Page 19 of Aine

Chapter Six

AINE

I leave thehospital with a noticeable pep in my step. Damien’s blood healed me entirely, and never in my life has walking on my own two feet felt so good.

I raise my arms above my head and stretch as I begin heading in the direction Jenna told me I’d find Damien’s house and my cabin. She said I’d pass a fallen log on the way, and I scan the ground for it as I walk.

After a good twenty minutes of this I start to grow worried, and after forty I’m convinced I must be going in the wrong direction. How big is this place?

“Are you lost?”

I spin toward the voice and find a woman standing between the trees. She’s tall and is probably a beast given her dark features. She watches me with a kind smile, and I give one in return before lowering my gaze. Between her legs is a small child, the girl’s chubby hands tightly gripping the hem of her mother’s dress.

The woman grabs and lifts her daughter onto her hip.

“Yeah, I am actually,” I reply, my face flushed. “I’m staying in the small cabin next to Damien’s house.”

Her eyes widen momentarily, her shock clear before she hides it behind a smile. “You must be Aine, then!”

She steps forward, closing the space between us with a grin. I offer one of my own, trying not to show my unease at her knowing who I am. There don’t seem to be a lot of humans here, and I guess word has spread that one was brought back.

It’s either that or she was one of the ones who attacked me in the forest.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Chloe, and this here”—she pauses, gesturing to the young girl on her hip—“is Nia. I believe you met my mate earlier today.”

I blink. He must have been the man to whom Damien was speaking at breakfast. Chloe bounces Nia, trying and failing to keep the wiggly girl calm.

“I think I met him this morning. It’s nice to meet you,” I respond, distracted as Nia lets out a bubbly squeal.

She looks young, maybe three years old, but it’s hard to tell. The beasts are large, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that she’s only in her first or second year of life.

There’s an awkward silence as Chloe and I wait for one another to speak up, the sound only broken when Chloe clears her throat.

“Well, I’ll show you to your cabin,” she says, turning slightly and gesturing to the left.

It’s the direction opposite to the one I was heading, and I breathe out a sigh of relief that she came when she did.

“Thanks.”

Chloe walks with unwavering confidence through the woods, and I can’t help but be impressed she’s able to navigate them so easily. I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually, but it’s still so new to me right now.

“What do you think of Damien?” she asks.

I shrug, struggling to find the words I want to say. In all honesty, I don’t know what I think of him. He’s an asshole, but he hasn’t hurt me, which I’m choosing to take as a good sign.

“I don’t have a strong opinion yet,” I lie, not wanting word to get back that I’m talking poorly about him.

Chloe hums, the sound barely heard over the noise of the cracking twigs beneath her feet.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, pretty much everybody is mad at him for moving Olivia out of the cabin and putting you in there.” She laughs, shaking her head in disbelief. “We’re even more angry he didn’t provide you with new furniture when she took hers with her.”

“Where’d he put Olivia?” I ask, guilty for having unintentionally forced her out of her home.

I have a feeling she doesn’t like me too much, which makes perfect sense now. I’d be pissed, too, if my life were uprooted to make room for some random woman my boss was seeing. I fiddle with the fabric of my dress and make a mental note to apologize again when I give it back.

Chloe pauses, craning her neck to look back at me.

“You don’t know?” she asks.

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