Jagged Embrace

Chapter 84 -Will

They entered the forest close to the area they'd been before, but not exactly, to be cautious. Will once again went less than half speed, so Maeve kept up. A small smile crossed his lips. She was as quiet as she'd been before. This time, they only had to pause twice because fewer people were around. Probably because the DNR was on high alert from the idiot locals.

They spotted the ranger in the distance, but he didn't head toward the cotton mill; he was headed away from it. Damn normals were probably scared of it because they didn't understand what existed out there, but the corpses of animals had them freaked out, believing it was another, more dangerous animal. They might hunt that animal during the day, but wouldn't risk it at night.

Maybe it was because he'd recently been drunk and almost had his fill of sex, but he was less on edge this time. He picked up on various scents, some he recognized from when they were in the woods and a few new ones. Nothing dangerous, just various small mammals. The image of Maeve under him, her legs wrapped around his waist on the ground, popped into his head. Her pale skin reflecting the light of the moon as he claimed her again.

He paused and drew a deep breath. Not the time to start that shit again. He needed to focus. He needed to figure out a way for them to screw three or four times a day. Then, this wouldn't keep happening, but he didn't think Ander would go for that.

The burned down cotton mill came into view. Will slowed his steps, unable to get any closer. He sensed the tinge of unnaturalness, the foul presence of it. He balled his hand into a fist and grit his teeth. Couldn't engage. He kept his eyes on Ander, which wasn't an easy task once he was adjacent to the cotton mill. His cousin was excellent at blending into the shadows. It had saved his ass more times than Will could count. Some monsters can't hit what they can't see. The sounds of the forest were still present, but were too quiet. Not like the last time where, it was an eerie stillness, but subdued.

"Shhh," Maeve's voice tickled his ears as her hand reached up to touch his neck.

His arms unlocked and he heard the rumbling in his throat. How the fuck had he not noticed that? Maeve moved her hand down his chest to his arm and took his hand.

It was the oddest feeling, standing there poised and ready to attack anything that moved wrong or came at them, and her hand was cupped in his. His eyes scanned the area repeatedly as his ears listened for anything out of place, but he kept her palm in his. It was reckless, but it gave him just enough control over his rage that he didn't move closer to the cotton mill. When he noticed Ander approaching, he tugged her hand to signal for her to move. Reluctantly, he let her hand go and then returned to the SUV as quiet as they came.