Drawing Blood

Chapter Twenty-four

It was a sleepless night. Every time I checked the clock, the hands never seemed to move. I had been looking forward to being back in my own bed, but even my own sheets felt uncomfortable against my skin; the walls around me, closing in.

I had spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to settle; replaying the day's events in my head. On a loop, they had run. Over and over, as though I was rewinding and playing a video with no way of controlling it; watching the scenes closely for any small detail, any specific clue that could later prepare me for when Adam's moods changed. He had gone from calm, to closed off, to open; all in a space of twelve hours. Eventually settling on angry when he thought his territory was under threat. Like the storm we'd had, it had been breath-taking to witness, seemingly coming from nowhere; and just as terrifying.

He had scared me. He knew this. And it was as though the wolf inside him had grown hungry, unable to exercise any patience, needed feeding because someone it loved was under threat. The only other time I had seen that side to him was in the forest, his eyes flashing amber when I had challenged him deliberately; stirring the beast within. He had tried to hide it from me tonight, but had I caught it; the provocation coming from someone who had no idea what he was, or what he was capable of. When I had done it, it had been different. And I almost felt pity for them. They didn't know what lay ahead if they carried on antagonising him, throwing chunks of meat his way, bloodying the waters until he surfaced and took the bait. They wouldn't know until it was too late.

We had gone our separate ways not long after Annie's phone call, but not before I had warned him against scaring the journalist, afraid that if he did what I thought he was planning to do; that it too, could lead Devlin straight to us. He had been frustrated, not thinking logically. I had tried to explain this to him, only to be told that we were out of options now, along with the solid promise that he wouldn't let it go too far. Apparently, he had done it before, and it had worked. He didn't go into exact details, but I could see he was going to be stubborn with his decision; unbending, as Will could be. His resolve was fierce, as was his need to protect. After what he had told me, I understood completely. It was obvious Devlin had done a real number on him, and there was nothing I could do to change that. Making my excuses, claiming I was tired, I had dragged myself up the stairs, hoping he would come to his senses by morning.

It was a massive inconvenience knowing he was only twenty paces or so away from me; lying in a bed, on the first floor. I had tried hard not to think about it, and I knew it was unlikely that we would merge paths during the night, but that didn't change anything. Staring at the wall, it did occur to me that it wouldn't have taken a lot for either of us to rise and go and disturb the other. Throughout the night my thoughts remained intrusive, betraying me. Even with the pillow over my head, they hadn't stopped. With little effort, I had been able to vision him; hands nestled behind the back of his head, staring up at the ceiling, as he had done that night on my car. I was certain he would have been able to hear me move around up here, restless with anticipation. It would have left him wondering what I was doing, maybe even wanting to come and see what my distress was; possibly ask me about it in the morning. I would lie, of course, and say it was nothing. And he would believe me. Real or not, I was willing to bet he had been thinking about the days events, too; even wanting the same thing that I wanted. Although, he was unlikely to admit that. He was too proud for that.

The sun was poking through the curtains when I eventually woke, the storm and rain since faded. I had finally drifted to the borderline of unconsciousness and slipped over just as the gulls were beginning to stir, stretching their wings over the sea, limbering up for the day. Now, it was a little after nine, and it didn't take me long to realise something was wrong. I was on my own. I had lived in this house long enough to know that by now. What I didn't know, was why. Figuring I wasn't going to find out just by laying there, I tore myself from the entrapment of my bed, and slipped out of the room, treading a path down the stairs.