Thomas didn’t walk toward me but moved to the back of the crowd. He bent and picked something up. The men parted to make room for him as he walked toward me. In his hand, he held a small bouquet of wild flowers. My heart skipped a beat at the gesture, and I quickly looked up. He uncomfortably met my gaze. His grip on the flowers tightened as if he was ready to throw them or shred them, and I realized the flowers weren’t his idea.
At least someone in the group had some sense of what human women liked.
I stayed by the door, trying to quell my nervousness as he stepped from the men and stood before me. He held out the flowers. I took them and managed a whispered word of thanks. The discomfort left his gaze and something else crept in. Tenderness.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said softly. He reached up and gently brushed a thumb along my cheek. My heart skipped a beat—the traitorous thing—and his look of longing stole my breath. He didn’t move toward my neck, just continued to touch me.
“I will work every day of my life to deserve the gift you’ve given me.”
My heart beat faster, and my stomach twisted happily.
He leaned forward, not toward my neck, but toward my mouth. His lips brushed mine, surprising me. His touch was light and soft. A whisper of his skin, and a promise of more to come. My lids fluttered shut as I lost myself in the sensation. He kissed the corner of my mouth, my cheek, my jaw, then my neck. The light scrape of his teeth pulled me from my trance.
I stiffened, and his hands curled around my upper arms. Whether in comfort or to keep me still, I couldn’t be sure.
“Everything will be fine,” he whispered against my skin.
He kissed me several more times. I would be a liar if I said it didn’t affect me. It did. But my fear of what he meant to do next kept me from drifting into blissful ignorance like he probably wanted.
His tongue stroked my skin, startling me from my thoughts. Tingles spread over my arms as embarrassment crashed over me. We were standing in front of a crowd of people. A light kiss, I could take, but not that.
Before I could protest, his mouth opened. I inhaled through my nose as his teeth pierced me. He went deeper than Anton but not by much. I grunted and pushed against his chest when he lingered there. He didn’t budge. He slowly withdrew his teeth and kissed the skin. As if that would make it better. He’d just bitten me slowly. At least the others had the decency to get it over with. Angry, I shoved at him again.
He pulled back and studied me while I glared at him. I could feel a trickle of blood run down my neck.
“Well?” I said.
His expression changed to one of complete devastation, and I knew it hadn’t worked.
“At least, now you don’t have to worry about forgetting your responsibilities to chase me,” I said, still bitter about the bite. I faced the crowd. “Will you let me stay here in peace or should I move on?”
“Stay,” Thomas said through clenched teeth. No one else said anything. He appeared to be their spokesperson.
“To be clear, this means no more fighting to meet me. No more looking for ways to win my favor in hopes for a little nip. None of it. Because that was the last bite.”
“We heard you before. We understand,” he said.
“Then, thank you for letting me stay.” With a minute nod, I turned and went back inside. Mary was by the table, ready with the alcohol and gauze. I sat and let her clean my neck, grinding my teeth against the sting.
I’d done it. Won my freedom without trying to fight them all. Although it didn’t make the prior bites worthwhile, it gave them meaning. They weren’t for nothing. I could stay here safely now.
“There’s blood on your shirt,” Mary said. “I’ll go get the clothes from the line.”
I stood and moved to the double doors as she walked outside. Though the men had given their word that they wouldn’t pursue me, I didn’t want to linger in the room. The building was quiet as I climbed the stairs and closed myself into our bedroom. I dropped my bag beside the dresser and started to unpack.
In the hall, I heard the creak of another door and froze. Mary wouldn’t need to go into any of the other rooms. I strained to hear more and almost screamed when someone knocked on my door.
“Who is it?”
“Thomas.” His familiar voice held a note of impatience.
I crossed the room and opened the door. With crossed arms, he stood in the hall.
“I wanted to let you know that Gregory and I will be staying in the room next to yours. Henry and Paul will be in the room to your right. Several other men will be staying in the rooms downstairs. We wanted to know what we should work on next.”
My mouth fell open. They were moving into the building?
“Why?”
“I thought telling you would be considerate. And we have no idea what your plans are.”
“No. I mean, why are you staying here? I thought…”
“You thought we’d leave?” He gave a dry laugh. “Not after your pretty little speech about being different.”
“I didn’t give a speech. I said that to Gregory in the—”
“Main room where we could still hear. You said no more biting, and we agreed. That doesn’t mean we’ve given up. It means we need to figure out how to Claim you without using our teeth.”
I stared at him, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure how I felt about their intent. Knowing the biting would actually stop was a relief, yet I didn’t like that I had no say in their decision to continue pursuing me. However, their presence could be an advantage.
“How many are willing to help?”
“Seven, so far,” he said.
