Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
“You’ll be safe here, Ramsey,” Link reassured me.
“There are only four pack members who know you’re here,” Kace added.
My head jerked toward the alpha. “Four?”
“My mate, Peppa—the owner of this house—her mate, and me.” He jerked his thumb to the left. “I don’t expect anything to happen since your presence here will be a well-kept secret for however long you’d like, but they live right next door and can keep an eye out for you.”
“Oh.” I pressed trembling fingers against my lips as my gaze darted around the room again. “I feel…exposed in here.”
“There are a few bedrooms upstairs,” Kace suggested.
I shook my head. “If someone found me, I wouldn’t be able to fly away up there. Not until I’m healed enough for my falcon to molt.”
It wasn’t logical since I’d been surrounded by humans at Link’s house, but I had felt safer while I was there. Probably because he’d been the one to help rescue me.
“All of the windows are locked, and there’s a deadbolt on both doors. Nobody can get in here.” Link’s assurance didn’t make me feel any better.
The alpha’s gaze darted toward a door off the hallway that led to the kitchen, and a muscle jumped in his jaw. “There’s a basement, too.”
“No fucking way,” Link growled. “I didn’t bring her here to be shoved into a place that could remind Ramsey of her nightmare come to life.”
My voice wavered as I asked, “Can I see it?”
“Of course.”
We followed Kace to the door and down the stairs, with Link grumbling to himself the entire way. Once we were in the basement, I inhaled deeply, and some of the tension left my body. There were only two points of entry—a small window that my falcon would be able to fit through and the door we’d just come through. The space was finished, with plush carpeting, cream-colored walls, and furniture that looked fairly new. There was even a bathroom and a wet bar with a little fridge and a microwave. It was nicer than the room I had been renting in Park Ridge. “This is nothing like the place where I was kept.”
Link sighed. “Stay wherever you think you’ll be the most comfortable, little falcon.”
Kace nodded. “If you want to hole up down here, it’ll make it easier to keep your presence a secret from the rest of the pack. Peppa is the head chef at Timber Treasures, a restaurant our pack owns. She can stock up your fridge every few days, and nobody will wonder what she’s doing over here since it’s technically still her place.”
“That would be great.” I went over to the wet bar and peeked inside the mini fridge. “Harlowe packed me enough snacks to tide me over for a little while, and there are drinks in here already. I’ll be fine until Peppa can come over.”
“Make sure she gets lots of protein,” Link ordered, not caring even a little bit that his son-in-law was in charge around here. “The doctor said she needed it to speed up the healing process.”
“Will do.”
Link’s voice was gruff when his attention returned to me. “Call me if you need anything.”
I nodded and echoed the alpha’s words. “Will do.”
My lips curved into a tiny smile at his chuckle as the two men climbed the stairs. I followed them and locked the door behind them when they left. Then I double-checked the back door and all the windows before heading back down to the basement. Still feeling uneasy, I dragged one of the stools at the wet bar up the stairs and propped it under the doorknob to slow down anyone who might try to get down here. Only then did I curl up on the couch and pull a throw blanket over myself before drifting off to sleep.
My rest was short-lived, though. The basement was pitch-black when the sound of someone rattling the small window woke me up. The blinds were shut tight so I couldn’t see anything, but I knew someone was out there.
Rolling off the couch, I crept to the bottom of the steps and pressed myself against the wall, wishing I’d had the chance to heal more. I was a little better than I’d been when Link helped me out of the basement where I’d been kept for so long, but I was nowhere near my full strength. I was so weak, I wouldn’t even be able to fight off a human if that was who was trying to break into the house.
“I should’ve told Link that I wanted a gun,” I muttered softly. It was usually taboo for shifters to use weapons to defend themselves, but after what I’d been through, I knew that I’d do whatever it took to survive. Even though I was a trembling mess at the moment.
3
Aero
My falcon was a pain in my ass sometimes, but I’d never struggled to keep him within my skin as much as I was tonight. I didn’t know what the hell was egging him on, but his incessant screeching inside my head had driven me out of my comfortable bed before the sun was up. Thinking something was wrong at the restaurant, that had been my first stop, but the place was still locked up tight—just how I’d left it at the end of my shift tonight.