Page 102 of Burning Embers

My confusion grows when he shrugs out of the coat and then drapes it over my shoulders. He doesn’t even seem to realize he’s doing it, his movements almost mechanical. Robotic.

“Do you need anything else?” Emery asks with concern as he removes first one glove and then the next from his hands. “Movies? We have some subscriptions we can log you into. Or doyou want some new video games?” As he speaks, he thrusts my hands into first one glove and then the next. “We can get you a new gaming device?—”

“What the hell are you two doing?” I finally ask.

Ethan freezes, his hands raised where he’s been tugging at his beanie, and Emery stares down at my wrist in his grasp. Both men appear confused for a fraction of a second before their cheeks tint crimson.

“Um…” Emery scratches at the nape of his neck.

“I-I don’t…” Ethan sputters.

“Scent-marking,” Hale breathes, sounding stunned.

I give him a confused look. “Scent-marking?”

Hale blinks repeatedly, then shakes his head as if coming out of a daze. He focuses on me and forces a tremulous smile.

“Why don’t you kids come inside and play some video games while I get dinner started? Ethan, Emery, you’re more than welcome to stay if you want to, but it is late. Make sure you call your parents first and let them know. I wouldn’t normally allow you to stay here past eleven, but these are unusual circumstances.”

Without another word, Hale hurries into the house, leaving me behind with the two blushing twins.

What the hell did Hale mean by scent-marking? Was he making a joke?

Ethan wrings his hands together, opens his mouth, closes it, frowns, and then hurries after Hale with a hollered, “I call being Mario!”

Emery scowls. “What if I wanted to be Mario?”

“When have you ever wanted to be Mario in your life?”

“Right this second.”

Ethan sighs and spins around to face us. “You’re arguing just to argue with me, aren’t you?”

Emery rolls his eyes. “Fuck off.”

Slinging an arm around my shoulder, he leads me towards the front door. But just before we enter the house, movement in the forest garners my attention.

Is that a…wolf?

For just a second, I swear I see a wolf sitting in the tree line, its tail thumping against the ground and the cresting sun glimmering off its light coat. Or perhaps it’s a very large dog.

But then I blink, and the animal is gone.

I wonder if I imagined it to begin with.

Thirty-Four

IZZY

Iwake to the feeling of eyes on me.

It’s that sensation you have when you’re in a room full of people, yet the spotlight is only on you. Your skin begins to crawl, and your stomach collapses in on itself, folding over like a building in a hurricane.

Every muscle in my body locks together as I debate what to do. In the bed opposite mine, Lissa continues to sleep peacefully, utterly oblivious to the intruder in our room.

Is it Jake checking in on me? He’s been hovering a little more than usual since I returned home from the hospital, but this is creepy, even for him.

Hale?