I glanced at the window. We had several hours of daylight left.
“Let’s meet in the main room after I change my shirt.”
He nodded and walked down the hall to his room. I closed the door, still slightly shocked by this new turn.
****
When Mary and I entered the common room, there were three rabbits roasting on the fire. My mouth watered at the smell. But I ignored my need for food to address the men who waited.
I knew Gregory and Thomas, and Henry and Paul, but not the other three. One I recognized as the man who’d arrived with Thomas. The other two I was certain I’d never seen.
“I’m Charlene,” I said, extending my hand to Thomas’ friend first.
He looked down at my hand, grinned, then wrapped his fingers around mine. It was less of a handshake and more of a handholding.
“I’m Grey, Thomas’ brother.” He released me. “These two are Bine and Zerek.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said politely. “Thomas said you wanted to know what I planned to do next.” They all watched me, even Mary. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do next. For me to live here through the winter… well, it’s a long list. And I don’t know what your plans are. Will all of you be staying too? It could change what we should do first.”
“What do you mean?” Thomas asked.
“If it’s the eight of us, we need to consider how we’ll feed ourselves. I’m guessing as hunters, you follow the food. If you’re staying in one place and the game leaves, then what? Also, if you’re living indoors without your fur, how will you stay warm? You’re going to need shirts, shoes, socks, and other things. We’ll need more bedding, a large supply of wood, and jackets, mittens, and hats. And we can’t steal what we need. If we mean to stay here permanently, robbing the surrounding homes and communities would put us at risk. We need to find a way to earn money. Money will buy us the food and clothes we need.”
“Bine, head out to find an ax,” Thomas said. “Zerek, pull any deadfall from the woods into the clearing. Enlist whoever is willing to help.” The two nodded and left, shutting the outside door.
That took care of the wood.
“Do you have suggestions for how we can earn money?” Thomas asked, turning to look at me. My neck ached as our gazes met. I tried to ignore the sensation and promised myself I’d take a pain pill before bed.
“There’s always the route Winifred took. Go out and get jobs.” He didn’t appear to consider that option, so I moved on. “There were some useful things at the junkyard. Perhaps more could be found there and sold in town. If we can spare any wood, we could also sell that.”
Thomas glanced at Gregory and Grey. As if Thomas had spoken an order, they both nodded. Gregory held out his hand to Mary, and she went to him with a grin.
“We’ll find something good,” she said to me, and Gregory led her out the door.
Thomas waited until the door closed behind them before speaking again. “I heard you had one of the buildings dismantled for the boards. How do you plan to use those?”
“To board up the windows with no glass. It should help keep the cold out.”
Henry and Paul nodded and walked out the door, leaving Thomas and I alone.
“What else?”
The way Thomas took charge and told everyone what to do bothered me. No. It wasn’t that. It was his arrogance while he did it that irritated me.
I crossed my arms to match his stance and arched a brow at him.
“Why the sudden willingness to help? I thought you didn’t want me making changes here.”
“Without some changes, you won’t be able to stay. Like you said, you’re different. More fragile.” He stepped closer, looking down at me with an expression that somehow crossed tender and domineering.
“I want you to stay.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I struggled not to blush.
“Why? The bite didn’t work.”
“No, it didn’t. But it doesn’t change what I know. You belong to me.”
I continued to stare up at him while I wondered what he had planned. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, but didn’t move. We stood like that for several minutes until I finally uncrossed my arms and turned away from him.
The bags from Winifred still waited by the pump. I pulled out the top sheet and considered its length. A dress would be nice but given the thin material, probably impractical. Curtains would provide privacy; however, with the loose drafty panes, a thicker material would be better. What could I do with the material, then? Nothing inspiring came to mind.
“What is that for?” Thomas asked. He’d moved to stand just behind me.
“Whatever we need, I suppose.” Maybe I should just leave the sheets as sheets. If Mary and Gregory happened to find more beds they might be needed.
I unpacked the bags, setting all the items on the table. The pasta, dried beans, and rice lay in a small mountain.
“Can you ask Winifred to let Mary know that we could use a cabinet or shelf to store the food?” I asked, turning my head to look at him. Our faces were inches apart as he, too, studied what lay on the table.
“Do you always have to stand so close?”
His lips twitched. “If I wasn’t worried about being knocked on my back, I’d stand even closer.” He didn’t meet my gaze but reached out and picked up one of the items on the table. “And no, I don’t need to ask Winifred. I let Gregory know.”
“How?”
“Just like Winifred can communicate with all of us, I can communicate with the members of my pack.”
“Members of your pack. You’re Gregory’s… what? Leader?”
“Yes.”
“That explains a lot,” I mumbled as I turned away from him. Like why he was so domineering and why he seemed to expect that people would listen to him.