24. Bella
Chapter twenty-four
Bella
Darius steps past me like the threshold is a suggestion, not a boundary, and the air in the clinic shifts to accommodate him.
“Bella,” he says my name with that voice. I will never get tired of hearing it.
Charlie plants himself at my side, body angled toward Darius, sniffing.
“Easy, it’s okay,” I murmur, resting a hand on his neck. Charlie’s tension eases. Old soul, he says quietly. Protective one. Not hunting us.
Charlie then sits down calmly. Accepted provisionally. He likes you, Bella.
For a moment, the two of them regard each other and Charlie is now relaxed. Darius inclines his head—barely.
“Good animal,” Darius says.
“Charlie is protective,” I reply.
“As he should be. I hope he’ll come to trust me.”
His gaze lifts to mine, and for a second the room narrows to just that look—measured, assessing, entirely present. And of course, too handsome for his own good. Those dark eyes take me in and I swear I could melt. But I hide my reaction. At least I hope I do.
I suddenly think of the first time we kissed at his home. And then the dream of last night. I feel my heart beating like a drum.
I take a deep breath and try to get myself under control.
“May I?” he says, gesturing toward the exam room, touching my arm as he steps forward.
For once he asked instead of just going into the exam room. I nod, and then he moves and I follow. Lena stiffens when he appears in the doorway. Her fingers tighten on the blanket.
“It’s okay,” I say, stepping in behind him. “He’s here to help. He knows about the attack.”
The words come out before I can examine them.
Darius doesn’t react. But I feel it anyway—that slight shift, like I’ve said something that aligns with something he’s already decided.
“Tell me what happened, Lena,” he says quietly. His voice is deep and calm. Even. Impossible to ignore.
She swallows hard. “I—I was running late,” she says. “I thought I could make it through The Wilds before the bell—”
“You should not have been there,” he says.
“I know,” she whispers. “I know.”
“What did you see?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t—I didn’t see it clearly. It was—low, then not low. On two legs not four. Moving wrong, coming through the trees.”
His expression doesn’t change. But something in the room does.
“Did it touch you?” he asks.
“No,” she says quickly. “No, I fell. And then—something hit it. Kept it from getting me.”
That gets his attention.
“Something?” he repeats.
“Yeah,” she says, voice shaking again. “Like—like something or someone came out of nowhere. Hit it. And stopped it. I grabbed my bike and got out of there fast.”
Silence settles. Darius studies her for a long moment. Then, quietly he asks, “You are certain it did not break your skin? Claw you or touch you?”
She hesitates as my pulse ticks up.
“Lena,” I say gently, “this is important.”
She nods quickly. “I’m sure. I would have felt it. It was coming for me but something stopped it.”
“I found no punctures, tears or wounds except scrapes on her hands and knees from the fall,” I say.
He nods once but looks at the bandage on her wrist. He says nothing and then nods once.
“Good,” he says. He sounds relieved.
“Let’s go talk,” I say softly, motioning him to follow me to the reception area.
He does.
I stop in front of him, crossing my arms. “Okay,” I say. “Your turn.”
His gaze darkens.
“You knew something was out there,” I continue. “Silas saw it. Lena saw it. Tom probably did, too. And you came here because you expected something might have happened tonight.”
“I came because it happened,” he replies quietly.
“Darius, that’s confusing,” I say, stepping closer. “I have patients coming in with unexplained symptoms, abnormal blood responses, and now something in the woods is attacking people. I need more than it happened.”
For a second, I think he’s going to shut me down. But a faint curve touches his mouth again.
“You’re direct, Bella,” he says.
“Yes. Born that way. And I’m a doctor.”
“You are more than that.”
He says the words quietly. I ignore them.
“Please. Tell me what you know,” I say.
Finn steps in behind us. “Bella—”
“No,” I cut in. “Not this time.”
Darius watches me. Evaluating. Then, slowly, he says, “The Wilds are not a place people go after dark.”
“I gathered that.”
“They are not a place people should go alone.”
“I also gathered that.”
“They are not a place people go when something has changed.”
I hold his gaze. “Has something changed?’”
He pauses. Then says, “There are boundaries on this island. Most of them are respected.”
“And this is one of them.”
“Yes. After dark especially.”
