Chapter Eight
Emerson
I take advantage of the free Sunday morning to get my bearings.
I ended up spending all of yesterday with my new housemates—more Jamie than Nick, of course, what with the time we spent putting my wardrobe together—and then I didn’t want to risk sneaking out last night, mostly because, if caught, I have no idea yet how I’m going to explain things away.
Nightly walks will have to be the excuse, I suppose. I round the next corner and come to an abrupt stop. I know this place. Ahead of me is the park from the video.
I approach it slowly, despite the fact that it’s just after eleven and there’s no chance there’ll be a werewolf running around. Actually, can they even shift when it’s not a full moon? I whip out my phone and make a quick note to check, though I’m sure I’ll get a multitude of different accounts.
That’s always the way when it comes to folklore and urban legends. A kernel of truth always exists, deep down, but it gets so warped and twisted…
I shake my head and shove my phone back into my pocket.
In daylight, the park is just a park. A few young families are wandering around, a group of teenagers lingering under one of the trees, people sitting on benches, reading, texting, and doing whatever it is normal people do when they come to a place like this.
I wander through it myself, just to get a feel for things. Why did the werewolf come here? To transform, I suppose, though it seems foolish to risk being out in the open like that.
More importantly, how often had he come here before?
Was it the first time? I stop by an unoccupied bench and then drop onto it, trying to imagine how the park might look at night.
Of course, I wouldn’t be able to see anything—it appears to be the kind of park that closes at night, gate locked, so there’s no need for lighting.
Can the werewolf see in the dark? I’d assume so. Maybe he uses his sense of smell. I skip my gaze from tree to tree. This is a nice park, a fair size for London, but it’s hardly a forest.
A frown tugs at the corners of my mouth. Is he the only werewolf in this city? Surely not. He must be lonely, if he is.
And if not… I push my hands deep into the pockets of my jacket and sigh. If not, then this truly is a dangerous project I’m working on. I’m certain that the werewolves won’t be happy if I expose their existence.
But shouldn’t we know they’re there? Besides, I don’t even know what the client wants the video for. I’ve been paid the money I negotiated up front, but I have limited savings… I can pay them back, then crawl back to Cate’s, tail between my legs.
If I change my mind, I don’t have to follow through at all.
Decision made—or deferred, at least, for now—I push to my feet and make my way through the rest of the park. I spend the next hour or so walking the streets that surround my new home until I have a mental map of the immediate area.
When I make it back to the house, neither Nick nor Jamie has returned. Nick is playing football nearby. He asked me if I wanted to join him this morning, which almost made me spit out my tea. Football is not my thing. Has never been my thing.
I appreciate the offer, of course. He didn’t seem at all perturbed when I declined, either, though I am certain his invitation was genuine. I like him already. He seems level-headed and straightforward, and I meet so few people like that nowadays.
Jamie… Jamie said he was going to meet a friend for coffee, and I couldn’t help the way my stomach twisted at that pronouncement.
I shake my head as I walk into the still unfamiliar kitchen.
It takes me a few seconds to find everything to make a cup of tea, even though I made one last night and this morning.
I plan to be here for a few months. With the money I get for this job, I’ll be more than able to pay rent through the end of a year, which should take the burden off the two of them when I leave. I don’t want to be unfair.
That means I don’t want to be unfair to Jamie, either.
I think he feels some hesitation as well, which is for the best. I take my phone out and stare at the screen as I wait for the kettle to boil.
Not a notification in sight. Cate was furious when I explained everything the other morning and I haven’t heard from her since I left.
I understand. I know her well enough to know she needs time to cool off, too. This was impulsive of me. Reckless. Not words she’d usually use to describe me at all.
“Waiting for a call?” Jamie asks from the kitchen doorway, and I jump in surprise, almost dropping my phone on the floor.
When I look back at him, he’s grinning. His face is a little flushed, eyes sparkling.
He clarified he was meeting a female friend, Cecile, a few seconds after he said he was meeting someone for coffee.
My entirely misplaced jealousy did not have long to make an appearance, not with such relief shoving it aside.
“Uh, no. Did you want a drink?” I gesture at the kettle, which has just boiled.
“Love one. Let me change first.”
He darts off before I can even nod and I carefully make his tea, then mine, and carry them into the living room. A few seconds after I settle onto the sofa, Jamie joins me, jumping on it so it jostles and I have to raise my mug a little higher to avoid a spill.
“Sorry.” Jamie flashes me a grin, and my stomach clenches again. If he can read the emotions on my face, he makes no sign of it. He picks up his own mug and takes a large gulp. “Fuck! Hot.”
I laugh into my own tea. “How was your morning?”
“Fun. I used to see Cecile a bit more often, but work’s been busy lately, so we do our best to make sure we can meet up on Sundays. Not like she wanted to talk about anything aside from you.”
“Me?”
Jamie shrugs. “She knows… all of us, really. She knew we were looking for a housemate.” He grins again. “If you’re up for it, she suggested going to the pub later in the week? Might be a more low-key way to meet Vince and Dax, too.”
I hesitate for a moment, and Jamie frowns, but I need a second to think it through. I don’t mind giving up an evening to get to know my housemates better, or even to meet their friends. It has just been a while since I have met so many new people at once. I sit up a little straighter, nodding.
“Of course,” I say. “I’m sure it’ll be fun.”
Jamie narrows his eyes at me. “It doesn’t have to be at the pub. We can invite them over, or—” He cuts himself off and clears his throat before he speaks again. “We could invite them over, if you think that’s better.”
Huh. Clearly, he does not want us to visit his friends’ houses.
It seems as though Vince and Dax have fairly recently moved in together, so perhaps they are not ready for that.
And I have no idea of Cecile’s living situation, of course, though I do know that London is a difficult place in which to find affordable housing. Perhaps she has no room to entertain.
“No, the pub is fine. It’ll be nice to meet them all on more neutral ground.”
“You think?” Jamie brightens again, and something flutters in my chest. “Great! I’ll let her know.”
I drink the rest of my tea as Jamie sends a text. The quiet is nice and comfortable, even for how little we know of each other and the fact that Jamie is far livelier than I am, prone to noise and movement, where I am not.
“So what did you do today?” Jamie asks when he’s done. He sets his phone down on the table and fixes me with an intense stare.
I smile softly. All that attention on me is… heady. Dangerous, perhaps. I do not have the time to get used to it.
“Just explored the area. I like to know my surroundings, especially if I plan to stay for a while.”
“A while, huh?”
“At least six months. I’ve paid for that, after all.”
Jamie huffs a laugh. “I’m sure you’ll be here longer than that.”