Dark Shadow (Book 1 in DARKNESS DUOLOGY)

Seven: The Visitors

Standing at the entrance of my room, I couldn't move or look away from where Ridge was watching me. He raised an eyebrow, not breaking eye contact as he pointed to the window. I swallowed hard, forcing my cement heavy legs to move over to my window seat and raise a shaky hand to flip the lock.

After pushing the window open, I stammered, "Ridge...? What—what are you—doing here?"

Ridge cleared his throat and asked if he could come in. I looked over my shoulder, listening for anyone coming up the stairs but the upper floor was quiet. Frowning, I slowly faced Ridge and nodded before stepping back to give him space to climb in. He was a little hesitant, glancing around as he held the edges and put a foot through. Ridge noted the dirt footprints he left on the seat cushion and he muttered an apology, brushing his hand across it to clear it off.

I crossed my arms, shaking my head that it was fine. That I could clean it off later. It allowed him to just nod and step away from the window. He raked his fingers through his hair, sighing as the minutes ticked away and I asked again why Ridge was here. To be more precise, I asked why he didn't use the front door.

Ridge took a step forward, I immediately took a step back. He stopped, his eyebrows furrowing and his hands dropped to his sides. His shoulders slumped a bit, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with the hard swallow he took. Ridge pursed his mouth to the side, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and his gaze wandered around my room.

I looked around too, frowning as I took in the drawings I painted on the walls. There was even some of my artwork on the ceiling. My attention was drawn back to Ridge when he says, "That's beautiful..." and saw him staring at the tall tree I had drawn in the corner of two connecting walls.

The tree trunk was a dark navy blue and purple mixture and took up space on both sides of the walls. Each of the tree's branches spread out and the red-wine colored leaves I painted were outlined with a slight white highlight. To finish the look of the tree, I had pinned white fairy lights throughout the "leaves". It was to make my room a little more cozy and kinda got carried away with it.

I admired my tree, the corner of my lip curling up and nodded, "It is... thank you."

Frowning, I turned to look at Ridge who finally turned to me. My frown was still in place, remembering that I wasn't what Ridge wanted. I was just someone who could ruin his relationship with the 'love of his life'. Lowering an eyebrow, I put a bit of desperation in my voice and questioned, "What do you want?"

The Beta squinted at me until he bowed his head, groaning with his hands against his temples. I swallowed, taking a hesitant step forward while reaching out that if Ridge was alright. If I should call someone. He shook his head, still groaning with his hands to his head and then he let out a long breath before straightening. Ridge sighed out an apology, sharing that he had been having a lot of bad headaches lately but hadn't told anyone because he didn't think it was that big of a deal.

When our eyes met, Ridge paused with this curious look on his face. His broad shoulders rolled back though I couldn't help watching the way that motion flexed his arm and chest muscles. My gaze quickly returned to Ridge's green one that turned into a deeper green and their pupils pulsed. A small growl vibrated from his chest and he lowered his chin towards his chest, that darkening stare focused on me.

My wolf side was being coaxed by Ridge's behavior, a sure-tell sign that this was his wolf. Shivers trickled down my spine as Ridge's growl sounded delicious to me. I'd never felt aroused before and didn't know what it felt like until now because my wolf side was sharing this instinctual reaction towards our True Mate. That growl of Ridge's along with that enticing stare made my stomach clench and my heart race.