Page 134 of Red's Beast

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"What? Aren't we going to the witch's house where we're going to be eaten after eating pieces of her delicious house? No? It totally feels like we are."

"You are so stupid." My cape whirls behind me as I move and resume walking down the path. I’m sure where it leads, but soon, something will turn up.

The deeper we go on the path, the more I worry that I've gone the wrong direction. Corbin whistles behind me again, complete off tune.. He isn't being much help and I worry he'll attract something out of the woods. We don’t know what is in these woods here.

"If something attacks us, I'm shoving you out in front of me as bait, so I can get away. With all the noise you're making, something is going to hear you." I huff out a breath and shake my head.This man is an idiot.

"Anything for you. I would protect you and save you from the killer rabbits,” he says with a laugh as he looks around the woods.

"Killer rabbits?" I mumble under my breath. What is he talking about now?

Something crunches in the forest to my right, and I stop in my tracks. I turn slowly, wondering what's about to make its way out of the woods. Suddenly, a small rabbit hops out, eating something off the ground.

I place my hand over my heart, sighing. "Such a killer."

"Oh, bunny. Where have you gone?" A woman's voice calls out, causing my eyes to widen. "I just want to make a nice stew with you."

"Who's that?" I whisper as I look around to see who is coming closer to us.

Corbin's brows raise as he glances around the woods. "I can't catch her scent."

"We have to hide."

I turn to hide on the other side of the path, but the woman rushes forward and stumbles out onto the path before we can find a place to cover ourselves.

She spies the rabbit first, completely ignoring us. "Oh, there you are."

Emmeline is standing before me, yet I don’t do anything. I should rip her to shreds while I have the chance.

Finally, she realizes she has an audience and smiles. "Oh, two newcomers. Are you here to have some dinner?"

"No, we came looking for a friend."

Corbin elbows me. "Don't tell her."

The woman smiles. "Oh, I know several people. Why don't you come with me to my home and we'll see if we can find your friend? If they are here, I'll be able to locate them." She picks up the rabbit and places it in her basket. Then she walks past us to continue down the path. "We're almost there."

A few minutes later, we stand before her home and it looks like a cottage similar to the one Grandmother lives in. It's not made of gingerbread or anything edible, but something sets my wolf off. She's alarmed and I can't shake the feeling something is really wrong here.

"Too bad it's not edible." Corbin mumbles under his breath and looks at the house again. "I'm actually getting hungry and an edible house would be great for now.”

"Will you shut up? You just sound stupid when you talk about it."

He shrugs and follows her to the door. I hang back, watching every move. Something crunches on the leaves behind me, and I turn slowly to see if I can find what did it, but my efforts don't turn up anything.

"Lillian, are you coming?" Corbin is waiting at the door, his brows raised as he studies me. "She has food."

My gaze narrows. "Why are you thinking about food at a time like this? We're in another realm, for crying out loud. Why are you at the door?”

He shrugs again and walks inside as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. This man knows how to get under my skin at every opportunity. I finally give up my pursuit and follow them inside. Maybe she'll have answers for me, but only if she doesn’t recognize and kill me first.

Once I close the door behind me, she sits some freshly baked strawberry muffins on the counter with a smile. Corbin snatches one up as soon as she offers, but I remain a few feet back.

"Come on and eat, my dear. They're perfect for a time like this."

I approach with caution. The muffins look delicious, but this is a witch we're dealing with. There is no telling what she has laced them with and I’m just waiting for her to mention something about me being in the realm.

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