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When Naomi Sinclair moves to Blackwood Hollow, she expects a quiet town and a fresh start. Instead, she finds a house filled with secrets, a curse that won't let go, and a boy who seems to know more about her past than she does. Elliot Blackwood is a mystery-dark, distant, and impossible to ignore. From the moment Naomi meets him, she feels an unexplainable pull, as if they've met before. But when eerie whispers start calling her name, doors unlock on their own, and the shadows in the manor begin to move, she realizes she's caught in something far more dangerous than just a ghost story. Naomi is marked, bound to a history that refuses to stay buried. With each passing day, she slips further into visions of another life-one where she wasn't Naomi, and Elliot wasn't just a stranger. The past is clawing its way into the present, and if she doesn't uncover the truth behind the Hollow's curse, she might not survive long enough to escape it. But some love stories were never meant to have a happy ending. And some souls were never meant to be free.
Whispers of the Hollow
Chapter 1: The Town That Time Forgot
The road to Blackwood Hollow twisted like a serpent through a dense forest of towering oaks, their skeletal branches clawing at the overcast sky. Naomi sat in the back seat of her mother's car, watching the trees blur past, each mile taking her farther from the life she had known.
She hated moving. Again.
"This is a fresh start," her mother, Evelyn Mercer, had said when she accepted a restoration project at Blackwood Manor, the decaying Victorian estate that loomed over the town like a silent god. "A new place, new people, new beginnings."
Naomi had stopped believing in new beginnings a long time ago.
The first sign of Blackwood Hollow appeared on the roadside: a rusted iron plaque, half-buried in ivy, its letters barely legible.
WELCOME TO BLACKWOOD HOLLOW
"A town of history, a town of legacy."
Beneath it, someone had spray-painted in dripping black letters:
"AND A TOWN OF SECRETS."
A chill crept down Naomi's spine. She tore her gaze away from the sign, but the unease settled deep in her bones.
The town was small-too small. Narrow streets wound between centuries-old buildings, their rooftops heavy with moss and age. Gas lamps lined the sidewalks, their flickering glow giving the streets an eerie, dreamlike quality, even in daylight.
People moved slowly, their eyes shadowed and watchful. They whispered to one another as Naomi's car passed.
She locked eyes with an old woman standing by a fruit stall. Her skin was paper-thin, stretched over sharp cheekbones, but her eyes were the strangest shade of silver-like moonlight reflected in water.
The woman's lips moved, though Naomi couldn't hear the words. But she knew what they were.
"You shouldn't have come."
The estate was worse than Naomi imagined.
It stood atop a lonely hill, its blackened iron gates hanging open like a mouth waiting to swallow her whole. The mansion's windows were dark, empty, yet Naomi felt something watching her from within.
"Isn't it incredible?" her mother breathed as she stepped out of the car, taking in the towering spires and intricate Gothic details. "This place has history, Naomi. Real history."
That was what her mother loved most-bringing old places back to life.
But some places weren't meant to be revived.
Naomi ran a hand over the stone pillars at the gate, shivering at how cold they felt. Colder than winter.
Then, she saw it.
Etched into the stone, nearly worn away by time, was a name.
Eleanor Blackwood.
And beneath it, in smaller script, a warning:
"Gone, but not forgotten. Forever waiting."
Naomi's heart pounded.
Who was Eleanor Blackwood?
And why did it feel like she was waiting for her.
The inside of Blackwood Manor was no better.
The floors creaked with every step, the wallpaper peeled like ancient skin, and the chandeliers overhead swayed as though moved by an unseen hand.
Her mother had insisted they stay in the east wing, the only part of the house still livable. The west wing-the oldest part of the mansion-was sealed off, too dangerous to enter.
That night, Naomi lay awake, staring at the intricate carvings on the ceiling. The wind outside howled through the trees, but it wasn't the wind that kept her awake.
It was the whisper.
A soft, aching voice, just at the edge of hearing.
"Naomi."
She sat up so fast her vision blurred. The room was empty. The door was locked. The windows were shut tight.
Still, the whisper came again.
"Naomi, you have to leave... before it's too late."
And then-the sound of footsteps.
Not from the hallway.
From inside the walls.
Naomi's breath caught in her throat as she pressed her ear against the wooden panel beside her bed.
The footsteps stopped.
And then a soft knock.
From the other side.
Naomi's blood ran cold.
Because the west wing was supposed to be empty.
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.
"Mr. Evans, please maintain some dignity. Don't forget I'm your brother's wife!" Having caught her husband and best friend together in the bed, Elena wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the people she once called family. She refused to be a pitiful divorcee and vowed to make everyone who had once looked down on her beg for forgiveness. And to start with her newfound freedom, Elena indulges in a one-night stand with a stranger. However, what was meant to be a fleeting escape turns into a nightmare when she learns that the stranger is none other than her husband's older brother! Would Elena be free from the shackles of her marriage? Or would the mysterious stranger make her life a living hell since he seemed to have a personal vendetta against his family? [The story is 18+ and involves mature content.]
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!