Page 41 of Red's Beast

"Darling, what day do you think it is?" She eyes me curiously and waits for my response.

Of course, I have no idea why she’s asking me what day it is. "It's Saturday. Why do you ask me that?"

Her eyes widen with alarm as she hears my answer. "Lillian, I haven't seen you in roughly a week and two days. The new moon was a week ago.”

I’m utterly horrified by her words. “What do you mean by that? No, that can’t be true. It was just a few days ago.”

I grip both sides of my face with both hands and sway back and forth in a slow motion as everything comes to me. How could it have been a week? I refuse to believe this.

Flashes of running through the woods, my white paws hitting the ground beneath me. There is a large, dark gray wolf running next to me. He’s so large and intimidating, but he doesn’t scare me in the slightest.

He crashes into me, causing us both to go sprawling across the dirt. We play for what feels like forever. The moment becomes heated and I remember his teeth against my throat.

“Honey, I’m telling you the truth. It has been a week since the new moon. I had no idea that you lost track of the days. Nigel told me that you were fine.”

When I look into her eyes, an involuntary shiver runs down my spine. "Grandmother, I always come here. Why did Nigel even come here and tell you that?”

Her gaze slowly drops to the floor in front of me. “Well, Corbin stopped by and asked me about mating with you. He said you were busy getting things ready, and that you were happy. They also delivered my meals. I honestly had no reason to worry or come looking when they came and told me you were fine. Now I know they were trying to figure out where you were and knew you were gone.”

Then it all hits me. They hid that I was gone for a little over a week from her.

“Grandmother, I don’t care how busy I am, I will still come see you daily or almost daily. Corbin is insane and I don’t know what is happening to me.”

She chuckles low in her throat as her gaze meets mine. “You are stubborn enough, but I don’t have the answers you seek. This is one time you have to figure it out and choose what is right. Your destiny depends on it.”

“My destiny.”

She nods. “You’ll see in time, but I have a question for you. If you weren’t with them, then where were you and who left those marks?”

I sit there quietly, remembering the feel of his biting as his teeth slid into my flesh. Butterflies sprawl across my stomach at the mere thought of him touching me. But is this how it's supposed to be?

I’m not even sure how to tell her how I got these marks. If it is the monster in the woods, which is what my memory shows, then I can never tell anyone.

“Lillian, you are scaring me. I need to know what happened. What aren’t you telling me?”

My gaze meets hers. “I have no memory of anything that happened while I was away. The last thing I remember is going into my room and then everything went dark.”

It’s a lie, but I hope it’s one she will believe. A silent moment passes between us before a knock on the door fills the air. It catches us both off guard and we quickly stand.

“Don’t open it,” I whisper.

She pauses for a moment in front of the door, leaning heavily against her cane. “Why wouldn’t I?”

"What if it's Corbin? Don't you find it strange he didn't report me missing for an entire week? Why didn’t they tell you?”

Her eyes narrow as she glances toward the door. "Who is it?"

"Nigel. I am just checking on you and bringing you something to eat." His voice is calm, nothing like the voice I'm used to. Normally, when he speaks to me, it's angry and rough. With my Grandmother, he almost seems kind.

"Hold on a minute. I'm not exactly dressed for company this early." She turns to look at me and nods for me to leave. I scramble to my feet and make my way toward her room. As soon as I'm enclosed in the bathroom, a feeling of dread washes over me.

My scent will be all over the door and in her living room. Surely, he won’t notice. I gravitate towards the shut door, hoping to catch some snippets of their conversation.

"I thought you might enjoy some blueberry muffins this morning. My wife made these and they're still warm."

"Oh, that's lovely. Blueberry muffins are one of my favorites.”

I hear her cane as she moves closer to the door. Then it sounds like she heads to the kitchen. Nigel’s boots thump heavily against the floor and the door shuts.

---