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Nayome stood frozen, watching her leave. Wynn had been dressed in full black leathers, like some kind of evil warrior princess. Her long black braid swung behind her as she moved, like a whip. Nayome kept watching as Wynn disappeared into the dark, the sun finishing it’s final journey below the horizon, deepening the shadows surrounding her.
As if on cue, two yellow eyes appeared in the spot Wynn had gone, moving towards Nayome until the silhouette of a wolf became clear against the dim glow of the streetlamps. Nayome stumbled backwards as the breath froze in her lungs and terror gripped her.
Catching herself before she fell, Nayome turned and raced up the gravel drive towards the hotel, a scream caught in her throat. She didn’t dare to look back until she heard the double glass doors shut behind her.
Searching the darkness from the safety of inside the Inn, face pressed against the glass doors, Nayome saw no sign of a wolf.Did I imagine that?
“Everything alright, Miss Nayome?”
Nayome almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of Fran’s cheerful voice. She slowly lowered the hand that clutched her chest, where her heart was still beating double time. She turned so her back was to the door, nodding at Fran.
“Oh, Miss! I almost forgot.”
Nayome waited as Fran rustled through some papers on her desk.
“Ah, there it is.” She adjusted her bifocals, and motioned Nayome forward.
“There was a last minute cancellation at one of our franchises in Glasgow.” Squinting at her scribbled notes, Fran listed off the details.
“It’s a bit late, but if you leave now you could make it there in plenty of time, before they close the front desk. Or I could book you in for tomorrow, unless you changed your mind about heading out of town early?”
“I’ll take it. For tonight,” Nayome said firmly, still reeling from her encounter with Wynn, the adrenaline making her hands unsteady as she clasped them behind her back nervously. She wasn’t about to turn down a ticket out of town. What had she been thinking, cozying up with Bal, after what had happened to her in the forest?
I need to get the hell out of here.
* * *
Three hours later, Nayome was feeling some serious deja vu as she pulled her little rental car into the Old Stone Inn, Glasgow edition. It looked like a carbon copy of the charming hillside location she had been staying at before, yet still managed to fit right in on the bustling streets of the city. Cobblestones, and old stone buildings gave Glasgow a rustic, old-world aesthetic.
And the best part, she was only a twenty minute drive to the airport.
Checking in and making her way to her room, Nayome felt a pang of regret that she would Miss her day with Bal tomorrow. There was still so much she didn’t understand about what had happened to her, but if the encounter with Wynn was any indication, it was clear she had overstayed her welcome, and then some.
And if Bal was breaking their laws…If Wynn had suspected how much Bal had already shared with her, Nayome wasn’t sure she would have been allowed to walk away in one piece tonight. And who knows what would happen to Bal when they found out. Feeling uneasy, Nayome glanced around before unlocking her room with the key card.
Time to get the heck out of here. She thought warily, as she surveyed her new accommodation. Two nights in Glasgow, and then she would be off. She hadn’t heard back about any of the standby lists she had put herself on so she wasn’t holding out any hope for an earlier flight. So, she would do some shopping, eat at some fancy restaurants, and kill time just like a regular tourist until her flight home on Monday.
As Nayome settled into bed, reaching over to switch the bedside lamp off, she was distracted when her phone lit up. A thrill shot through her, thinking it might be from Bal, and she kicked herself mentally for it.Get a grip.
Stupid, Nayome thought to herself, as Nick’s manicured smile flashed on her screen. She should have deleted that contact photo, since the sight of it managed to set her teeth on edge. She let her phone ring a few times before sighing and giving up. “Hi Nick,” Nayome answered.
“Nayome! I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“I’m in Glasgow, busy, travelling for work.”
“Ah, well that sounds nice. Sorry to bother you.”
“Listen Nick, it’s late here with the time difference, so can we keep this short?”
“Of course. Well, I was hoping we could meet in person, but I suppose that’ll have to wait until you’re back.”
“Is that necessary? I got your voicemail, you said you found something of mine?”
“I was unpacking some old boxes, I must have grabbed one of yours by mistake when…”
“When you moved out, yeah I remember. It was all very rushed.” Nayome thought she should get a medal for how civil she was keeping her tone right now.
“This stuff I found…well I know it’s really personal, I didn’t want to just drop it off anywhere.”
