“Imprint?”
“Consider you his.”
She broke eye contact, her gaze sliding away from his intense stare. “Oh,” she murmured. “Should I—?”
“There’s nothing to do about it. It’s just nature. He can’t control it any more than you can.”
Their gazes tangled. Just nature . . . She’d thought something similar earlier, about the chemistry that sizzled in the air between them. Just nature. Indeed. “So . . . he’ll be mine forever?” she asked.
He paused a beat, his gaze narrowing very slightly. She got the odd sense that something akin to anger stirred within him. They were communicating with each other in a language she didn’t fully recognize, the uttered words barely scratching the surface. “Is anything forever, Scarlett?” His hand covered hers on the doorknob and at the feel of his warm, rough palm, she pulled away, swaying slightly now that she had nothing to hold on to. Apparently, the question was rhetorical because without waiting for her answer, he turned the knob and walked out into the night.
Scarlett engaged the lock quickly and leaned back against the door. She brought her hand to her heart, feeling its steady beat under her palm. She startled at the sudden high-pitched chirping but then let out a slow, steady breath, grateful for the distraction from her chaotic emotions.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Haddie stepped gingerly through the grass, dropping the last of her Skittles as she made it to the far side of the shed. She had collected the bag left near their front door when her mommy had gone inside with the baby bird, and there had still been a few handfuls of candy left. She scooted around the small, wood structure, moving quickly to the other side, before pressing her body against the rough, splintery wood.
Overhead, the sky was alight with stars. She needed to get back inside as quickly as possible before Mommy noticed she wasn’t in her room playing on her iPad anymore.
Her heart gave a jump when she heard the soft crunch of grass. The thing was nearby, just at the edge of the woods behind the old structure where she stood. Haddie closed her eyes, trying again to feel its weight and letting out a frustrated gust of air when she, again, sensed nothing at all.
She stepped carefully over the dirt beneath her feet, cautious not to make a noise and let the thing know she was there—if it didn’t already. She had no idea if it’d been watching her from the darkness of the trees. Maybe it knew exactly where she was. Out here in the night, all alone. Her skin prickled, fear rising inside her. Maybe this was a very bad idea, following her curiosity this way. She couldn’t tell if the thing meant her harm or not. She couldn’t even tell what it was.
She very suddenly wanted her mommy. She glanced up at the house, the attic windows filled with the soft glow of light from within. The safety of her mommy’s arms seemed a hundred miles away. The darkness closed in on Haddie and her heart began pounding. The sound of footsteps grew closer . . . closer. There was a shaft of moonlight cast on the ground next to the shed, and from where Haddie stood at the back, she could see the shadow of looming horns, growing ever larger as the creature approached.
She clenched her eyes shut for a moment, frozen with fear. She thought of the bird the thing had left at her doorstep. She’d decided it was a gift, but maybe it was a warning. Maybe the thing was telling her what it was going to do to her—take her far, far away from Mommy and leave her for dead in a heap of skin and bones.
Haddie swallowed, mustering her courage as she pushed herself off the wall of the shed, turning in the opposite direction from which the thing was approaching. She crept quietly along the perimeter of the structure, but her shadow moved with her, reaching outward and giving her away. Her heartbeat quickened. The creature let out a rusty-sounding laugh, its large, horned shadow following hers.
Haddie picked up her pace. She just needed to make it around to the other side and then she could run for her mommy. If she ran into the open now, she’d have to race for the woods. And that was where the creature lived.
The thing let out a snorty high-pitched sound, halfway between a giggle and a cough and Haddie shivered, moving ever faster. The creature picked up its pace as well as though it was playing a game with Haddie—her fear exciting it as it took chase.
The thing was directly behind her. In her terror, she pictured its head lowered as it raced to spear her with those long, sharp horns.
She raced around the shed, her previous courage dipping as she came to the side where she could make a break for the open grass. The creature was too close though, it’s heavy, flat footsteps right on her heels. Haddie raced around the building again, the creature chasing, that high-pitched snorting sound mixing with its loud puffs of breath. It was so close she could smell it now. It put off the pungent scent of dirt and sweat. As she rounded the corner again, she let out a squeal of fear, looking behind her and directly into the moonlit face of the creature.
Their gazes locked for one startling moment as horror washed through Haddie. Oh! Oh! With another squeal and a burst of adrenalin, Haddie sprinted away from the shed, rounding the corner and fleeing into the open grass toward the house where her mommy waited.
She couldn’t sense the weight of it. She couldn’t tell where it was. And she didn’t understand what she’d seen.
When she made it close enough that the soft glow from the windows above lit the ground, she dared a look back.
There was nothing there.
Nothing at all.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The banging was music to her ears if not to her utterly exhausted brain. After approving the—pleasantly reasonable—bid for the first phase of the project, Mason had been true to his word and said he could get a couple of guys over ASAP to at least begin some of the demolition. As Scarlett and Haddie descended the stairs, Scarlett waved at the two men Mason had sent, already busy tearing up the warped portion of flooring in the foyer. They spared her a quick salute and went back to work.
She grasped Haddie’s hand, leading her toward the back door, to avoid the work being done near the entrance. They stepped out into the warm summer morning, the sun a bright orange orb in the cloudless blue sky. Haddie pulled her hand away and peeked in at the sleeping baby bird, and seemingly content with his comfort level, dropped the dark cloth back over him.
Scarlett would have loved to take a break and leave the little guy at Lilith House, but she’d learned well that he wasn’t keen on missing any of his hour-on-the-hour meals, and so if she didn’t want to terrorize the work crew, she had to cart her new charge with them, along with a baggie of food.
Next time she saw an orphaned baby bird on the ground, she was going to avert her gaze and walk right on by.
That’s your exhaustion speaking, and you know it.
Yeah, she did. She’d never be able to abandon something in need, but darn it, staying up to feed someone else’s demanding—and let’s face it, butt-ugly—baby hadn’t exactly been on any of her lists, master or otherwise.
As they made their way around the side of the house, Scarlett noticed what looked like a green Skittle every few steps, slightly melted and blending into the patchy grass. She stopped, looking behind her and ahead to see that they traveled in a straight line to form a trail that led toward the old shed near the tree line. The shed she hadn’t yet been brave enough to look inside. Who knew what manner of mess it contained?