Even now she pulled at me, her soul knowing me as though she was fated to become mine, and it was fucking strong. I hated that I wanted her, that I was trying to tempt her, even knowing she could rip me apart. I’d been there, and hated the idea of it happening again.
Shamus wanted her. He’d said it as soon as he heard about her. She was a cock magnet, and a fucking hot one at that. Raphael hadn’t even made it this far north yet, but I was sure he’d want in on her as well. He was my best friend, but also had a fondness for fiery redheads.
I can’t afford any distractions right now, not with the rogue wolf packs moving in to test our defenses. Testing us, as they convert her kind into theirs. She could die tomorrow, and I couldn’t take the chance of her becoming a weakness. I had to get her back to her people and I needed to circle back to mine. The thought of the mutt being so close to her was like choking on my own sword, but unless she was prepared to take only what I can give, he was her best protection.
Chapter 17
A week had gone by since my little world was rearranged, and I’d stayed away from men in general. My head was a cluster fuck of things which I’d never imagined I needed to be worrying over. Like the fact that I was in some major lust with a vampire, who didn’t seem to have a sunlight allergy, and I was currently living with a werewolf.
There were times I noticed the reality of what they were and I also noticed that I typically would have one of them tailing me. Like Landon, the youngest of the wolves and the one who always thought the floor was more interesting than whatever it was that I had to say. Oh, I probably wouldn’t have noticed them before, but since my cliff-diving resurrection, I felt like I noticed everything.
So many questions I had for them… However, they were a tight lipped bunch, and Lachlan wasn’t quite like Jaeden and the men who followed him, that much I could sense. However, I had clearly been changed after I had fallen. The unknown of what I had changed to was bugging the shit out of me.
We’d begun the first steps of gathering supplies that we would need to winterize the shelter and this allowed me multiple opportunities to slip away from the main group. I told Addy that I needed to go out alone today because I wanted time to think, but I’d ended up at my old house, going through my dad’s office. There were pictures that had been left behind and now had a thick layer of dust on them. I ran my finger over one absently and then wiped it on my pants.
I scoured through the filing cabinets, but found nothing. I was putting things back when I heard the front door open and close. Addy was in the front room, looking up at a picture of me standing in a meadow that was hung above the mantel.
“I remember taking that; you looked so happy,” she said as she wiped at tears. “You were just standing there in the meadow, and the flowers were in full bloom. The baby doll dress looked perfect on you,” she continued. “Your father asked that I give him a copy. He said you looked just like your mother.”
“I remember,” I said as I stepped closer to her. “What’s wrong?” I asked. She hardly ever cried. I could sense her sadness as surely as I could sense Jaeden’s moods.
“I miss my parents,” she whispered brokenly.
“I miss my dad,” I admitted. “He’s dead,” I said and realized it was the first time I’d admitted it out loud.
“He might be okay, Emma,” she lied to keep the pain at bay. It was weird; I just knew stuff like this now.
“You don’t have to protect me. I know he’s dead. He wouldn’t have left us alone for this long if he was still alive,” I replied. Deep down I’d known when he’d left the shelter that he wasn’t coming back. I’d felt it in my soul, and as he’d left, I’d said my goodbye and made my peace with him. “What’s really wrong?” I asked, knowing my best friend enough to know this wasn’t just melancholy.
“Liam broke it off, said he wanted to spend time with Kyra. How am I supposed to live in the shelter knowing he’s with her?”
“You want me to kick them out?” I offered, and I would. I’d kick them all out without a second thought for her. I was the person who’d help her hide the body if she needed it, because that was what best friends did for one another.
“No,” she said as she wiped her tears away.
“Okay, well then suck it up buttercup,” I said as I punched her arm. “I’m pretty sure those guys love trying to hump every girl they can in the shelter. Did he make any promises or lead you on? I will so neuter him if he did.” She shook her head and giggled at me. “C’mon Addy, you weren’t ready to get married and have puppies yet,” I chided.
“Puppies?” she snorted.
“Never mind,” I said as I looked away and paid a little too much attention to the little mementos on the mantle.
“Did you get the rest of your stuff? Oh, and the jewelry box I think you hid when we were twelve?” she asked.
I smiled; I’d forgotten all about it. I’d hidden it under the floorboard with my other personal items to keep them away from Grayson and Dad’s prying eyes. In the small wooden box was a pendant my mother had given me. She’d made me promise to never take it off. I broke that promise within a week of her death; wearing it was just too painful. I knew it was still there, without even entering my room.
I walked into my room and noticed that someone else had been in my room, judging from the streaks in the dust. I looked around and found other signs that someone had been there, such as my underwear drawer was open and empty. Someone had stolen my panties? And my perfume? They’d also taken the senior portrait that had been on my dresser.
I ignored the nagging feeling of being watched and lowered myself to the floor, then popped up the floorboard to retrieve the wooden box. Inside the box was a cut lock of my hair and my mother’s, which had been braided together. A beautiful sterling silver necklace, which my mother had given me when I’d turned ten. I’d taken it off the day of her funeral and placed it in the box. I opened it and allowed my fingers to caress the silver pendant. The etched 3-D detail was the image of a spreading tree, which I’d always loved. The detail was incredible, but I couldn’t really tell what type of tree it was.
There were words scribbled on the back, but they were in another language, which I couldn’t read. I smiled and pulled it out of the box and placed it around my neck. The moment I did, I felt something inside of me open and a weight lift off of my chest. I gently ran my hand over the locket, and dug further in to find my diary, and photo albums.
“It’s beautiful,” Addy said.
“My mother gave it to me.”
“I’m going over to head over to my house, so I can grab a few things. Meet you out front in an hour?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said as I as I placed the few things into my bag. I rifled through my closet next, stuffing only a single dress and leather jacket inside. I made my way out of my room and went to the very back of the house to the room that had been closed since the day we’d learned of my mother’s death.
It was my mother’s home office and it hadn’t been locked, or sealed shut…it just hurt too much for us to go in there and eventually it had just been forgotten. I knew I had to hurry; an hour wasn’t very much time before Addy was going to be back.
I opened up one of the curtains and watched as dust met the light and created a cascade of motes through the air of the room. There was a fine layer of dust that covered the papers piled on the desk as well, a good sign that no one else had disturbed this place in a while.
I sat in the old leather chair and picked up one of the many pictures that had been forgotten on the dusty desk. My finger swiped across it, and a single tear slid down my cheek as I looked at the four of us. Me, Grayson, Mom and Dad before our world had been ripped apart. If they were here, they’d know what to do to keep us all safe.
I tried the desk drawer, and found it locked. Strange; what reason would they have had to lock it? I scooted the chair away from the desk and looked beneath the drawer for the key. My mad normally used magnetic locks that stuck to drawers in the other office, so there was a good chance one would be in here as well.
My eyes landed on the little key box but as I went to stand, I caught sight of the floorboard. Just like the one in my room, it looked hollowed out. I kneeled back down and knocked on it before I pulled it up and stuck my hand inside and felt carefully around.
I swallowed as my hand hit something hard. I pulled the large metal box out of the floor and eyed it warily. What could be so important that they’d hide it in the floor? It too needed a key, which when I stuck my hand back inside, I felt around the corners of the hole and found a small desk key hiding against the far recess of it. No key for the box though.
I lifted the box to the desk and looked at the tree symbol with an uneasiness that made my skin crawl; it was the same tree that was on the pendent I now wore around my neck. My finger absently trailed over the raised symbol. “Beautiful,” I whispered. I set the box away from me and placed one of the many pictures over the top of it. I made quick work of the drawers, unlocking them all.