Page 58 of Ensnared
In the village, we stop at several houses to hand out the items people ordered from Anchorage, as well as parcels from the post office. Maya exclaims at my pristine white cast, runs to her kitchen, and returns with a red Sharpie to be the first to sign it.
“How old are you?” Aiden growls at her. “Leave her alone.”
But I extend my arm out for her scribble, giggling at his outrage.
“You should come for coffee soon,” Maya instructs as she caps the pen. She lowers her voice and adds, “We have sooo many questions.”
Aiden bundles me back into the truck, preventing her from dragging me inside their house. “You need to rest, damn it. And try to perform that spell your sister sent so your bones heal faster.”
We take a crate full of fishing net to Devlin Ward, who squints at us in suspicion, red-faced with outrage. He grabs the crate and slams the door in our faces.
“Don’t mind him,” Aiden mutters, though his frown betrays his true feelings on the encounter.
“What’s up with him?” I ask. Since it looks like I’m staying here for the foreseeable future, I need to know about this kind of thing. The old grudges. The family feuds.
Aiden blows out a long breath. “He wanted to be clan leader.”
I raise my eyebrows. “And?”
He slants a gaze my way. “And the villagers voted for me.”
“Ah.” I turn in my seat to look over my shoulder at Mr. Ward’s house. “Poor guy. Can’t be easy losing an election in a community so small.”
His grimace turns wry. “Yeah, don’t feel too sorry for him. He’s not the greatest guy you’ll ever meet.”
I want to prod him for more information, but Aiden clenches his jaw tight and focuses on the road, effectively ending the conversation.Fine. I’ll just have to learn another way.
Finally, we arrive at the Lodge, which is ablaze with light. Ty and Jack welcome us home, and I want nothing more than to let them take me up to Jack’s bedroom for a good night’s sleep.
“Guys, I’ll be back in a minute. I just have to get Princess Penny.”
Ty falls into step with me. “I walked her at noon, you know.”
I give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “That’s nice of you.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want her to get lonely.”
His voice gets all grumbly and defensive, so I don’t tease him for saying that. My old Pomeranian has a way of finding her way into even the most hardened of hearts.
We’re almost at the cabin steps when I realize something’s wrong. The front door stands ajar, and there’s a faint…
Ty sneezes. “What the fuck?”
The reek of perfume hits my nostrils, and I flinch from the intense scent. It’s my own perfume, the one I almost never wear anymore now that I’m aware of how sensitive sea dragon senses are.
I rush up the stairs and fling open the door. “Princess?” I call, expecting to hear the patter of paws on the wooden floor. “Princess, come!”
She doesn’t come to me. It’s then that I notice the state of the room: clothes are strewn on the bed, on the floor, hanging from the couch in untidy piles. My small altar is smashed, the cloth torn and the crystals cracked, and the perfume bottle I had is ruined as well—that’s where the overpowering smell is coming from. The tap is running in the kitchen, as well as the bathroom, and someone clogged the sinks so it seeps on the floor, running over the rugs and soaking whatever is lying around.
I run to the kitchen sink first, then the bathroom to stop the flow of water. Then I kneel to peer under the couch and my bed, but Princess is nowhere to be seen.
At first when I saw the door open and clothes scattered about, I thought it must have been a bear that got in. But now I see the damage is too methodical, with the drains clogged and taps running, not to mention there are no claw marks. Even though the bowl of fruit has been smashed to the floor, the food is all still there.
No, a person did this.
“Fuck,” Ty curses. “Skye, get out of there.”
He takes my elbow and pulls me back out onto the porch, then leads me down the steps. I allow it because I’m too stunned to react. Who would do such a thing?
