“On second thought...” The beast paused, opening his paw to the falling drizzle. “You wouldn’t happen to have a guest bedroom for a passing prince?”
All the stress and fear of the last few minutes coursed through Isa’s veins, heating her body with anger. “GET OUT,” she yelled into the darkness, slamming the door closed.
Chapter 10
Aden jumped back over the fence to the not-so-abandoned mansion.
While it had been a graceful leap the first time he had accomplished this feat, in his current state he felt he looked more like a wet cat awkwardly flinging itself from a moving carriage.
It was pouring rain.
The sun had not yet risen.
And he was thoroughly soaked to the bone.
His thick coat of fur could hold so much water that his muscles were already complaining from carrying the extra weight.
He shook himself like a dog, humiliation radiating through him as water droplets from his fur collided with the falling rain.
He was not just miserable and uncomfortable; rather, the feeling coursing through his veins would be more aptly described as out-of-control righteous anger.
He had not seen Warrior since that peaceful moment hours before when he had fallen asleep in the “abandoned” house.
Striding heatedly to the front door, he pounded on it loudly enough to wake the whole household. No matter that it was nearly dawn and they had probably just fallen asleep after the shock of finding a beast in their home.
Good riddance.
They—no,she—had completely destroyed the first real sleephehad experienced in days.
The door opened more quickly than he’d expected, and he found himself staring at the cowardly husband who had abandoned his wife to the arms of an apparently violent beast.
Aden brushed off his disappointment at not being granted the opportunity of taking out his frustration on the door by pounding on it for a second time, and instead he smiled grimly at the now-trembling man.
Aden stretched his lips until he felt his long fangs glide into view.
The coward panic-stumbled back into the great hall.
Before he could slam the door shut, Aden stomped his foot into the doorframe.
“The bridge is out,” Aden said, toying with him casually.
“What do you mean?” the man asked, turning his head to glance behind him.
Aden could not see his face clearly, but he assumed the man was waiting for backup so he could disappear to safety again.
“The bridge. The bridge that runs over the canyon? It’s out,” Aden repeated, adding extra words in an attempt to get the man to understand him.
“You probably just missed it,” the coward stuttered. “If you follow the road, you’ll find it.” He made a move to shut the door again, but it only bounced off Aden’s extended foot.
“I did not miss—” Aden’s less-than-pleasant retort was cut short by the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Macklin, who is it?” The woman made her voice heard before she was even in sight.
“It’s that beast again,” the man replied.
“Why?” She looked up as she rounded the corner, coming into view. Her hands were busy fastening a belt around the thick night robe she wore.
At least Aden assumed it was a night robe from what he could make out of it. It was rather straight and flat, without the appealing curves of a day dress. It pleased him, however, to note that she had been at least trying to sleep, and he felt somewhat vindicated in his return.
