Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Four - Warning

Finally making it back to the entrance of the small accommodation house, Sang let out a relieved breath, glad that she had finally made it out of the freezing winds.

Once the voice – Owen – had warned her of the wolves, he had gone quiet but she had sensed how he lingered within her mind.

It was a frightening experience, to have someone embedded within the deepest parts and not know how to thrust them out.

As she removed her gloves and coat, she shook her head over how crazy it was for her to feel such a connection to him. They had never met and whenever he had sought to converse with her, she had sensed a deep well of darkness.

And loneliness.

"You're back a little late," A male voice came from her left and she jerked her eyes up to meet those of Mr Blyre. A man that she had consistently hoped to avoid having to sit down with since he and his female sibling had glibly announced their intent to hunt down vampires despite the rest of the current inn's guests expressing their censure.

"Yes," She replied quietly, looking beyond his shoulder and into the shared dining room. "I didn't realise how far I'd travelled until the sun went down." She shuddered slightly as she took in the smell of his cologne.

"It really isn't a good idea around here," He interjected leaning, in what he probably thought was a masculine pose, with his shoulder wedged to the door frame and his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "A lot of the town's folk have said that the wolves are not afraid to attack stupid humans that wander too far."

Sang whipped her gaze back, "Are you calling me stupid, Mr Blyre?" Her tone was as frosty as the winter air and she saw goosebumps spike along his exposed forearms.

"Of course not, Miss Sorenson," he spluttered, trying to retract his offensive statement, "I just meant that a lady alone is not safe in this type of environment."

"Well, thank you for the concern. I can see that dinner is about to be served," She brushed past the young blonde man without further acknowledgement, wanting to scream. What was wrong with men around here?

She hadn't willingly put herself in harm's way and nothing bad had come from her little excursion, just as she was sure that nothing overly exciting would occur while she enjoyed the rest of her holiday.

"Hmm, I would not be sure of that, little one. It may well end up being beyond exciting for you."  The voice curled around her mind smoothly and she fought down the urge to begin speaking out loud. She was sure, glancing around, that the other patrons would have some interesting comments should she reveal to them that she was currently involved in a silent two-way conversation.

"Can I ask you to come back later? I am about to sit down for dinner  before my night tour and I am sure that the others would notice if I ignore them while I indulge in talks with you?" She forced her tone to a strict politeness.

She had wanted to save him the night before but her visceral reaction to his presence frankly scared her.

He tutted, "There is no turning back now. You were the one to seek me out and now that I have begun to know you, there is no chance for you to push me away." A growl filtered through his tone, "I do hope that I wasn't interrupting anything."

Thinking of her moment with Mr Blyre made her frown, "You've been listening this whole time haven't you even though you haven't spoke to me since the field?"

He hummed, "Your mind is a very interesting place. I was simply trying to learn more about you."

Her teeth clenched and she felt the first stirrings of pain in the centre of her forehead, she wasn't sure if it was from the amount of energy being expended in continuing the discussion or from the simple fact that she didn't want a complete stranger digging through her most private thoughts.

"That seems almost funny to me since you have the ability to do it also,"  He murmured, trailing fingers across the back of her neck.

She almost shot out of her chair at the sensation, she'd only just seated herself across from an elderly lady who had informed her the night before that even as a resident of the town, she preferred to dine with the hostess rather than in her lonely home.

"Stop doing that,"  She hissed at him, rubbing the spot where she could have sworn corporeal fingers had rested only seconds ago.

Mr Blyre took advantage of her distraction and settled himself in the seat next to her, causing her to grimace once more at his scent and the proximity of his body heat.

There was just something about him that made her want to huddle down in the furthest corner.  

"Why are you thinking about another male right now?" Owen's voice spiked with a menacing edge that did nothing for the drill pounding at her head.