Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Sadie never really had any kind of stir-crazy feelings before, but after several more days in Midas and Maya’s home without being able to step foot outside, she was definitely climbing the walls a little bit. Gavin was so sweet to her and so were the other pride members, who came to hang out and plan different activities.
Lila and her son were always up for watching animated children’s movies which Sadie enjoyed. Maya loved to cook and bake and included Sadie in helping to make the meals for everyone staying at their house. Gavin’s mom loved puzzles and brought them over and spent hours with Sadie, talking about their family and pride.
As Sadie sat at the table after dinner, when it was just her and Gavin and the others were helping clean the dishes or had gone to watch TV in the family room, Gavin put his arm around her and drew her close.
“You’re going nuts, huh?”
“A little.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“It’s not your fault someone is after me, but it’s just weird because I feel like we’re sitting around waiting for something to happen. Our people haven’t seen hide nor hair of Victor or Brent and his HAS goons in a couple of days, and neither have the wolves or any of the other shifter groups that are looking for evidence of them.”
Midas had reached out to all the groups in the area, from the vampires to the witches to the dragons, to make sure they knew that Brent had a new ally and he was hunting unique shifters, starting with Sadie.
“I kind of wish I could go back to a time when I didn’t know about Humans Against Shifters or that there were shifter poachers with clients who sometimes wanted the shifters dead so they could have them stuffed.” She shivered as she wondered how many shifters had died at Victor Hawthorne’s hands. She couldn’t imagine someone being so callous with life as to think nothing of killing a shifter for money.
He chuckled softly. “Me too.” He pushed back in the chair and rose to his feet. “I have an idea.”
“Oh? A sexy one? I like those kinds of ideas.”
“I do too,” he said, waggling his brows, “but no, actually, I was thinking we could go for a little drive.”
“I thought you didn’t want me leaving the house?”
“I don’t, really, but I think you need to get out and stretch your legs, so to speak. But how would you like to hang out with Nora?”
“I’d love to!”
“I called and she said we could come over for dessert. She has a book she wants to show you, and I know you wanted to spend a little time in her library.”
“When?”
“Right now, sweetheart. The security team is gathering and we’re going to have an escort plus the team is going to hang out around the house while we’re there. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
She felt the sting of happy tears. Rising to her feet, she gave him a hug. “You’re the best mate, thank you.”
“I’m trying,” he said. He pushed her gently to arm’s length. “Sometime, soon I hope, things will be back to normal and we won’t have to constantly worry about someone trying to get to you. But until then, I’m extra-strength crazy about your safety.”
“I know, I appreciate it.”
They met a small group of security team members waiting at the side of the house with two small Jeeps with tinted windows. She and Gavin got in one and the other males got in the second one, and in moments, they were on their way through the forest using trails that had been hand-cut through the woods to allow pride members to drive vehicles easily around the territory.
As their jeep bounced along the rough terrain, Sadie was just so dang happy to be out of the house that she could have cried. But she didn’t want to cry because she didn’t want Gavin to know how much she both hated and loved being stuck at the house with the others. It was a blessing to be so well cared for and protected, but she was chafing under the no-leaving rule.
This was a blissful moment of freedom, and she wanted to soak up every second of it.
They reached Nora’s home a few minutes later. Gavin parked right by the front door and got out, leaving Sadie inside while he took a look around. When he walked her to the door, she noticed security cameras around the exterior of the house and was happy to know that Nora had extra eyes.
“Nora? It’s us,” Gavin called as he opened the door and gave Sadie a gentle push inside. He followed and shut the door quickly behind them.
“I’m in the den, come on back. I have cookies!” Her voice rang out like a song and Sadie smiled at the sweet tone.
They found her in the den on a plush lounge that was covered with soft, rose-colored velvet and looked like it belonged in a Victorian painting.
Nora rose to her feet and gave Sadie a hug. “How are you holding up?”
“Good, but I’m glad to get out of the house,” Sadie said.
“I understand,” she said, taking her seat again and patting the space next to her for Sadie. As she sat, Nora continued, “I’m a homebody, but when I can’t leave, I feel like the walls are closing in.”
“That’s exactly how I feel.”
Gavin cleared his throat and said, “I’m going to hang out with the security team. Take as long as you like visiting with Nora, sweetheart.”
“Thanks.”
He nodded with a smile and left.
“I’m so glad you could come visit,” Nora said. “When Gavin called to ask if I was free, I told him that I was going to call you anyway because I found a book you might like.”
“What kind of book? I’ve been reading an old sci-fi book that Midas had in the library, but it’s not really holding my interest.”
