“What am I going to do now?” I mutter my question. I have nothing with me, not even my phone or any clothes. I can’t contact anyone and make any excuses for not coming home for a couple of days.
Maybe I will find some clothes in Grandpa’s old cottage.
I perk up a little. I definitely will! He died two years ago, and no one really retrieved his things. If I remember correctly, he even had a very old phone. Maybe I can charge it and use it.
When I finally force myself to stand up, my legs feel shaky. Damn it, I really am a lost cause. I should be burning with fighting spirit now, I should be fueled by my wish for revenge, but all I want is to curl up somewhere, sleep and never wake up again. The only light burning inside me seems to come from my wolf, who is burning red with hatred and anger. Good thing he is here, or I would have stopped feeling anything altogether.
When I take the first couple of steps, I hear some rustling coming from the river.Did you hear that?
An animal, maybe,Darien says.
I furrow my brows, staring into the darkness. Dawn is approaching, but due to the bad weather, it was a cloudy night and will be a cloudy day. Yet, I swear I can see something floating in the river. What is there?
I take a couple of steps closer, curiosity winning over me, and stop once I am close enough. There, draped around a rock with her upper body, is a woman.
“What?” I exclaim. “Fuck!”
She is not moving! I don’t hesitate for a second and rush towards the river, jumping in and swimming until I reach the rock. The woman is completely naked, her skin white, almost bluish, against her brunette hair. She must have been in the cold water for way too long!
Is she still alive?I blurt out.
Darien frowns and tilts his head.She is still breathing. She… she is a shifter!
I have no time to lose. With newfound motivation and trying to remember what I learned about safely retrieving a body from flowing water, I pull her towards the shore, making sure her head remains above water. It’s more difficult than I expected it to be to move a motionless body, but once I reach the shore, it gets much easier. I pick her up immediately and run towards the cottage of my late grandfather.
Instinct takes over, finally waking me up from the shock I was in.
nine
The Mysterious Woman
*FOREST*
The old cottage is exactly like I remember it. Grandpa was a romantic at heart, and the building shows it. It’s a house like out of a fairytale, a bit rustic, with thick bricks and ivy vines. There is a charm to it, though it needs some work done, especially on the outside.
My parents always hated this cottage. So, for now, it’s safe to assume they will always stay away from it.
There is more dust now, but it’s in surprisingly good condition. It gives me an ache in my chest to notice that my grandpa’s things are still here. No one bothered to come here and sort through them.
And I can’t even just blame this on my parents; I didn’t think about coming here either.
The first thing I do is rummage through the drawers for a thick blanket and wrap the woman in it. Then, I try to get rid of the dust on the sofa as well as I can, using some additional blankets to cover the furniture, and finally lay her down. There is a fireplace in the living room, so I swiftly gather some branches, grab one of the old newsletters, and make a fire.
It should warm her up soon.
I don’t want to change her into clothes, too scared she might feel violated if I do. So I just make sure to cover her naked body fully. Then, I head to Grandpa’s old bedroom and dig out some clothesIcan wear. I also find his old phone, wait for it to charge, and then swiftly type a message to my family with a suppressed number, giving them a bullshit reason why I didn’t want to disturb anyone’s early morning, and I headed out to run some errands, but unfortunately lost my phone. Blah. I am such a doormat; I am sure they believe my reasoning. They wouldn’t even think I was making this up. At least being a disrespected loser becomes an advantage now.
Once done, I return to the living room, grab a bottle of gin I find in the kitchen and sit down on the floor, at a safe distance from the unconscious woman. I don’t want her to be terrified when she wakes up and sees me.
I probably should have done some first aid,I say.
Darien has momentarily forgotten about his anger, his curiosity being piqued by the woman.She is healing fast,he says, fascinated.
Why does that surprise you?
It means her wolf is fucking strong,he says.I can feel her aura. She doesn’t need first aid.
This means she has to be of high rank!I knew she wasn’t a rogue by her scent alone, but until now, I didn’t consider who or what she was.
