. The killer's satisfaction. A hunger that feels ancient and intelligent.

The vision ends and I gasp, yanking my hands back from the concrete.

"Jesus, Sam, you're white as a sheet." Tyler's voice carries that familiar mix of fascination and revulsion. "What did you see?"

"Help me up." I extend my hand, legs shaky from the psychic drain. Tyler pulls me to my feet, his college-boy strength surprising for someone who looks like he survives entirely on energy drinks and ramen.

"So?" He bounces on his toes, notebook ready. "Serial killer? Psychopath with a knife fetish? Ooh, maybe it's one of those guys who thinks he's a vampire!"

"It wasn't human." I dust off my jeans and examine the alley with fresh eyes. The death echo always reveals details the crime scene techs miss. "Look at the claw marks on the wall."

Tyler squints at the brick. "Those could be from a knife. Or like, really long fingernails."

"Eighteen inches long?" I trace the gouges with my finger. They start at shoulder height and rake down to the pavement. "And look at the spacing. No human hand made these marks."

"Okay, so maybe it's a really big dog. Or a bear. Do we have bears in Seattle?"

I want to shake him. "Tyler, the victim was found with her throat torn out, not bitten. And bears don't arrange bodies in ritual positions."

"Ritual positions?" His pen freezes over the notebook. "You didn't mention ritual positions."

Because I haven't told him what I really saw. The death echo showed me more than claws and screams. I saw the killer's face, or what passed for one. Yellow eyes that burned with hellfire. Skin like charred leather. And when it finished killing, it arranged the woman's body with careful precision, whispering words in a language that made my blood sing with recognition.

But Tyler doesn't need to know that. He already thinks I'm half-crazy, and he's not entirely wrong. Normal people don't see the last moments of violent deaths by touching bloodstains. Normal people don't hunt things that go bump in the night through Seattle's darkest corners.

Then again, normal people don't have twin brothers murdered by demons.

"Sam?" Tyler waves his hand in front of my face. "You're doing that thousand-yard stare thing again. Are we dealing with some kind of cult?"

"Something like that." I pull out my phone and snap photos of the claw marks, making sure to capture the angle and depth. "I need you to cross-reference the locations of all four murders. Look for patterns, occult symbols, underground tunnels, anything that connects them besides the MO."

"Already on it." Tyler's chest puffs with pride. "I've been mapping the crime scenes while you were doing your... whatever you call this psychic detective thing. All four locations form a perfect square around the Pike Place Market area."

I stop mid-step. "A square?"

"Yeah, look." He pulls out his tablet, showing me a map of downtown Seattle with red pins marking each murder site. "Four corners of a square, with Pike Place right in the center. That's not a coincidence, right?"

The pattern makes my stomach clench. Four sacrifices to anchor a summoning circle, with the market—one of Seattle's most spiritually active locations—as the focal point. This isn't random killing. It's preparation.

"Tyler, I need you to research any missing persons reports from the past week. Focus on people with unusual backgrounds; psychics, mediums, anyone involved in the supernatural community."

"The supernatural community?" Tyler's eyebrows climb toward his hairline. "Sam, you're starting to sound like one of those conspiracy theorists who thinks the government is run by lizard people."

"Just do the research." I start walking toward my car, parked on Western Avenue. "And see if you can find any connection between the victims and tech companies. Specifically quantum computing or dimensional research."

"Dimensional research?" Tyler scrambles to keep up with my longer stride. "What the hell is dimensional research? Are we talking about parallel universes now?"

I unlock my Honda Civic and slide behind the wheel. "We're talking about people who think the barriers between worlds are thinner than they used to be."

Tyler climbs into the passenger seat, shaking his head. "I swear, Sam, sometimes I think you actually believe this stuff. Like you really think demons and ghosts and whatever else goes bump in the night are real."

If only he knew. I've been hunting the supernatural for three years, ever since something with glowing red eyes tore Danny apart right in front of me. Every case brings me closer to finding his killer, and every death echo shows me more of the hidden world that exists parallel to normal life.

