I gasped awake. It was light outside. My dreams had been full of werewolves—people splitting open into wolves, hunting humans through dark trees. Lord. I needed to stop reading that book. It was terrifying.
Before I fully opened my eyes, the door creaked open. I rolled on my side and tilted my head back to look at the door. Quinnlyn walked in, a foam plate filled with food in his hand. Bags sat under his bloodshot eyes, his mouth pulled into a frown. I rubbed my eyes and sat up on the bed.
“Did I sleep in, or are you early today?”
“Slept in,” he said, in his usual flat and cold tone.
“I heard noises down here this morning, and there was a bunch of howling. Do you know what was happening?”
He lifted his head, his eyes widened slightly, and he looked at me, but said nothing.
“Well?” I asked again.
He leaned down closer to me. “Nocturnal animals make noises at night, especially when they are hunting,” he whispered.
“What does that even mean?”
“You’ll probably never know, because you aren’t leaving this room,” he said, then turned around on his heels and headed back out of the door.
I stared at the plate of food that he’d set on the floor next to the bed. What part of me was hungry was no longer hungry after he left. It sounded like some of those howls came from down here, close to this room. I knew there were wolves in the Tennessee mountains, just as there were bears, and plenty of other wildlife. It was part of living where we did. I’d never seen a wolf close up. Here they often hunted deer—oh God. Wolves hunted deer. I flashed back to that day in the dark hall, his voice taunting me.Run, little doe, run.He was hunting me like he was the wolf and I was the doe. What the hell did all of this mean?
I laid back down on the bed, without touching the food. I pulled the blanket up to my face, running through everything I heard. I was confused and lonely—really lonely. Normally, I’d call Josie, Maggie, or Brenden. All three were always there for me when I needed someone to listen to me. I wondered where they thought I’d gone. Were they looking for me? Brenden probably hadn’t been to the house. He came and went—our relationship had ups and downs. We often were excited to see each other, and then quicklygot frustrated with one another. None of them even knew I was pregnant. I hadn't even gotten the chance to tell them—
Footsteps came down the hall, catching my attention. I turned my head slightly, so my ear wasn’t pressed against the pillow, straining to listen. Given that he’d just brought me breakfast, usually no one else would be coming down here until later.
“What are you doing here?” Quinnlyn said, low, but just enough that I heard him.
A voice that I hadn’t heard before said something, but it was too low for me to really make out what he was saying. Quinnlyn had said something back, but he was speaking even lower. I slowly rolled to my side, trying not to make any noise. Once I was on all fours, I crawled toward the door. It wasn’t a long crawl to the door. I was moving as slow as I could manage, trying to make sure they couldn’t hear me. Once I got closer to the door, I pressed my ear against it.
“Why can’t you tell him?” the other voice said.
“I’m down here with the fucking girl,” Quinnlyn said.
“We’re sorry, we didn’t know this cellar was being used,” he said.
“Yeah, and you can explainthatto him,” Quinnlyn said.
“What do you think he will do?” he said.
“Not my fucking problem,” Quinnlyn said, “now carry on out of here, and get them out of here… quietly.”
Footsteps carried down the hall. Then Quinnlyn coughed. Not a throat-clearing cough, but the kind meant to get someone's attention. Mine. I started to crawl backward, a little quicker than earlier.
“I know you’re at the door, little doe,” he said.
I didn’t say anything. Instead, I crawled faster onto the mattress.
Little doe.
A name he used like a weapon. The phrase that made my stomach turn.
“Can you not call me that?”
“Why not?” he asked.
“You used it as a reference when you were chasing me. It creeps me out.”
“Yet, you are like a little doe. Naive, timid, trusting—eyes wide with wonder. Curiously watching everyone, ready to bolt as soon as the opportunity presents,” he said.
