THE ALPHA'S SUCCUBUS

005

It had no taste, almost like sipping warm water, but it calmed me. A chill rushed down my spine, soft as a whisper. Halfway through the cup, I was compelled to lie down, the pull gentle but absolute. I didn’t fight it.

It was 6:10 when I closed my eyes.

I didn’t wake until 7:30, just as my mom was heading out the door in her scrubs. Her eyes skimmed over me with that same careful weariness.

“Rest up,” was all she said.

Yeah. Not happening.

I texted Kaia:

Get ready. I’m picking you up in twenties. Bring snacks.

Then I threw my camera into my backpack along with a notebook, spare lenses, and a charged battery pack. Hair twisted into a messy bun, black leather tank, jean shorts, my jacket, then I slung the pack over one shoulder.

The moment I stepped into the garage, my motorcycle purred to life like a waiting beast. Sleek, black and silver, she vibrated beneath me with quiet menace. I needed to take pictures today, but more than that, I needed to see the lake. The place had been clawing at my thoughts ever since I saw it in the pictures, the cliffs. The still water.

It felt… familiar.

But first breakfast. And Kaia.

She lived a couple of miles away, which in our small, cut-off town meant a bit of a ride. The engine hummed as I passed spaced-out houses, each swallowed by overgrown lawns and stretches of silence. A dense forest framed the edges of everything. We were surrounded on all sides by land, by water, by secrets.

The only way out of town was by flight or ferry.

That was just the way it had always been.

I pulled up to Kaia’s house and honked twice.

She stepped out in a blindingly pink outfit.

I groaned, shielding my face. “Ugh, Kai, my retinas.”

Kaia flipped her hair like a runway model and struck a pose. “Jealousy is an ugly look, Lilith.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hop on, princess.”

She strapped on her helmet, stretched dramatically. “Before we go, I need a hit. I’m vibrating on the inside.”

I snorted, revving the engine. “You’re an addict.”

Kaia grinned, unapologetically. “And you adore me for it. Btw you asked for snacks.”

I shook my head and handed her a helmet: “I need to eat.”

“Exactly why we’re a team,” she sang. “We hit it, get hungry, and dine. God, I love you.”

We laughed as she climbed on, arms wrapping around my waist like she belonged there, which, if I was honest, she did.

We hit the drive-thru, stocked up on greasy joy, and sped off. The wind whipped past us, flattening Kaia’s pink horror-show of a jacket, and the town blurred behind us in streaks of dull color and woodsmoke.

Halfway there, we spotted an old gas station off the road. The GPS said we were twenty minutes from the lake.

I slowed, exchanging a glance with her before pulling in.

It stood like a forgotten relic of the past, its paint cracked and sun-bleached, the sign flickering like it had a dying pulse. The gas pumps were rusted, glass smeared with grime, and the silence that greeted us felt heavy. Too heavy.

Perfect place for a horror movie.

But hell no. I quickly blocked off my imaginative mind and clicked on the creative one. All I wanted was to take a few pictures, not summon demons.

I cut the engine. The silence that greeted us felt heavier. The only sound was the soft crunch of dry leaves as we stepped off. I unzipped my bag, assembled the camera with muscle memory.

Kaia lit a blunt, took a long drag, and passed it over. I followed suit.

The burn calmed the buzz still crackling beneath my skin.

I leaned against the bike. She posed with dramatic flair, tossing her hair and blowing smoke.

“You sure about this?” she asked, glancing around. “We’re already on the outskirts.”

I smirked, clicking the shutter. “It’s on our bucket list. Downtown before eighteen, remember?”

She groaned. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”

“Because you love me.”

Kaia rolled her eyes. “Our friendship is parasitic, honestly.”

I raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Come on. You bullied me throughout all of my childhood and I still stuck around. Crying. Loving you.”

“And yet here you are.” I kept snapping pictures, the decaying station and rusted signage casting eerie silhouettes.

She sighed, leaning back. “I was the victim, you know. No one ever saw it from my point of view.”

“Poor, poor Kai.” I grinned. “I always give you an out. You’re just persistent.”

“Obsessively loyal,” she corrected, and nudged my leg with her foot. “Tomorrow’s your birthday. I love you. I’m here.”

I smiled as I flipped through our pictures, the lens catching the gas station in all its eerie glory. The peeling paint, cracked windows, and rusted pumps had a strange charm, a vintage aesthetic you couldn’t fake. But something caught my eye.

Something felt… off.

I paused.

In one of the shots, tucked in the shadows near the abandoned storefront, was a figure.

A man.

Just barely visible. Still. Watching.

“Kaia…” I frowned. “Look at this.”

She leaned in over my shoulder, squinting. “What about it?”

“There was someone here.”

I zoomed in, heart stuttering. But the figure was gone. Nothing but broken glass and shadows. We did a sweep around the station, walking the perimeter, calling out half-heartedly. But there was no one.

Eventually, we brushed it off.

Finished the blunt.

Laughed it away.

And got back on the bike.

But the closer we rode toward the lake, the heavier the world became.

The air thickened not just with heat or forest humidity, but with something else. Something that felt… charged. The wind had weight now, pressing against us with invisible fingers.

Kaia shifted behind me. She wasn’t laughing anymore.

“Lith,” she said, her voice low and tense. “Do you feel that?”

I didn’t answer right away.

Because I did.

She clung to me tighter, instinctively protective. It was rare to feel that from her, Kaia was always the storm, the one who ran headfirst into danger. This was different.

“Feel what?” I asked finally, my voice more even than I felt.

“I don’t know… it’s just weird out here. Not right.”

I exhaled slowly. “It’s just your imagination.”

But even as I said it, I couldn’t shake the whisper of dread curling along my spine.

My mother’s words drifted back.

“It’s not a place for you.”

The road ahead seemed to shift, subtle, but real. The trees leaned closer. Shadows stretched longer. The wind carried a scent I couldn’t name, something metallic… sharper than rust.

Kaia’s arms tightened around me.

“I don’t like this,” she muttered. “Let’s just turn back.”

I hesitated.

We were so close.

“Come on, we’re almost—”

“No!” Her voice cracked, sharp and afraid. “I’m serious, Lith. Something’s wrong.”

That stopped me.

Kaia never pulled back. If she was this spooked…

I slowed the bike.

“… Fine,” I said, glancing at the narrowing road ahead. “We’ll turn back.”

The motorcycle hummed to life again, its tires crunching gravel as we turned around. The wind whipped at my face, but the uneasy feeling clung tighter than my jacket.