But Tyler is just a college kid who needed a job that paid better than minimum wage. He doesn't need to know that monsters are real, or that his boss is one paycheck away from losing her mind to the darkness she hunts.

"I believe in following the evidence," I say instead. "And the evidence says our killer isn't human."

Tyler pulls out his phone and starts typing. "Okay, missing persons with supernatural connections. Do I include people who've been to psychic readings, or are we talking full-blown crystal-wielding witches?"

"Cast a wide net. Anyone who's ever dabbled in the occult, visited a medium, or claimed to have psychic abilities." I start the engine and pull into Seattle's late-night traffic. "And Tyler? This stays between us. If word gets out that I'm looking into supernatural angles, I'll lose what's left of my credibility with the police department."

"Your secret's safe with me." Tyler grins and taps his temple. "Besides, who would believe me? 'My boss thinks demons are real and she solves crimes by touching dead people's blood.' They'd have me committed."

I wish I could laugh at the absurdity, but the death echo is still fresh in my mind. The killer's satisfaction wasn't random violence or mental illness. It was the pleasure of a job well done, a ritual completed successfully.

Four sacrifices in a perfect square around Pike Place Market. Whatever summoned those claws is just getting started.

"Tyler, one more thing." I glance at him as we drive through the empty streets. "If anything weird happens during this investigation; and I mean anything, you run. You don't try to help, you don't stick around to see what happens. You just run."

"Define weird." Tyler's fingers pause over his phone screen. "Are we talking about finding more claw marks, or like, actual supernatural encounters?"

I could tell him the truth, that I've been fighting things that shouldn't exist for three years, that my psychic abilities make me a magnet for supernatural trouble, that working with me puts him in more danger than any college kid should face.

Instead, I turn onto Pine Street and head toward my apartment. "Just promise me, Tyler. If things get dangerous, you run."

"I promise." But his voice carries that stubborn note I've learned to recognize. Tyler might act like a scared kid, but he's got more backbone than he lets on. Which means I'll have to be extra careful to keep him away from whatever I'm about to uncover.

Because the death echo showed me something else, something I haven't told Tyler or anyone else. When the killer finished arranging the victim's body, it looked directly at the spot where I was crouching tonight. Like it knew I'd be there. Like it was leaving a message specifically for me.

The hunt is just beginning.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Protectors Of Her Warrior's Heart

Protectors Of Her Warrior's Heart

1.9k Views · Completed · arianniahrain
Tali had spent her entire life in hell.

Rescued by men who call themselves Protectors—warriors from another realm who embody the legends of angels and vampires—she is thrust into a world she never knew existed. For the first time, she experiences freedom, safety, and the possibility of a future.

But freedom comes with a price.

Tali is forced to face the father she believed abandoned her and a powerful council determined to use her for their own ends. Stranger still are the abilities awakening within her—powers no one understands, yet everyone seems desperate to control.

As she learns to trust, she chooses the mates destined to stand beside her. In their arms she finds love, devotion, and a family worth fighting for. But not everyone wants their bond to survive.

When the council betrays the Protectors and attempts to steal her newborn son, it ignites a war that will shake every realm.

Now Tali stands at the center of a conflict far greater than herself. The answers to ancient mysteries, the fate of her child, and the future of countless worlds all rest on her shoulders.

Surrounded by mates who love her fiercely and refuse to leave her side, Tali will battle enemies old and new, forge powerful alliances, and discover just how strong she truly is.

Because this war won't be won for her.

It will be won with her.

And together, they will fight for their future, their family, and a love worth crossing realms to protect.
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

2.1k Views · Completed · Emma Mountford
Saints and Sinners- She was the light to my dark.
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.

I’m not even sure I want to.

Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.

She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.

The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.

I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.

I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.

3/ Rags and Ritches-
The CEO's Unspoken Love

The CEO's Unspoken Love

446.4k Views · Completed · Lily Bronte
"You want my forgiveness?" he asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous timbre.

Before I could answer, he moved closer, suddenly looming over me, his face inches from mine. I felt my breath caught, my lips parting in surprise.

