Page 32 of Dark of Winter (Wild Haven 1)

Davis

Watching Miri walk away from the storefront has me mentally groaning. She looks fucking edible in her tight jeans and those black leather ankle boots that look like they’re promising a kick in the ass. Sort of like her whole personality. I swear she’s a Venus flytrap and could easily lure stupid men in with her sensual appeal and then snap their heads off when they get too close. She’s no delicate flower though, there’s a toughness in her that runs deep.

Being close to her is a trial. Keeping my hands to myself when the scent of her, the light, fresh bite of citrus, makes my mouth water, should earn me a damn trophy. The urge to touch her, to taste her, is primal, and I don’t know how long I can resist it, which only pisses me off. I don’t want to spend any more time with her because it can’t bring anything good, and yet I can’t seem to stay away from her. Not that I’ve sought her out, but we do live on a small fucking island. Or maybe fate keeps throwing us together. Who the hell knows. Now I’m going to be her landlord, not to mention I’m her date or protection or some shit for dinner at Anthony’s this weekend.

Goddamn, I do not want to go to his place, but I refuse to let Miri go over there by herself. Maybe I should let Archer take her. Even thinking the thought has me growling at my friend. A tourist stumbles away from me as she passes on the sidewalk, but I don’t give a shit.

“What are you growling at?” Archer shoots me a sideways look that I ignore.

I don’t have proof that Anthony is the one who ruined our parents’ lives, but I know he’s the one who pushed them to form the damn Axis. I’m aware that we’ll need to tread lightly at his house, and that’s not exactly my strong suit. But I’ll be damned if Archer is going to take her to dinner. Even if it’s to that piece of shit’s house.

I’ll just have to be on my best behavior. Anthony has a lot of influence over the island, which is part of the reason none of us has ever confronted him about his past with our parents. If he really pushed, he could prevent Miri from opening up her store here. He could make her life miserable.

“You get enough of a look?” Archer grins as he stretches his hands over his head, twining his fingers together and settling them behind his head like he’s going to lie on the beach and catch some sun. He’s an idiot for opening himself up. I jab my fist in his stomach and he groans.

“Cheap shot.”

“Oh, like every word that falls out of your mouth?”

“Don’t be jealous of my witty intellect. Maybe if you practiced speaking instead of grunting ninety-five percent of the time, you could be clever too.”

“I don’t need to hide behind jokes and good humor.”

“Ah yes, you rely on your broody looks and being all dark and manly.”

“You think I’m manly?” I move back into the storefront, Archer following as we head into the backroom again. I run my hands over the walls, searching for more surprises. There’s little to no chance I’m going to find any other secret passageway, but it’s worth a try.

“The manliest.”

“Listen, as much as this conversation is building up my feeble ego,” Archer snorts at my deadpan response, “Are we really going to let Miri rent this place?”

“Let’s see where this leads. If we can block off the entrance to the store, then it’s probably not that big of a deal.”

I don’t comment because I’m not sure I agree. This is probably a really bad idea, but the way Miri had spun around the place, gazing up at the ceiling like she was in love, makes something shift in my chest. Pride and the need to bring her joy. I want her to have it. If it’s going to make her happy, I want to do whatever it takes to make it happen. And isn’t that insane because I should be encouraging her to leave. Maybe I need to change my perspective. If I can’t get her to leave, maybe I can make sure she stays out of trouble. I don’t know which one sounds worse.

We head back down into the tunnel. Archer makes a distinct sound of displeasure once we get close to the altar room. “How the hell did we not know this was here?”

I shrug. “You think we know all the secrets of this island?”

“More than most.”

More, but not all. As much as I tried to scoff at some of the mythology of Wild Haven Island when I talked to Miri about it, there is something other about this place. I know that most friends don’t grow up knowing they can do magic. They don’t have a connection to the land that our group has with Wild Haven. It’s not normal, but it’s left a deep scar on most of our lives.

We make our way through the tunnel, pausing briefly when we reach the altar room to give it a closer inspection.

“What’s that?” Archer aims his light on the corner of the altar. This tight space is all fucking wrong. The air holds the whisper of dark magic. I don’t even know how I can recognize it beyond a buried instinct telling me this place is bad.

I grit my teeth as I step farther into the room, wanting to get out of here, to get out of the damn tunnel five minutes ago. If it didn’t piss me off that someone’s been squatting beneath our building doing twisted shit, I might have just sealed up the store end of the tunnel to be done with it. There’s no chance I’m going to ignore this shit, though. That’s just asking for trouble.

Archer steps forward so we’re shoulder to shoulder looking down at a leather-bound journal. “Know anyone who’d be interested in a good read?”

“I can think of a few people who might want to take a look.” I pick up the book, my fingers buzzing as the slight vibration of magic ripples over the cover. That can’t be good.

“Let’s see where this fucking tube leads to,” I grumble before continuing along the path, searching for the exit. The lights from our phones swing back and forth across the tunnel as we look for any other offshoots, but it looks like it’s just this one.

It’s cool down here, but the air is stale and after ten minutes of walking, The closeness of the walls and ceiling are starting to get to me. A trickle of sweat beads down my face and I wipe it away, picking up the pace.

“Christ, how long does this thing go on for?” Archer echoes my thoughts from behind me. It’s another eternity, or maybe a few minutes, before there’s a gentle incline of the ground.

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