“So Lena being there after the bell rang….”
His eyes sharpen.
“Tested it. Silas and Tom did, too.”
“Can it come into town?” Finn asks suddenly.
Darius turns to him.
“No,” he says. “I don’t believe so.”
The certainty in his voice should be reassuring.
“Why not?” I ask.
“Because it will not be allowed to. Because the boundaries are too strong.”
“That’s not a very good explanation.” I stare at him. “You keep doing that. Giving me answers that sound complete but aren’t.”
“And you keep asking questions that assume you are entitled.”
“But I think I am entitled. I’m the town doctor. And this, whatever this is, affects my patients. Affects the island.”
He pauses and then quietly says, “It does.”
I didn’t expect this admission. It’s small but significant. Maybe I’m getting somewhere and push further.
“Then stop talking around it, Darius.”
He pauses longer this time, then says, “Something in The Wilds is no longer behaving as it should,” he says. “It is not one of ours. Not one of mine.”
Not one of mine? I file that away immediately.
“What do you mean? One of us? What is it, then?” I press.
“I don’t yet know.”
The honesty in his voice is evident.
“And you’re okay with that?”
“No,” he says. “Not at all.”
For the first time since he walked in, something cracks through his control. Just a little. He doesn’t like this.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “Then we’re in the same position, then.”
“Not quite,” he replies quietly in that low voice.
“How so?”
“You are discovering the problem,” he says. “I am trying to contain it.”
I let silence fall in the room for a moment, then say, “I see. Is that working?”
His gaze holds mine and he doesn’t answer.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m starting to hate silence. You’re the strong silent type, aren’t you, Darius.”
A flicker of something like approval or amusement passes through his expression.
“You’re adapting quickly,” he says.
“I’d prefer answers.”
“You will get them.”
“When?”
I take a breath, forcing myself not to push harder.
“Fine,” I say. “Then here’s what I’m doing.”
He waits.
“I’ve decided to track everything,” I continue. “Every patient and resident who hasn’t come in. Ask questions. Find any odd symptoms. Every anomaly. Listen to every story. And then we compare notes.”
“Compare with me, you mean?” he asks.
“Yes.”
He pauses and I can see he’s thinking. Then he inclines his head. “Agreed.”
“Good,” I say. “Because I’m not flying blind on this.”
“You won’t,” he replies.
Lena calls out quietly from her room. “Am I safe?” she asks, voice small again.
Darius and I move back to her room. “Yes,” he says. “Just don’t go into The Wilds again at night or even near sunset.”
I step closer to Lena, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll sleep here tonight,” I say. “Maybe even stay longer. I’d like to do a few tests in the morning.”
She nods immediately. “Okay.”
I glance back at Darius. “Anything else I should know?”
His gaze shifts to the window. Toward the direction of The Cliffs. Then back to me.
“Yes,” he says.
I wait.
“You are curious. Please be careful of patients who escalate. Please be careful when dealing with this situation. Please don’t go out alone near sunset.”
“I’m not that reckless.”
“As I said, you are curious,” he replies. “It’s the same thing in the end.”
I open my mouth to argue—
Then stop. Because he’s not entirely wrong.
“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind,” I say.
His gaze holds mine for one beat longer than necessary as he looks in my eyes. I see his eyes drop for just a second to my lips. Goosebumps run down my spine.
He glances at Finn and then he turns to go. Just like that.
“Wait,” I say.
He pauses at the door.
“What do you think it is?” I ask. “In the woods. Lena said something or someone stopped the attacker.”
A silence stretches. Then, without turning, he says, “Something that also respects the boundary.”
That’s not an answer. But it’s something. He leaves. The door closes behind him. The room exhales.
Finn runs a hand through his hair. “Well,” he says. “That was interesting.”
I don’t answer. I’m still staring at the door. At the space he just occupied. At the weight of everything he said. And didn’t say.
Something is in The Wilds, we know that.
Something is changing. Silas and Darius allude to that fact, even Molly did.
Everyone needs to be inside when the bell rings at sunset, so that means the island was never safe at night. Or at one time, anyway.
And now something else, something strong enough to stop whatever monster is out there is involved. It helped Silas. It helped Lena. Or seemingly.
But why? And what kind of danger are we really in?