Page 141 of Aine

He insists on walking me to the garden, which I don’t mind. Abby’s there, and she nods in my direction as we enter.

“Please stay in public until I’m back,” Damien pleads.

Smiling, I lift up to my toes and give him a kiss. There’s enough work here to keep me busy for a few hours, and I hide my nerves behind a smile as he squeezes my arm and disappears into the woods.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

DAMIEN

I’m faintly awareAlex is following me, his scent occasionally reaching my nose when the wind blows hard enough. He knows I know, too, my frequent pauses to sniff around in search of him making it quite clear.

Still, he remains hidden until I come up on the cabin. I ignore his approaching form as I crouch and peek through the trees, searching for any signs of life. I don’t want Freya to see or hear me and run.

Alex’s fur brushes against mine as I circle the perimeter of the small building, continuing until I’m downwind and can smell her. She’s in there, her scent thick as it merges with the wood of the cabin. I bury my paws into the dirt and plop onto my belly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

The last thing I need is to barrel in there, only to discover she’s planned for my arrival and set up some defense for herself. Aine will kill me if I get myself hurt.

Alex follows suit, and I’m prepared to continue ignoring him when I spot him shifting into his human form out of the corner of my eye. I turn to watch as he sits next to my hip and leans against my side, his legs sprawled out in front of him.

“You remember how Dad forced us to learn how to swim after Mom and Jess died?” he asks, his voice quiet as he turns to look at me.

I blow a tuft of air in his direction. “Yes.”

“He’d make us swim that fucking river bend until it grew dark. I’ll never forget how you’d grab my waist and help me whenever he wasn’t looking.” Alex lets out a weak laugh and clears his throat. “Even if it slowed you down and you could barely lift your arms the next day.”

I wiggle my belly into the dirt, glad he didn’t mention how I’d swallow so much water, I had to pause every ten minutes to puke. It had to be done, though. Alex has never been a strong swimmer, and Dad wouldn’t let him out of the water until he completed his laps.

“I don’t know how Dad never noticed. I think he just thought you and I were both shit swimmers,” he teases, poking me in the ribs.

Alex laughs as I grumble, the low noise emerging from my chest in response to his sly insult. I’m an excellent swimmer. I lift my head and glance at him before returning my gaze to the cabin. Even knowing Freya’s in there has my blood boiling, and I clench up to stop my emotions from reaching Aine as I smack my tail into the ground and listen for any noises from her.

My eyes narrow the longer I stare, the painful tug in my heart growing as my adrenaline fades and the weight of what I’m about to do settles over me. I loved Freya as my sister for many years, and sometimes it’s hard to ignore that fact.

“I’d like to carry my own weight this time, Damien. Freya’s my responsibility.”

Alex’s voice cracks, and I rise and shift back to my skin. No words are exchanged as we sit next to one another, both of us staring at the cabin. For a long moment, there’s complete stillness, but when I give a subtle nod, Alex is standing on shaky legs and walking toward the house.

I keep my eyes peeled in case Freya tries to run and am pleasantly surprised when Alex knocks on the door and she opens it a moment later with a smile. She wraps her arms around his waist in a warm hug, and I step closer so I can better eavesdrop.

“I was starting to think you’d never show,” Freya says, her words muffled as she speaks into Alex’s shoulder. “I’ve missed you,”

He doesn’t respond and softly nudges her inside. I don’t hate him for his kindness to her. My bond with Aine consumes me, and I couldn’t ever imagine doing anything to harm her. The mistakes I made when we first met still haunt me, and even when things were as bad as they could be, killing her was never an option.

It goes against everything we are, and Alex can’t just turn that off. He’s always been a good man, and despite Freya’s betrayal, I know this is killing him.

I stare at the closed door for a minute before shifting back into my fur and taking a lap of the cabin. There are no sounds from inside, even as the sun begins to set, and I feel my nerves grow the longer he takes. I stopped by the clinic and asked Avia keep an eye on Aine while I was gone, but I still don’t like to be away from her for too long.

My human likes to put on a brave face, but I know she’s scared.

When an hour has passed, I can’t stop myself from approaching and nudging open the cabin door with my head. I sneeze as the scent smacks me in the face, the cabin’s interior an overwhelming mixture of bile, blood, and excrement.

My eyes land on Alex immediately, his hands cradling Freya’s head as his back heaves with sobs. The sight has tears spilling over onto my own cheeks, and I shift to my human form and crawl to him.

He looks up as I approach, his face red and covered in her blood, and I gently pull her head off his lap before urging him to move away. His hands are shaky as he scoots back a few feet, and I follow and pull him into a hug before turning so he can no longer see her body.

It looks like he did it quickly, a slice to her neck when she wasn’t looking, and I stare into her wide, lifeless eyes as I navigate us to our feet and lead Alex outside. Sitting in here isn’t any good for him.

His bloody skin rubs against mine as we sit on the front steps, and I hurry to shut the door and trap the scent of death inside. Alex’s gut-wrenching sobs slow to occasional sniffles as the sun continues to set, the sky turning black before either of us works up the courage to speak.

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