"Then this is the price for speaking ill of me to others," he murmured, nipping my lower lip before claiming my mouth in a real kiss. It began as punishment but quickly transformed into something else entirely as I responded, my initial rigidity melting into compliance, then active participation.

My breathing accelerated, small sounds escaping my throat as he explored my body. His touches were both punishment and pleasure, drawing shudders from me that I thought he felt reverberating through his own body.

My nightgown had ridden up, his hands discovering more of mine with each caress. We were both lost in sensation, rational thought receding with each passing second...

Three years ago, to fulfill the wish of his grandmother, I was forced to marry Derek Wells, the second son of the family that had adopted me for ten years. He didn't love me, but I had secretly loved him all along.

Now, the three-year contractual marriage is about to end, but I feel that some kind of sentiment has developed between Derek and me that neither of us is willing to admit. I'm not sure if my feelings are right, but I know that we can't resist each other physically...
Confined To The Alluring CEO

Confined To The Alluring CEO

2.2k Views · Ongoing · Ava John
Penelope is heartbroken when she gets to know that her fiance is going to get married to her step-sister Mireya who is already carrying his child.

As she tries to pick up the broken pieces of her heart and move on she is forced to make a life-changing decision in order to save her grandpa's life from the clutches of her wicked stepmother.

Tyrell Achilles is the man whom Penelope has to marry. He is rumoured to be a crippled, hot-tempered, cruel man with a damaged face and the son of the Achilles family which was once the wealthiest family in the country until they went bankrupt.

After the wedding, Penelope realised everything was not what it looked like, but one thing was sure, she was going to use this opportunity to make every single person who betrayed her pay.

She was going to ruin them till the very end but to achieve her goal, she must be able to thread through the traps and conspiracy unscathed.

When she is on the verge of giving up, a hand is stretched out to her, and it is none other than that of her alluring husband Tyrell Achilles and he says these words to her gazing into her eyes. "I never thought this would happen but I'm in love with you, Pennie."

Will she give love a chance or keep fighting the feelings she has for her enigmatic yet alluring husband?
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

932.9k Views · Completed · Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha

Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha

10.4k Views · Completed · Christina
I woke up three years into a marriage I barely remembered—pregnant with twins that weren't my husband's.

Those words should have destroyed me, but the truth was worse: I'd been used as a broodmare by the man who swore to love me, set up in a hotel room with a stranger because My husband Alexander Cross couldn't father children himself, and now I carried the secret babies of Damon Lester—the most powerful and dangerous Alpha in San Loris—while my own family replaced me with the daughter they'd always wanted. But when that same stranger's doctor appeared at my door, when twenty million dollars exchanged hands over a fake perfume bearing my secret identity, and when Damon's gray eyes locked onto mine with recognition I couldn't afford, I realized my carefully hidden life as the legendary perfumer Vera was colliding with a pregnancy that could cost me everything.

Could I protect my babies from the husband plotting my death, hide my true identity from the Alpha who's been hunting me for years, and reclaim the freedom I'd buried along with my dreams—even if it means standing alone against the wolves who see me as nothing more than a womb to be used and discarded?
The Deadly Mafia Princess

The Deadly Mafia Princess

9.8k Views · Ongoing · Tonje Unosen
Ro was taken from her real family when she was 1 year old. Those she believed is her parents have been abusive towards her do years. Despite she being a very feared gang leader of a well known gang, she can’t find it in her to stand up against what she think is her parents. The little girl in her wants their love which she never will get.
Her gang take the matter in their own hands, to try to save their leader from the horror of her home. What none of them know, they wasn’t her real parents, and now Ro will be sent away to live with her real family. That makes her closest members in her gang pack up and move as well. They don’t want to be far away from their leader.
Mated to Her Alpha Instructor

Mated to Her Alpha Instructor

167k Views · Completed · Marina Ellington
I'm Eileen, an outcast at the shifter academy, all because I don't have a wolf. My only saving grace is a knack for healing that got me into the Healer's Division. Then one night in the forbidden woods, I found a stranger on the brink of death. One touch, and something primal snapped between us. That night tied me to him in a way I can't undo.
Weeks later, our new Alpha combat instructor walks in. Regis. The guy from the woods. His eyes lock on mine, and I know he recognizes me. Then the secret I've been hiding hits me like a punch: I'm pregnant.
He has an offer that binds us tighter than ever. Protection… or a cage? Whispers turn ugly, darkness closes in. Why am I the one without a wolf? Is he my salvation… or will he drag me to ruin?
His Lethal Obsession

His Lethal Obsession

2.3k Views · Ongoing · Olivia Chigozie
"Big Kai?"

