28

NADINE'S P.O.V

I decided to savor every moment I could in this house seeing as we were leaving in less than twenty-four hours.

If I had my way, I would be here forever, I would live in the tranquility and solace but there was only so much we could do here and if my cycle were to start up again then there would be no way to hide.

I wasn't sure if they would be able to smell it on me but I wasn't about to risk it.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" I asked as we got ready for bed.

"As early as possible."

"Did you tell Irene?"

"I'm sure she'll figure it out."

"Caine," I crossed my hands over my chest. "We agreed to help her. She needs to know when we are leaving. She has a brother."

"One day you'll realize that you cannot save everyone, no matter how badly you want to."

I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by a low moaning sound. It was loud, too loud to be a person. I turned to Caine, wondering if he had heard it when I saw something outside the window, it was like a bright light.

I rushed to the window, wondering what the hell it was and then I saw it- a fire. It was two houses down and it was bright. It wasn't there a few minutes ago and it was burning too bright to have been an accident.

I hoped it wasn't Irene's place because I couldn't see anyone escaping that fire with their life.

"What the-"

Caine slapped his hand over my mouth. "Look down."

I glanced down and my breath caught in my throat when I noticed the monster that was lurking just beneath our window. It was sniffing around the lawn, probably trying to find signs of life.

"Come on," Caine whispered, pulling me backwards.

I didn't know where we were going and the truth was, I didn't care. I allowed him lead me blindly which on hindsight was a bad idea because we humped into the table. I tried to grab the vase before it fell but it slipped through my fingers.

The loud crash reverberated through the air and I stood there stunned. There was no way the creatures didn't hear it.

"Fuck, come with me, now!"

Caine tugged me by my arms as a loud growl filled the air. He pulled me out of the room and down the hall just as I heard a loud thud from downstairs. They were banging against the front door. I knew it was only a matter of time before they got in.

"Rowan," I pleaded. "I don't want to die."

"You won't, not today at least."

He pulled me into the master bedroom and into the massive walk in closet. I watched as he grabbed all the perfume bottles, smashing them on the ground. Different scents overwhelmed my nose but I suspect that was his plan all along as he pulled us into the closet so we were hiding behind some large coats.

It was almost amusing how we always ended up in this position- locked in a dark room by ourselves.

Our chests were pressed up against each other and I fought to calm my raging heart.

I heard a crash as the front door was broken open and I squeezed my eyes shut, muttering a prayer to whoever would listen. I couldn't die, not right now.

"If we survive this, I want you to fuck me."

Caine looked down at me. "You're saying this now? Are you insane?"

"Maybe," I mumbled with a small laugh. "You know what they say about near death experiences."

I could see him fighting the urge to laugh. "Let's get out of here alive first, we can revisit the conversation later."

There was a lot more I wanted to say but I couldn't because the growls grew louder and I knew the monster was in the room. I watched through the little holes in the closet hoping and praying that the perfumes would be enough to distract it, to hide us from it.

Neither of us spoke, we didn't even dare to move. We just stood like statues as the creature growled and probed, trying to find its way around.

It felt like an eternity but in reality it was only a few minutes before it moved onto another room. Caine and I still didn't move, we just stood there. There was no guarantee that it wasn't still in the house and there was no way to ascertain if there was more than one.

When my legs started to cramp, I slowly slid down until I was seated on the ground and Caine did the same. Our legs were entwined but neither of us seemed to mind much. I just lay my head forward on my knees and sighed.

"They'll be gone soon," he assured me. "But to be sure, I'll go out and check first."

"When?"

"In about an hour. They don't stay in the same place long. They will be off to the next house soon enough."

"Do we sleep here or move tonight?"

"It's too dangerous to move tonight. We have to sleep here."

"The front door is broken."

"I know. We could very well die through the night."

I wanted to laugh.

It wasn't the right response to the situation but it was all I could muster at the moment. I was exhausted to say the least. It was one step forward and ten steps back with these creatures. We just couldn't win.

"About what I said earlier," I began but he cut me off.

"I won't hold you to it. You said it in a rush of adrenaline."

"But, what if I meant it?"

He leaned forward so his face was directly in front of mine. "You don't know what you're asking for princess."

"I do," I argued stubbornly. "I'm not a blushing virgin."

"No, but you're still a princess," he pulled back from me. "I'll check the house to see if it is safe. Stay here."

He returned after ten minutes- I counted.

I found it hard to sleep that night- we both did- although I wasn't sure if it was because of the monsters or because of how badly turned on I was.

By morning, our things were packed. Thankfully, the monsters hadn't touched the food or ripped up our clothes. Everything was just the way we had left it.

"I'm going to do some scouting," Caine explained. "Stay here, please, and for the love of everything holy, do not come looking for me. I will be back in a few minutes."

"Scouting?"

"I need to make sure there aren't any lurking creatures."

"That sounds dangerous."

"I'll be back."

I couldn't do anything but wait. I sat in the room twiddling my thumbs as I waited for him to return. I hated not being able to do anything but I also wasn't stupid enough to go looking for him.

Around half an hour later, I heard something from downstairs. My initial thought was that it was Caine so I hurried down the stairs but was shocked instead when I found Irene there. She was dirty and covered in soot but she was alive and her brother was behind her, he looked even sicker than normal.

"I thought you had died," I exhaled deeply. "Where were you? Did you see the fire?"

"Considering I was in it, yes, I saw it."

"Why would you set it? That was dangerous and stupid. It doesn't matter anyway, Caine will be back soon."

"I know."

"You know?"

"I saw him. He'll be here in a few minutes."

"Okay," I began slowly. She was acting weird.

I was unarmed. I left my dagger in the room with our bags.

I took a slow step back up the stairs when she spoke.

"Don't run. Don't make this harder on yourself."

At this point, I was panicking. "What are you talking about?"

"I am truly sorry, Nadine," she pulled out a knife from behind her. "I didn't want to have to do this but it is the only way."