The Housemates

News

Chapter Eighteen

News

Even with her werewolf hearing, it surprised Elli how quickly she picked up on Jasper’s heartbeat. He had to be six, six and a half miles away and he was inside some sort of vehicle, probably the Ranger. There was no mistaking that heartbeat, though. Her mate was nearby. It took all of her willpower not to leap off the couch and greet him at the door with her tail wagging. That was annoying.

For the first time, the whole household was gathered in the redecorated living room. Richard and Blake talked in hushed tones in the two green arm chairs. Elli and Noah could still hear them, but they had limited privacy from everyone else. Kate and Desmond occupied the white loveseat, chatting and laughing. Elli really needed to talk to him about her later… Addy sat cross legged on the floor, homework spread out on the coffee table in front of her. Noah rested in the black recliner, close enough to rip Blake’s throat out if need be. He appeared to be reading a book, but she knew he wasn’t focused on that in the slightest. As for herself, she lounged on the blue couch, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and the company of her housemates. Most of them anyways… She knew that Peter and Jasper were on their way over, though she wasn’t sure if Addy was expecting them. Either way, she knew she would have to move to make room for them on the couch. Her best bet was to sit on the floor with Addy so that she wouldn’t be too close to Jasper. While it was nice to think there was no such thing as ‘too close’, she knew that wasn’t the case. They weren’t together, so she needed to keep some distance from him.

Her heart rate picked up as the truck pulled into the yard. She saw a slight smile cross Blake’s lips. She hoped it was in response to something Richard had said, but she knew it was because he heard the change. He might not know which one, but he knew one of the visitors was her mate.

The boys didn’t knock, choosing to simply walk in. Since discovering her housemates were supernatural, Addy had quit bothering to lock the door. They were far scarier than any human that might try to break in. Elli, Noah, and Desmond continued locking it when they came in; fear of hunters was so instilled in them they couldn’t break that habit.

Addy looked up in surprise as her friends barged into her living room. Apparently she hadn’t known they were coming.

“What brings you guys over?” she wondered.

Jasper frowned, staring at the marble fireplace. “Wasn’t that grey brick before?”

At the same time, Peter replied in surprise, “You mean you haven’t heard?”

“Heard about what?” Addy questioned, ignoring Jasper’s very accurate observation.

“It was in the paper this morning,” Jasper informed her, taking his eyes off the fireplace to look at her.

“They found a body in the apartment next door to us. The Palms is a crime scene right now. We figured we’d just hang out here until things calmed down there.”

This was clearly the wrong answer for Peter to provide. Addy’s eyes widened and her voice was about two pitches higher as she squeaked out, “They found a body at The Palms?”