Chapter Fifty-Six

I stare at Adrian incredulously, unsure if I heard him correctly. “What?” I ask, not expecting an answer. I sigh and lean back into my seat, melting into the warmth of the seat heater. I’m too tired for this. “God, my life was so simple a few days ago. Have there always been monsters lurking in the shadows?” I’m mostly talking to myself at this point, though Adrian offers a sympathetic squeeze of my thigh. We’ve made it back to the outskirts of town which makes me feel more at ease already. The small place seems so normal that it’s hard to believe what type of nightmares lie just a few miles away.

“That’s what the leaders of our community are for,” Adrian speaks finally, almost as if he was waiting until we were in the safety of the small town. Not that I expect it offers many sanctuaries, considering that I’ve only actually seen a few people. “We keep the humans ignorant and safe.”

I gaze out the window as we pass by the lines of shops, many of which remain closed from the snow. I doubt they would be missing out on a lot of business anyway, which I assume the owners already guessed. “You must be doing a good job then because this is the first I’ve heard of it.” I do have to admit that I miss the comfort of ignorance, but I know that this is the world that I live in now. I don’t want to live my life pretending that I know nothing of Adrian’s world, unlike my father.

Adrian’s smile is small, nearly non-existent. “We have to be thorough, or else there would be worldwide panic. If humans knew about all of the creatures that live right below their noses, they would be living in a horror movie,” He turns to glance at me as we near the mountain that leads to the community, wincing at whatever he finds on my face. “Sorry, I know that’s alot on top of what you already have to deal with.”

I shrug noncommittally, no longer feeling afraid. I can hardly expect to live my life in the dark anymore without acknowledging the creature that shares those shadows with me. I refuse to live my life paranoid of everything that goes bump in the night like a little kid; especially not what I know I have the power to defend myself. If anything, the knowledge of these other species strengthens my resolve. There’s no way that I can be expected to just keep my head down and ignore the magic that swirls just beneath the surface of my skin now.
“It’s okay,” I reassure him. “Can you tell me about them while I lay down for a nap? I want to know more.”

Adrian seems impressed but also concerned for my lack of hysteria from the news. “Yeah, okay,” He says as we pull up to the gates. This time, he doesn’t roll down the window to type in the keypad. The gates just swing open on their own like the ones at the school.

“These are magic too, I’m guessing?” I ask, giving him a look as we enter the community.

Adrian smiles, a little bit guilty. “Yeah, them too. Mostly everything is, honestly, but I had a barrier placed around the neighborhood when it was built. My Pack needs to know that they’re safe from outside threats while they sleep.”

I nod in understanding, gazing through the windows of the other townhomes as we pass by. “When am I going to get to meet them? I never see anyone else,” I say wistfully, looking away from the drawn curtains of the other homes.

He seems surprised to hear the request, glancing over at me as we pull into my driveway. “Do you really want to meet them?” He asks dubiously.

I turn to give him a disbelieving look, dramatizing my insult. “Of course! I’m friendly, you know. I want to at least know my neighbor’s names.”

Adrian chuckles at my reaction, holding up a hand in surrender as he guides the Mercedes into the garage. “Alright, sorry to offend you. I’ll organize a block party or something so you can meet everyone. They’ve been bugging me about you, too.”

I’m surprised to hear that anyone is anxious to meet me, considering that I haven’t seen even a trace of any of them in the neighborhood. I give him a doubtful look as he shuts off the car, reaching to take the empty cup from the console from this morning. “Okay,” I agree, narrowing my eyes at him and climbing out of the car, into the cold garage. I dig for my house key in my purse and unlock the door, grateful to feel the warmth from within. I kick off my shoes and hand my coat on the back of a chair at the island, making a b-line over to the couch.

Adrian deposits the empty cup into the sink and rids himself of our school bag before following, finding me with one pillow beneath my head and the other hugged to my chest. He raises an eyebrow. “Are you planning to sleep down here?”

I nod, already comfortable enough on the couch to sleep for days. “Yeah, I want to sleep as long as possible. Can you grab me a blanket?” I ask, gesturing to a trunk beneath the TV. He does as I ask and retrieves a throw blanket, holding it hostage as he hovers over me.

“Let me get behind you,” He says, gesturing for me to sit up. I do as he instructs, allowing him to get settled into the nook of the sectional where the most room is. He places the blanket over himself and opens an arm, waving me in to join him. I waste no time snuggling inside of the blanket, grateful for the warmth that his body adds to mine as I snuggle against his chest, comforted by the rise and fall of his chest. Once I’m settled, he wraps his arm around my waist to pull me closer, keeping me from falling off the other side. “You should have just told me you were tired,” He scolds me gently, pressing his chin against my head. “I would have let you sleep in.”

I breathe his scent deeply, feeling it wrap around me like another blanket all its own. It must be because Adrian is my Mate, but every time that I smell that familiar woodsy scent, I feel comforted, like nothing in the world could scare me. Too tired to fight it, I allow myself to succumb to it, feeling it lull my senses to something comfortably numb. “Tell me about these creatures,” I murmur against his chest, stifling a yawn. At this point, no matter what he tells me it will be like a bedtime story for me.
Adrian sighs against my hair, his fingers tracing random patterns onto my back. “Okay. The thing that we saw on the side of the road is a Shapeshifter. It takes on the appearance of the last person or thing that it killed and tries to lure its next victim by using the distress tactic that you almost fell for. They also copy voices of people that you’re close to, so if you hear someone calling for you in the woods, never go wandering off to find it. Unless you see them directly, you’ll never be able to tell the difference. You can always tell it’s a Shifter from the eyes. They never get those quite right.”

Adrian’s voice is a lullaby to my ears as I listen, knowing that I should probably feel afraid by what he’s revealing. I snuggle deeper into his armpit, feeling his voice vibrate through his body. “Wow, that’s spooky,” I mutter, feeling sleep tug at my consciousness. It won’t be too much longer before I succumb, though I know I should try to stay awake to listen and gather more information.

Adrian chuckles against my temple as he presses a kiss to it. “Yeah, it’s spooky,” He echoes, a smile evident in his tone. I feel him write the word ‘spooky’ on my back as he continues to talk. “There are also things like Demons and dark spirits that try to scare you to death so your soul is trapped with theirs forever. Fox spirits are especially tricky because they can turn themselves into humans. Sometimes they blend in with society without a problem, but they do have a nasty habit of eating hearts.” I giggle sleepily at the thought of a human with fox ears and a bushy tail. “And even though humans aren’t completely innocent, sometimes serial killers are monsters, too. They have a morbid curiosity about humans, so they like to play operation occasionally. There haven’t been as many issues with that in the past few centuries though, considering that we have special groups to hunt those types down to stop their killing sprees before they make the news. Like supernatural a Task Force,” He sighs, seeming to sense my attention is slipping as I begin to drift off. “Either way, you don’t have to worry anymore. That’s why I’ll never leave your side.”