Page 23 of Out of Peril

My jaw went slack, and then I closed it with a scowl.

“You're serious?”

“I am.”

She stifled a yawn, and I caved. It had been a long day and my mate needed sleep. I'd let her banish me for the night, but tomorrow would be another day and we were going to have a serious conversation about these arrangements.

“Goodnight, Lindsey,” I said sweetly and then turned and marched upstairs before she could react.

When I hit the third level, the air was even mustier and a lot colder. A shiver ran through me, but my wolf perked up and warmed me quickly. Luckily we were in perfect sync except when it came to our mate. My wolf side wanted me to storm her room and bond with her this instant, but my practical human side knew that wasn't going to go over well right now.

I picked the first room I came to. When I pulled off the sheet covering the already made bed, dust flew everywhere, making me sneeze.

It was late, and I was too tired to explore the area. Instead, I crawled into the bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. It didn't take long before sleep consumed me.

*****

The next morning, I awoke with the sun. She'd told me not to leave the third floor, but I wasn't about to listen to that. Instead, I walked downstairs and found the house quiet. The back stairs led me straight into the kitchen. Everything was covered in dust in there too.

Knowing the kids would be hungry, I immediately started cleaning. It mostly just needed a thorough wipe down. The fridge and freezer were empty, but the pantry still had food. I checked the expiration dates and was surprised to see a few things hadn't expired yet.

Baked beans and popcorn weren't high on breakfast expectations, but it would at least fill the belly until we could get to a store.

I was just finishing up cleaning the kitchen when Dante stumbled in.

“What's the smell? Is that popcorn?”

I shrugged. “It's what I could find. There's some baked beans too.”

“Gross,” he said as he filled the plate I set out for him and started devouring the food like he hadn't eaten in a week.

Maya wandered in next. I stayed quiet while Dante dished her out some breakfast.

“Popcorn for breakfast?” She giggled.

“What is going on in here?” Lindsey asked, her voice booming through the large room.

The kids jumped, looking guilty.

“Walker made us breakfast,” Dante ratted me out.

“I thought I told you to stay upstairs. I don't want to see you down here.”

I wanted to tell her tough luck and stay downstairs but the way she was trying to protect the kids from me pissed me off. So, without a word, I turned and stomped back upstairs.

I spent the rest of the morning exploring the upper floor that I had been condemned to. I couldn't stand all the dust, so I found some old cleaning supplies and got to work cleaning all the rooms. There were ten small bedrooms and a parlor or gathering place of some sort. I also found two additional stairwells, both hidden behind doors leading to the two floors below.

I couldn't help but think how big and magnificent the place had once been. And there were signs that people had lived here within the last five years. Where did they go? Who were they?

If this was Lindsey's family home, what happen to them all?

My mind was filled with a million questions.

As my stomach was starting to rumble, I looked out to find the sun was high in the sky. I knew I was going to have to make my way back to the kitchen whether she liked it or not. Before that though, I heard footsteps running toward me.

“Walker?”

I peeked my head out of the room I was working on to see Maya.

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