"I don't like this," she finally stated.
"I don't think anything will happen. I just want to be prepared. Promise me you'll leave if anything happens."
She stared at me without speaking until I repeated, "Promise me."
Merry sighed. "Fine. I promise."
"Give me a few minutes and then I'll show you the underwhelming interior of the house."
The ghost of a smile crossed her mouth but disappeared far too quickly.
I climbed out of the truck, shut the door, and gestured to Merry to lock it. When the locks clicked, I turned to Harrison, who had parked next to me and walked around while Merry and I were talking.
"I'm going to check around the house. Do you smell anything?" Vampires had finely honed senses, including our olfactory system, but I still had nothing on Harrison's werewolf nose.
He inhaled, turning his head as he took in the air. "No, but I'd feel better after I went around the perimeter."
"Give me a few minutes to look around the house and take her inside, then you're more than welcome to do a perimeter check."
Harrison's head tilted as he studied me. "You like her, don't you?"
"That's irrelevant."
His light brown eyes were oddly intent. "It's not, but I won't argue with you now."
I turned away and made my way around the house, looking for signs that someone had been there. Then, I entered through the back door and checked all the rooms.
No one should have been able to enter due to the warding that Ava had placed on the house, but I still had to check. Wards could be broken. Or someone could sneak through. I'd done it before so I never blindly trusted magic to keep me safe.
The house was empty and there was no sense that someone had been inside since Callum and I had left that morning.
I went back outside into the midday sun and walked to the passenger side of the truck. "All clear," I called to Harrison.
He nodded and loped off in the direction of the trees that lined the edge of the property. His stride was long and smooth, pure wolf.
The door unlocked and I opened it to help Merry out.
"Welcome to our extremely humble abode," I said as I walked her inside.
"Oh, wow," she said, looking around at the living room.
I knew what she saw. A huge brown leather couch that slouched in the middle of the room, facing the huge flat screen TV that Callum had splurged on and mounted to the wall.
The coffee table was old, scratched, and stood a little crooked. The end tables had been salvaged from a garage sale. Probably sometime in the 1970's. The true color of the wood was indiscernible beneath years that had accumulated on the surface.
The tile floor was beige and clean because I'd mopped it myself the day before I saw Merry at the grocery store.
"The couch looks comfy and, um, big," she finally said.
I snorted. "It is comfy and large. It's also ugly, but we were more concerned with function than looks."
I saw another ghostly smile cross her face and disappear as quickly as it arrived.
"The kitchen is straight back. I'll take you in there in a minute and show you where everything is."
"Including the frozen burritos and Pop-Tarts, right?" she asked.
"Naturally."
