"Wait!"
Trees bent in strange ways the more she ran. As her lungs burned and her legs nearly gave, she stopped. A large creature stood a few feet away in the dark of the trees. Her legs shook as she walked closer.
"Caleb?"
The world stretched around her as she got closer, and then it rebounded back, and she nearly fell.
Now the creature, no longer a bear, but a man stood before her.
"Caleb!"
He smiled, but the teeth were wrong. She backpedaled along the floor. "You're; you're not him."
The creature distorted and disappeared into itself.
Looking around her, hearing foreign noises, seeing no escape, her head swimming in foreign magic, she started to shake. Her mind playing tricks on her, she fell to the forest floor where she greeted the mossy bed.
A moment or a breath, time had no meaning here, a hand reached out from under the brush covering her. The foliage now eating up the place she'd collapsed. Peering up she saw Caleb again, but this time the eyes were an unnatural red.
She winced and pulled her hand away.
The next one to show up felt real, but his smell was wrong. The next tried to kiss her, but his lips were cold. They kept coming, one after another and none were him. She tried to crawl away, but her body grew heavy, and the forest seemed to hold her in place.
She couldn't manage time, had she been lying here for hours or days? Where was here? Had she just seen Caleb? No. It wasn't him. Why was she in the forest? Had they found Evelyn? Yes, that was days ago.
She couldn't keep reality separated from what she saw here.
The scent of Caleb filled her nose as she inhaled. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply. Instantly her body remembered his touch. Stretching out against the grass of the forest floor, she moaned -- tendrils of need winding over her body like vines.
He would shield her; he would keep her safe.
She called out to him, his name a whisper on her lips. "Caleb."
Her body cumbersome and heavy, her mind, lost in confusion and euphoria, let go. Sleep welcomed her.
"Open your eyes," a voice commanded.
Marci struggled to pull herself from the dream in her head. She'd let Caleb have her. Why would she open her eyes?
The world mixed in her head like watercolors mixed with far too much water.
Sleep. She should sleep.
16
"Caleb, dear."
He looked up from the coffee no longer attempting to steam.
The run hadn't cleared his head, and he couldn't go back to his place. No yet. Not when all he could do was smell her on his sheets.
"Yes?"
Annie shook her head. "Go after her."
He stirred the coffee absently. "I think Marci would kill me. My drill sergeant was less scary."
She came around the table. "Alright. Well, I finally heard back from the Lowensteins about this whole business about the ghost. They said you should have found a note explaining what they fondly called Mara."
Caleb thought back "Where? I never saw anything."
The wrinkles on Annie's forehead were more pronounced than usual.
"Oh dear. I think it explained that she, it, wasn't necessarily evil. It is highly protective, and apparently, over the years they'd figured out if you properly respected her, she was actually quite easy to handle."
The ripples of the coffee mesmerizing, or maybe it was the thoughts running through his head. "Wait for what?"
"Listen better, Caleb. That or go get her."
He ran a hand down his face. "What? Oh. Right, the ghost."
"Spirit, dear. They actually said there is nothing that can be found on the spirit to make them think it was or ever has been a human. Only humans would leave ghosts. The Lowenstein did say it hates anyone leaving, which you can imagine the trouble it could cause in an inn."
He took a sip of his drink and almost choked on the icy flavor. He hated cold coffee, even when it was supposed to be and this wasn't supposed to be.
"Annie. The ghost, spirt, whatever, would have already hurt her, right? I mean it's been a week. Can't it tell she doesn't mean to leave?"
She gripped her chin within her thumb and forefinger. "I suppose. Maybe Marci was just instantly liked. Best to not tempt fate again. You can imagine why the Lowensteins got tired of that old place though."
A chill chased along every nerve in his body.
"No, actually, why did they? I still don't know the whole truth."
Annie grabbed his cup up and paused. "Well, the Lowenstein's had been talking about retirement for years. They were tired of the forest and wanted to go somewhere different. They stopped taking new bookings and soon had only one or two regulars. They think the spirit must have caught on as they started to pack some of their things. Well, that same week Mara tried to hurt Gretel. That was the last straw, and Mr. Lowenstein loaded up what they had and drove off."
"So, you think the ghost, spirit, the thing, it's angry when the people it's attached to leave?"
She shrugged. "Suppose so. Being they'd been there for an incredible amount of time, we can only guess. The only tip I got was to make sure the guests always tell her goodbye. Reassure her they'd come back."
He stood up so fast his chair tipped. "What if someone tempted fate again?"
Her eyes widened into saucers. "Perhaps you best head over there. I assume this had to do with your little tiff and that shiny black car out in front of the inn?"
He was halfway out the door. "Yeah. Marci's ex-fiancé showed up."
The night air couldn't cool the anger seeping out of him. Jeff might possibly be his least favorite person. He took what seemed perfect and somehow mangled it. Maybe Jeff was a push, to ensure she became Caleb's mate, but it shouldn't have been like this.
Caleb's hands tingled as he started to shift. His boots grew tight as
