Throwing off the covers, I got up to close the window. The cool night air felt nice, but a mere screen separating me from the outside world didn’t feel very safe. I tiptoed to the boys’ room and closed their windows, too. It was cool enough in the house, anyway, because of the recent rain.
When I reached the living room, I paused. I’d forgotten about Emmitt. His dark form sprawled on the couch. In the dim light, I caught the glint of his eyes and knew he was awake and watching me.
“Bad dream,” I said quietly.
He sat up and opened his arms in invitation.
Still shivering from the image of the man scaling the porches, I quickly went to him. I sat on the couch and leaned into his side, resting my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Go to sleep.”
I liked that he didn’t ask me to share the dream. Talking about it would make it too real and harder to sleep again. His warmth eventually relaxed me, and I curled into him, getting more comfortable.
Werewolves made comfy beds, I thought sleepily. He kissed the top of my head, and I slept.
Chapter 15
The boys stood on the porch, sadly waving goodbye to their new friends. Since Jim had already left for work, they were stuck with just Emmitt, Nana, and me. We were obviously nowhere near as exciting as Paul and Henry. Mary gave me a final wave as they pulled away from the house.
Emmitt stood beside me. I was relieved he hadn’t said anything about my dream the night before or the way we’d woken up. A blush rose at the memory of waking practically on top of him. When I’d lifted my head to see if he still slept, I had found him studying me. My mad scramble to get off of him had seemed to cause a moment of pain, but I hadn’t stopped to apologize. I’d flown to my bedroom and closed myself in until he’d left.
“Now what are we going to do?” Aden said softly to Liam.
Emmitt laughed. “How about a baseball game?”
The boys perked up and started planning teams. They called Nana out to join in. Since I didn’t run as fast as the other two adults, the boys decided I should pitch. Liam wisely chose Nana for his partner.
When Jim got home from work, he found us still playing outside. Everyone agreed it was time to eat, and we had another picnic dinner on the porch.
Afterwards, the boys talked Jim into a movie at Nana’s place and raced off to pick what they would watch and get ready for bed. Nana followed, leaving me alone with Emmitt for the first time since that morning.
Emmitt didn’t give my nerves a chance to build. Instead, he took me by the hand and led me to the truck. He wrapped his hands around my waist and, with little effort, sat me on the open tailgate. He hopped up next to me. Shoulder to shoulder, we watched the sun set.
“I’m sorry about last night,” I said, finally working up the courage.
“Why? It’s the best night sleep I had in a while.”
I rolled my eyes at him, doubting the truth of his statement.
His lips twitched at my expression. “The longer I’m with you, the more I want to be near you. When you first came here, being apart at night didn’t bother me. You were only two floors away, and I’d started working on the apartment so I knew we would be closer soon. Then, sleeping in a bed that smelled like you helped, but it’s been getting difficult again.” He smiled ruefully. “If you asked, I’d sleep on your couch every night.”
After the dream I had the night before, the offer tempted me; but I had to think of Liam and Aden, too.
“I’m not sure how Liam and Aden would take that. They’d probably worry that we aren’t safe again, no matter what explanation we gave them for your overnight stays. I don’t want to scare them.”
“We could always share your bed?” he half-asked, half-stated in a serious tone.
I floundered for something to say. Share a bed? Were we that far?
“No hidden agenda. Just sleeping,” he said, amused.
I opened my mouth to thank him for the offer and to decline but never got the words out.
Emmitt’s head whipped up. His gaze locked on the woods at the back of the yard. Without looking away, he leapt off the tailgate, lifted me, and set me on the ground toward the house.
“Get onto the porch.”
His low voice worried me. He took a step backward, trying to herd me in the direction he wanted while positioning himself to shield me. What was out there? Peeking over Emmitt’s shoulder was no easy feat, but I managed.
At first, the yard appeared empty. Then, the deep shadows near the trees at the back of the yard moved. I frowned, trying to focus on the area.
Two men emerged, but I couldn’t see them clearly. I wanted to ask Emmitt who they were, but he reached for my arm and nudged me toward the porch as he’d ordered.
I took a step back, hoping to see more, however, he shadowed my move. His skin rippled and started to sprout fur. The first thread of fear started to creep in. I glanced over my shoulder and backed up onto the porch step. With the additional height, I could see past Emmitt.
The two men continued to advance. Their bent, partially transformed bodies moved with a slinking stealth I found disquieting.
A cloud drifted away from the moon, briefly lighting the yard. Moonlight caught pale skin, highlighting the odd elongated arch of a thigh before another cloud snuffed it out. It’d been enough to recognize one of them. Frank. Fear bloomed.
Another cloud shifted. Frank smiled at me before shadows obscured him again.
Emmitt growled low in warning. Dread filled me. We’d managed to stay hidden for a little over a month. Why had they found us, now? Thinking of my brothers sent another wave of fear crashing through me. We couldn’t go back to the life we’d had.
The thought gave me courage to speak up.
“Where’s Blake?” I said in a voice that definitely didn’t sound fearless.
Both of the werewolves stopped their approach.
I took a breath and tried to sound more confident.
“Give him a message for me. He won’t get what he wants. I’ve seen it.”
I really didn’t know what I had seen but hoped it would give Blake a reason to doubt his plan. Maybe even a reason to abandon it.
“You know nothing, little girl,” Frank said from the darkness. “You just played dress up and sat at Blake’s dinners like the puppet you are. If not for the curse that causes you to be born to humans, we would have wiped out humanity long ago.” As he spoke, he began to shift further. “You are nothing more than a tool.”
I wished I knew what he meant.
Behind me, the door creaked open. A light footfall gave away Nana Wini’s presence, saving me from having to respond. She moved just behind me, and I fought the urge to turn around and look for the boys.
The men in the dark shadows didn’t react well to her appearance. Their faces extended forward, canine muzzles just starting to form. Fingers contracted and nails grew longer, glistening ebony in the yard light. The men remained on two legs, but those legs shrank as their torsos stretched.
“Leave now,” Nana said in a low and commanding voice.
Had she not been behind me, blocking my way, I would have been tempted to go inside. It wasn’t a voice easily ignored.
“Quiet old woman,” the other werewolf growled. The moonlight shifted enough that I recognized him, too. The man from the movie theatre. I cringed. I’d jeopardized us all.
Nana’s furious snarl startled me. I whipped my head around to look at her. Bits of fabric flew at me as she burst from her lacey cardigan and tweed pants. An enormous, snowy white wolf stood where she’d been.