He didn't respond but moved his eyes around the room, scanning the place.

"Wha...what are you doing here?"

His icy blue eyes returned to me, sending shivers down my spine. Then further dropped to my dress and then back to my eyes.

"The shit going on downstairs, what does it mean?" he asked, making my legs as weak as they are eager to flee.

"It's....it my wedding,"

He scoffed darkly. "Excuse me?"

I swallowed. "I am......getting married,"

He let out a humorless laugh, looking away and giving me lesser comfort. He looked at me with a demonic frown.

Terror washed me.

"Every single motherfucker/human being here, be it adult or child, including you, will burn before that happens,"

〽️〽️〽️

The quiet but pathetic life of Twenty-year-old Mia Jefferson changed the night she found a few months old interracial baby boy abandoned in a dumpster on her way home. She saved him and kept him in her care for almost a month until she was taken by a deadly gang who accused her of abduction. She thought it was it for her until the ruthless gang leader, Nathaniel Kincaid, known on the streets as Big Kai and the father of the baby appeared and added to her punishment. At the point when Mia is about to give up, Nathaniel makes her his baby's nanny as the only way to convince him that she is not the abductor. As she picked up her care for the baby, Nathaniel watched her every move consistently, placing his heart in a dark and passionate risk.
The Alpha & The Vampire Queen

The Alpha & The Vampire Queen

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Kassy Rae Wall
Ambrosia, the Vampire Queen, believed her only duty was to safeguard the hard-won peace; yet, due to her brother Xander’s descent into chaos, she finds herself once again ensnared in a vortex of destiny. Ambrosia must make one of the hardest decisions she has ever had to make before, she must hunt her brother down and get a handle on the chaos that he is so determined to create. With the help of her sister in laws and a head dive she is able to see and know that her entire life she has had forbidden magic used against her to block her memories. As her sealed memories gradually reawaken, she uncovers a history of brutal betrayal suffered in her childhood—and discovers that her true enemy is none other than her own father. She tasked herself with finding Xander and saving him, her need for vengeance grows and she makes the choice to challenge her father to the death. Rising from Queen to the ultimate Guardian, Ambrosia will exact her vengeance amidst blood and fire, undergo a rebirth to claim her true crown, and face the final battle that will determine the ultimate fate of the throne.


Whips crack against her skin, blood pooling on the cold stone floor, while her mother's pleas fade into silence, abandoning her to the monster's wrath. Xander's protective cries turn to accusations under Penny's dark spells, fracturing their sibling bond into shards of mistrust and isolation.
They'll Regret This

They'll Regret This

8.3k Views · Completed · Charlotte York
They traded me for their "real" daughter the day she showed up.

My fiancé didn't just dump me—he proposed to her that same night. My so-called family handed me bus fare and a one-way ticket to the countryside.

Perfect. Let them think they won.

They don't know who I really am. The anonymous genius surgeon who saves lives when elite hospitals give up. The legendary artist whose paintings sell for millions at auction. The undefeated shadow queen of the underground fighting circuit. And the true heiress to a fortune that makes theirs look like pocket change.

Now my ex-fiancé begs on his knees. My fake sister's jealousy is eating her alive. And that cold, arrogant CEO who once threw our engagement contract in my face? He's hunting me down like a man possessed, desperate for one more chance.

They threw me away like trash to upgrade their lives.

Joke's on them.

I was always the upgrade.
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

1.7m Views · Ongoing · Louisa
Dear readers, this novel is coming to an end soon. I highly recommend another fantastic story of the same genre:


I’d appreciate all your support, thank you so much!
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."