Chapter 25 #2
Taryn’s grandmother died when she was sixteen, and the room looks like a time capsule of her life at that age.
The bed is still tossed from the last time she got up, probably not knowing she’d never sleep in that bed again.
There are posters on the wall of boy bands and faraway places.
A large mirror with snapshots of her and her friends tucked all around it.
The closets and dressers are open, and all the clothes are gone.
At least she got to take something with her.
“Wow, I don’t even remember putting this poster up,” she says, tracing her finger across it. “Probably one Shana or Madison got me.”
“I can’t believe your uncle left all this stuff,” I say, looking around. “Didn’t you need a bed at his place?”
“I got a couch to sleep on in the living room,” she states flatly. “Still, I’m surprised he didn’t sell it. Maybe it would have just taken too much effort.”
“Maybe,” I say. “Well, if there’s anything you want, it belongs to you again.”
“Later,” she says, turning back to face me. “If I start looking around too much, I’ll get caught up in the memories. We’ve got a ritual to perform, remember?”
“Right,” I might have huffed a little. “Cave should be close enough for us to walk, right?”
“Yeah, it’s not far,” she says.
“Good, I’d like to stretch my legs,” I say, taking her hand. “After you show me the rest of the house.”
“There’s nothing else to see but a small kitchen and a laundry room,” she says. “But sure, you bought them, so you might as well see them.”
The kitchen is even smaller than I expected. I’m not sure the oven could have held a large pizza. The laundry room isn’t much better. There’s enough room for a washer, dryer, and an open door. I wouldn’t even be able to close the door if my big-ass body was in there.
“You’re right. Not much to see,” I chuckle.
“Just an old, dusty house,” she says, squeezing my hand. “But thank you.”
We walk outside, retrieve what we need from the SUV, and walk along a trail that leads through a forest. The breeze is nice, and there are no people around here, so I feel my wolf pawing. It’s been a while since I’ve let him run free and now seems like the perfect time.
“Give me a minute,” I say to Taryn, giving her a meaningful look and stepping off the trail and peeling off my shirt.
“Uh, I didn’t realize we were removing our clothes,” she replies hesitantly. “I don’t usually take those kinds of nature walks.”
“When I said I wanted to stretch my legs, I meant all four of them,” I grin, bending to loosen the laces on my boots.
Once I’m undressed, I step back to the trail and make eye contact with Taryn before I begin to shift.
Heat burns in my eyes first, then charcoal black fur ripples across my skin.
Bones pop, crack, and reshape as I sink down to all fours.
As the transformation completes, I let out a howl, now a seven hundred pound wolf.
The stunned look on Taryn’s face is priceless.
“Since we’re mated, you should be able to hear me,” I transmit.
“Whoa, that was like… in my head!” she yelps, looking around.
“Yes, I can speak, but it’s hard to understand,” I transmit, lowering myself to my belly. “Grab my backpack and hop on. Then point the way.”
Taryn stares at me blankly, then swallows hard. I catch the scent of her arousal as she takes a tentative step forward. I wasn’t sure how she’d deal with my wolf, but she doesn’t seem to be having a negative reaction. She’ll be squirming on my back in no time.
“You won’t go too fast, will you? The cave isn’t that far,” she says hesitantly, pointing in the general direction.
“You’re not going to fall off, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I reassure her.
“Okay,” she says, carefully draping a leg across my back.
I groan as her scent gets stronger, but I love feeling her wet heat against my back when she squirms into a comfortable position. Too bad there are layers of fabric between us. I wait until she’s still and has a good grip before I start walking.
“Grab hold of more fur than that,” I transmit. “You won’t hurt me.”
She moves a little, then tightens her grip on my scruff. I move a little faster, and once I’m sure she’s safe, I accelerate.
“Ah! Slower!” she squeals.
“I won’t lose you, mate,” I transmit. “You’re in no danger.”
She tenses up for a few seconds, but then she relaxes, and leans closer. She’s got the hang of it now. Too bad we don’t have far to go. I don’t even reach top speed before I see the cavern ahead and have to slow down.
“Too bad I didn’t have a wolf to ride when I used to explore this forest as a kid,” she laughs. “That was actually kind of fun.”
“See, there was no reason for you to be scared,” I transmit, walking closer to the cave before lowering myself to my belly.
Once Taryn hops off, I shift and put on my clothes. Everything we need for the ritual is in my backpack. I sling it over one shoulder, take her hand, and walk into the cave. Taryn squeezes my hand, then pulls out her phone, using it as a flashlight.
“Oh, right, light. I wish you could see in the dark like I can,” I comment.
“Yeah, and it’s really dark in this part of the cave,” she says. “I always had a flashlight or a lighter when I would come in here.”
“No wonder you want to bless this place with eternal sunshine,” I mutter.
“The cavern has some light. You’ll see,” she says, turning to the left when we get to a fork. “We kind of made it our clubhouse. We even had campfires, when it was cold.”
“Seems like a lot of effort just to hide from your grandmother’s switch,” I chuckle, looking around as we go deeper into the cave.
“We always found somewhere to hide. At my grandmother’s house, it was the cave. At Shana’s, it was the basement. At Madison’s, we used her mother’s she-shed.”
“She-shed?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Her mother wanted a place of her own, so she had Madison’s dad build her a she-shed. Then she never used it,” she explains. “Madison tried to get them to let her move out there, once she was older, but her dad ended up turning it into a man cave.”
“Probably better than this cave,” I reply.
“There’s the cavern,” she says, some excitement in her voice.
Based on how she explained it, I was expecting something rather magnificent.
It’s not. It’s just a dusty, dirty old cavern with some cracks in the ceiling that let in the sunlight.
The last campfire Taryn and her friends made is still a black smudge on the floor.
There are broken dolls, old toys, and several empty cigarette packs of various brands strewn across the ground.
“Home away from home, huh?” I scoff, dropping my backpack on the ground.
“Now you see why I thought a basement was an upgrade,” she laughs, sitting down on one of several small boulders scattered across the floor. “But I’m getting rather fond of the penthouse, too, so maybe we should do the ritual so we can go back.”
“I wasn’t going to argue with you if you asked to stay at your grandmother’s tonight, but I’m glad we won’t be sharing your childhood bed,” I grin, leaning down and opening the backpack. “It’s quite small.”
“I would just have to sleep on top of you,” she quips, grinning until I pull out the book. Then her expression darkens. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
“I asked Ingrid to monitor the location, so let me send her a pin. Assuming I can even get reception down here.” Pulling out my phone, I’m annoyed to see zero bars. “Nope; let me walk closer to the entrance.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you to get started,” she says.
I’m not sure if this is the best place to do the ritual, but at least we’re underground. If it covers this entire area with sunshine, I hope it doesn’t stretch very far. I don’t know how big the Garden of Eden supposedly was, or how that even worked.
I guess we’re about to find out.