“That was fast,” I mumbled to myself.
I smiled in excitement, knowing that not only would I get to see Elijah’s handsome face, but also the amazing mousse cake he promised me. My mouth watered in anticipation to quench my intense craving.
But Elijah’s voice never came.
And neither did the familiar jingle of River’s tags.
My smile faded into a frown.
Maybe Elijah had forgotten his wallet or something similar, and popped back in for it.
But that doesn’t explain why I don’t hear River. He wouldn’t come back without him.
I wanted to speak up, but my voice was lost, buried beneath the weight of fear. My fingers clutched the comforter tighter as cold sweat broke out on my skin.
The front door closed with a click, followed by the sound of soft footsteps.
My heart leapt into my throat. There was no indication of a dog--no thump of paws on carpet, no tags, no panting--and the person’s footsteps lacked the confidence and weight they should have had if it was Elijah.
Whoever was inside the house right now was not my mate.
My body reacted, instantly going on high alert. I wanted to be sick, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins held it back. I had to keep dead silent, not make any noise.
The stupid part of me wanted to call out and ask who it was. Maybe the old Felix would have done that--but now, I wasn’tjustFelix.
There was a baby inside me that I needed to protect, too.
My phone.
My head whipped back towards my phone. I could call the police--I could crawl to the closet and speak quietly so whoever it was wouldn’t hear me calling for help.
With a trembling hand, I reached for my phone.
But my finger brushed the screen and unpaused the video. Instantly, the room was full of loud, dramatic voices. Anybody who was in the otherwise silent house would have heard it easily.
My blood turned to ice.
I cursed myself and closed the streaming tab, but the damage was already done. The footsteps stopped abruptly, then changed direction and stormed up the stairs.
Now I really did feel like I was going to throw up. My fingers fumbled while holding the phone and trying to dial the police at the same time--
“FELIX!”
I yelped and dropped the phone. The voice came from right outside, in the hall--and I knew exactly who it was before he walked in.
Larry looked calm. Too calm. Especially for a man who had just broken into someone else’s home.
Instantly, I lost my voice. I was home alone. Elijah wasn’t here. River wasn’t here.
“There you are,” Larry said, sounding almost relieved.
He sighed and crossed the bedroom’s threshold, making all the muscles in my body tense. He shouldn’t have been here. He was crossing into a safe and sacred place anddirtyingit with his presence.
“Stop!” I cried.
Larry stopped.
“Felix, are you sick?” he asked. “You’re all curled up in bed in the middle of the day.”
