Page 27 of The Price They Paid

CHAPTER 9

Justice

TALK ABOUT BEING ON EDGE. I’d never paid so much attention to the meaning of the moon’s cycles until I came here. Today would be a full moon, and it made me wonder if that was the reason why my hormones were on high alert. I’d spent the day outside in the yard feeling the need to stay close to Seuss. My skin was hot, so I’d chosen to wear a loose free flowing dress and boots. I was sitting on the porch staring at nothing when Alice approached.

“Are you going to bathe Seuss tonight or is Maddox?”

I laughed to myself since I’d yet to see Maddox bathe him since my arrival. We both knew I was going to do it. The question wouldn’t have normally bothered me, but it did for some reason today. I stood to stretch and then turned to answer her.

“I’ll handle it as usual, Alice.” I added a polite smile on the end, but I knew that the gesture was a little too late.

“Very well.” She turned away just as the coolest breeze came through.

I closed my eyes enjoying the soothing sensation. I opened my arms allowing the breeze to cover me as completely as possible. The wind even blew through my hair making my scalp tingle.

“What perfume are you wearing?” Alice asked.

I waited until the wind died down before answering. “None. I haven’t been home to retrieve anything.”

Alice nodded but moved closer towards me. “You smell really good. Are you sure you’re not wearing anything?”

“What do I smell like?” I lifted the collar of my dress to see if I could smell anything.

“It’s sweet like melon. Ripe. It’s not an unpleasant smell at all.” Her face wrinkled as she tried to place the smell.

“Hmm …”

“The girls are making a larger dinner tonight because of the full moon run. We figured a few of the pack members may come back with Maddox since they’ll gravitate to him and Seuss.”

“Is that normal?”

“Yes. During the full moon, most packs do things to bond including hunting, shifting, running, and even mating. Most wolves aren’t alone for a full moon.”

That made sense. Maybe it had something to do with my agitation today and the reason why I didn’t want to go far from the house.

“I need to head inside. It’s shaving night for Seuss and I want to be finished before dinner.”

“I like the fresh look you’ve created for him. Has he seen it?”

“Not that I know of. I’ll show him tonight and see what he thinks.”

“I bet he’ll love it.” Alice encouraged.

I headed for the door and smiled at her as she held it open. “Maybe.”

Something dawned on me that I hadn’t considered since leaving the hospital. Ms. Sandy hadn’t spoken of anybody visiting the house, but I wanted to make sure.

“What will happen with the police charges placed against me?” I’d been safe while here, but I knew I’d be leaving soon. I didn’t want to go to prison. Especially, for something that wasn’t intentional.

“Seuss and Maddox took care of that. Trust me, the police won’t be bothering you about that.” Alice smiled making me wonder. What exactly had they done?

***

“Are you okay with me doing this?” I stood at the bottom of the bed looking over at Seuss.

“Haven’t you done this before?” he asked from his end of the bond.

“Yes, but you were asleep all the other times.”

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