Nora stood and scooted over a small table that held a tea set and a plate of thin cookies covered with colorful sprinkles.
Sadie watched as she put loose tea leaves into mesh balls, hung them over the edge of clear mugs, and then poured steaming water into the mugs.
“Jasmine green tea,” Nora said as she gently bobbed the tea in the water and the water slowly changed to a pretty golden color, “has a lot of benefits, but mostly the scent of jasmine is calming and promotes relaxation, so I thought it was a good choice. It pairs nicely with sugar cookies too.”
She pulled the steeped tea from the mugs and suggested a few drops of fresh lemon from wedges and just a bit of honey for sweetness.
Sadie took the mug and held it between her hands, taking time to inhale the gentle floral scent. Closing her eyes, she settled into the calm that flooded through her and smiled.
They ate cookies and drank tea while Nora showed her a book she’d found in her collection about rare and unique shifters.
It was an old, large book with colorful drawings of different types of shifters.
“It’s more types of shifters and not so much unique colors, but I thought you might like to read through it. Did you know there’s a Pegasus shifter in Northern Ohio?”
“Really? I didn’t know they were real.”
“I’m very certain there are a lot more types of supernatural creatures than we know of because they’re either not in the States or keep to themselves. I know there’s a polar bear who lives with the dragons, she’s Prince Tosh’s mate. And of course I think the dragons are quite interesting too. There’s a panther who works for the vampire coven. They normally stay with their own kind, but he’s on his own.”
“That’s so cool, thank you. I can’t wait to read this.”
“Enjoy it for as long as you like.”
They talked a little while longer, and then Sadie was ready to head back to the house.
“Come by anytime,” Nora said as she handed a plastic container of sugar cookies to Gavin, whose eyes lit up.
“Thank you,” Sadie said.
“Did you have fun, sweetheart?” Gavin asked as he opened her door.
“I did, thank you. Plus, I’ve got a book to read.”
“Nice.”
They were back at the house in minutes and she took the book and settled in the library to read about unique shifters. Even if she was a normal wolf who happened to have an unusual fur color, it was cool to think about other rare shifters in the world, and it made her feel not so alone in her uniqueness.
“Sadie!”
Sadie startled from a nap she hadn’t realized she’d taken when Gavin called her name. She smelled smoke and jumped to her feet as Gavin raced into the room. “The porch is on fire! Let’s go!”
He took her hand and pulled her through the house toward the kitchen and the back porch. The others in the house were already standing in the yard, and even in the darkness as the coming sunset took the light away from the sky, she could see the smoke in the air and the flicker of orange flames.
Something caught her eye in the forest beyond the yard and she pulled on Gavin just before he crossed the threshold.
“Do you see that?”
“Baby, we gotta go!”
“No, look! There’s… Something flashed in the trees. I think someone is trying to drive us out the back.”
He snarled and looked into the trees. “Son of a bitch. I think I just saw something flicker. Damn it. Damn it!”
She coughed as the smoke grew thicker.
“Come on, you guys!” Maya yelled.
Gavin texted Midas that he thought someone was in the woods watching them. Midas told them to use the door in the floor of the pantry to go down to the old cells that weren’t used to imprison people anymore, and to stay put until the fire was out. In moments, she and Gavin were in a long hallway with prison cells on either side. The whole place smelled of dirt and mold, and she sniffled as the dust made her nose itch.
Gavin hugged her tightly. “I think I almost walked us out into trouble,” he said. “I didn’t even think that they might use a fire to herd us somewhere, but we could have run right into danger. Thanks for thinking on your feet, Sadie.”
She nodded.
It took the pride’s security force twenty minutes to put out the fire on the porch, which had scorched the front of the house and damaged the porch extensively but hadn’t gotten into the house.
No one had been hurt, thankfully.
When they got the all clear a half hour after that, they returned to the house and helped open the window and turn on the ceiling fans to air out the smokey smell.
“So we used the security cameras and saw someone drop an explosive from a drone onto the porch,” Ryan said. “And we found evidence of humans in the forest. It’s like they knew exactly where all the security monitors are and didn’t trip a single freaking one.”
“What can we do about that?” Gavin asked.
“We’re going to move them,” Ryan said. “Hopefully that’s enough to spot them if they try to get in again. Good job not coming outside though. Who knows what would have happened if the two of you had been in the open.”
She was thankful she’d seen that glint in the trees, otherwise, she might be in a world of trouble.
“I just want them to leave us alone,” she said.
“Me too, sweetheart,” Gavin said. “Me too.”