The Secrets of Darkling Manor

Thirty-six: Alina Starkov

Thirty-six:

Alina Starkov

When they got home, Aleksander locked himself in his office. Alina made sure Genya was okay, relieved the nanny, and then she set about doing chores. She was in the middle of vacuuming the upstairs when she heard the sound of scratching in the walls. "It's nothing," she whispered to herself, "it's probably mice. It's an old house. It's in the country. There is nothing there."

"Alina..." a cool, male voice whispered. The voice sounded so much like Aleksander that it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "Alina...."

"Whose there?" she called out.

There was no answer. But the scratching was getting louder. "Alina..." the voice was a man's voice.

"Aleksander?" she called out.

There was someone playing with her hair. Fiddling with the ends of it. She froze.

"Alina..." the voice rasped, and then she felt a cold finger stroking her neck. Slowly, Alina turned around.

Standing there, was a stranger that looked suspiciously like Aleksander. Except it wasn't him. For one, his skin was blue, and he wore clothes out of another time that she couldn't place. A long, black cape....

He was flickering, in and out, as if he were on a tv screen and the reception were bad. "I'm going to kill you," the spirit rasped.

Alina let out a scream. She started to run, and then she crashed into something hard and firm. "Alina!" she heard another voice call, only this time she was certain it was Aleksander.

She looked up at him. "Aleks!"

He gripped her shoulders tightly. "Alina, what's wrong? I heard you screaming."

She was breathing heavily. "You were there...in the hallway....but it wasn't you. It was..."

"The General?" Aleksander guessed.

"I think so," she said.

His gaze darkened. "He's only shown up a few times."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," said Aleksander, "it's usually an omen of something worse to come. He showed up when my parents died, and again when Luda died."

"Aleks," she said, "he called me by my name. You...you don't think that he believes I'm her, do you?"

"Who?" he asked.

"The witch. The Saint. Whatever it is that you want to call her. The ghost that haunts our pond. What if he thinks that I'm her?"

"Why are you worried about that?"

"He said he was going to kill me," Alina said

Aleksander shook his head. "No. It can't be."

"Couldn't it?"

"He doesn't want to kill you," said Aleksander, "Genya's uncle wants to kill you. We need to get rid of him."

"How are you going to do that?" Alina demanded. "He's human. You can't just kill him."

"He's trying to kill us!" Aleksander insisted. "Why not?"

"Because," said Alina, "we're better than that. But we've got to find some way to put a stop to him. Because I...I can't even take care of my home without being threatened. Aleks, I had someone with your face threaten to kill me...."

"It's not me!" he said. "I love you, Alina. I would never---"

Alina saw his face fall. "I know you have the best of intentions with me, Aleksander."

He smiled and nodded at her. "We'll figure it out."

"Aleks," she said, "I don't know that I can be alone right now. I know that you've got work but can you...can we...."

"Yes, Alina," he said, "I'll stay with you. Of course, I'll stay with you." He kissed her forehead.

Alina shivered. "Kiss me, please."

He kissed her, and Alina could feel his length pressing up against her core, hard, and desperate for her. "Alinaaaaa," he groaned.

Alina's breath hitched. "Aleks..." she moaned his name.

It had been so long since they had been together. She knew that he had lied to her, that he wasn't really her husband. Nothing about the two of them was real. They were ghosts as much as the ghosts that were haunting them.

"Please," he begged, "please, my darling girl, let me fuck you."

She was helping him unbutton his shirt before she knew it. He picked her up, and she locked her thighs and arms around him, kissing him deeply. "Get inside me," she growled. He laughed as he kissed her and Alina helped him undo his pants enough so that his cock was out.

"I'm taking you, Alina," he murmured into her ear, "rough, and hard."

He pressed her up against the wall. She was already wet and needy for him, and they rolled their hips against each other so hard there was only the sound of their skin slapping against one another. She gripped his shoulders tightly and let out a gasp as he bit into her own.

The house was going to destroy them. Or they would destroy each other. Alina didn't care, as long as she got to taste him.