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“Better hide, pup,” Ruse called to him in the form of a sparrow flying carefully over the head of the beast. “Just heard a car pull up.”
Panic fell over Thorn, and he shook himself clean of her belongings and dashed back up to the attic as swiftly as he could with Ruse flying after him. Thorn pulled the door shut just in time to hear the lock turn and Logan step inside with a gasp of surprise.
“Well, now, look what you did, Thorny,” Ruse whispered from his perch on the creature’s antlers. “Now she’s gonna wanna know who messed with her stuff.”
“I didn’t mean to. Truly,” Thorn said between breaths. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
“Doesn’t bother me none,” Ruse responded. “I’d prefer if this one was a bit more put-off around here. Nothing’s shaken her so far—maybe you’ll have done the trick.”
The sparrow flitted off Thorn’s antler to the floor of the attic and resumed his human form, tossing his long hair over his shoulder.
“Iwanther scared. Iwantto break this little beauty into frightened fragments of herself before I—” Ruse shifted his head into that of a wolf baring its fangs, “bite down on her soft throat.”
The wolf head shifted back into that of a human. “But I’ve a better idea. One that you’ll just love.”
“You do?” Thorn’s voice broke, making him sound almost childish and innocent.
“I’ll show you how to take a lady, pup. Just watch.” Ruse cackled and rubbed his hands together. “If she thought Nox’s tendrils got her going, I can’t wait to see what she does when I have my turn. This girl’s gonna make this hunt a challenge, and I’m ready to rise to it.”
Thorn shivered at the shifter’s words and what they could mean. He wasn’t sure how much more of the incessant need for her he could take, and by the sounds of it, his companions were going to make it even more difficult for him to keep himself together.
Chapter7
Logan
“I definitely agree you’re making the right decision going out tonight,” Blair said jovially on the other end of the video call. I’d propped up the phone on the sink so I could see her while having both hands free to do my makeup. “Just keep your head about you. Don’t leave your drink unattended, yada yada. Worst case, just head back to the house and smash some of that wine you got by yourself. No harm, no foul.”
“Yeah, I know you’re right,” I responded as I tried to nail drawing a perfect wing-tip off the corner of my eye. “Just feels mega weird going out by myself.”
“Nah,” Blair insisted as she applied a swirl of blush on each of her cheeks on her side of the phone. “Just be confident, you know? You’re hot shit over there. New girl in town. Staying in a creepy old mansion. Delightfully mysterious and unattainable.”
I couldn’t help but smile and roll my eyes. Blair was “hot shit” every moment of her life and did her best to feed me some of her ego whenever she could.
“I don’t really think the ‘I’m staying in a creepy old mansion’ schtick is going to work like you think,” I said. “Were you even listening when I caught you up on everything that happened today?”
Blair brought her face closer to the camera and gave me a “no, duh” look before speaking. “Of course I was listening. I was just suggesting that maybe some strong, handsome man might be curious enough to come back to the house and, you know,check things outfor you, if you know what I mean,” she winked.
“Yeah, well… We’ll see. You know I’m not great at one-night stands,” I deflected. “Besides, it’s not like I’m exactly beating the men off with a stick.”
“Oh, shut up,” Blair responded as she held her mouth and eyes open to evenly apply mascara. “What time is it there?”
I couldn’t help myself. I put my makeup brush down and dramatically exhaled before constructing my response. “Did you just ask me what time it was here?”
“Yeah. Why’s that weird?”
“Because we’re in the same time zone, you absolute donut,” I said through hearty laughter. “It’s just about ten. You’re lucky I love you because you say some remarkably dumb shit. Sometimes, I wonder how you even got into college.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not majoring in time zones. Also, I thought you were meant to be house-sitting or whatever. Are you sure you’re allowed to just leave the place unattended at night?” She asked with a tilt of her head.
“I mean, nobody told me not to.” I shrugged. “I think I’m just supposed to make the place look occupied. I’ll leave the lights on inside so it looks like someone’s home, but I doubt I’ll even be gone long enough for it to matter.”
“And it’s like I always say,” Blair responded, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission.”
An alert appeared across my phone screen. My employer, Mr. Jonas Silver, was trying to reach me. For some reason in my head, the Mister seemed as much of a requirement as the Silver part, as if it were his real first name no matter how stupidly formal it sounded.
“Call ya later, boss man’s calling. Love you, be safe.”
“Be safe!”
