Page 11 of Red's Beast

I lean away from the door as I reach for the strings of my cloak at my neck before it hits me that I don’t have my basket.

“Where have I left it?”

A loud thud catches my attention outside the front door. I jump in surprise as I whirl on my heel. After waiting for a few minutes, no one knocks again nor do they call out to ask if I’m home. Slowly, I creep to the door and slowly open it, only to find my basket sitting on the mat.

I scan my surroundings as I extend my arm and grasp the handle. When I pull it inside, I see a white piece of paper attached to the handle.

“Well, this isn’t weird at all. Who would bring my basket and leave a note?”

I take one last look outside before slowly closing the door with the basket on my other arm. As I turn around, I head straight for the small circular table in my dining room. It’s rarely used, so it’s bare except for the scant bit of dust on top.

I look down at the rough cord used to tie the piece of paper onto the basket, deciding if I should even bother opening it. It’s not like people leave me sweet letters. Most hate me just because of my family, which is Nigel’s fault.

As I reach for the cord to pull it loose, my hand trembles with anticipation.

Once it’s in both hands, I gradually unfold it and see what is written inside, but I don’t understand a single thing I see. The handwriting is so small that it is almost impossible to recognize. I examine the paper carefully again as I attempt to decipher the contents inside. Eventually, I let out a deep sigh of frustration and gently place it down on the table.

“Whose writing is this horrible that I can’t even read it?”

My wolf seems intrigued and quietly rises to the surface. As soon as my gaze lands on the note again, everything becomes clear.

Lillian,

Meet me at the edge of the woods directly behind your house in the morning.

Corbin

My eyes widen as I read the note again. “He wants to meet me at the edge of the woods? Why would he want that?”

As if on cue, a flood of thoughts bombard me. I realize that now that he has seen my alpha side, he probably wants more from me. But what more could he want?

He already treats me horribly. I can’t even go outside on a day off without him harassing me from the porch. His comments are rude and he’s as good as a pig.

I scrunch my face in frustration before grabbing the note and balling it up in my hands. “Well, I will just teach you.”

I toss the ball into the nearby garbage can with a sigh.

If he thinks I’ll simply go meet him in the woods, then he has lost his mind. My eyes dart toward the trash again, but I know that I can’t do this. Meeting him is absurd.

But what if he is worse if I don’t?

Before I can explore that thought fully, an odd feeling comes over me, sending shivers down my spine. I look around my house, but nothing seems amiss. But then I have an urge to look out the window.

I walk toward the window, leaving the basket on the table. Of course, I don’t expect anything to be out there when I look, but I have to calm this feeling that is rushing over me.

As I look through the glass, examining the woods ahead, everything seems to be normal. Then something moves withinmy line of sight. At first, I can’t make it out and think that my eyes are playing tricks on me.

A monstrous shadow comes into view without glowing red eyes peering out of the brush. The creature stares at me unblinkingly and never moves from its spot for several seconds.

I hold my breath as I continue looking at the set of eyes peering back at me.

Your time is coming.

I jump from the intrusion and blink rapidly to regain my composure. “What just happened?”

When I look through the window again to see if he is still there, all I see is darkness.

Beast

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