"Can we go inside now? I'm trying to keep it all together, but I'm tired. My fiancé preferred the company of just about anyone but me, and the idea that I can't even keep a chicken happy ... well, it's a lot. So, let's go do this. Take me to the haunted mansion."
"It's not a haunted mansion. Wait. What? Fiancé?"
She turned around and took in her future. "Yeah. Teach my mother to take his side." She took a step forward and let out a breath that carried away everything she'd allowed to weigh her down. Almost.
4
Caleb attempted to smile, but he didn't know how convincing it was or if he looked like he was in pain.
His bear scratching at his soul trying to get out. The damn thing panted, like a dog restrained on a leash trying to get to his owner.
He had to bite back the shift. His skin rippled. Breathing past the urge, he got one thing under control, only to realize he had a bit of a human issue that he couldn't adjust well enough to hide the fact he was walking like a pirate with a freaking peg leg.
The bear roared at him.
Fine. Fine.
"Marci? Wait. About a fiancé? You didn't mention anyone else with you."
He looked back at the truck and still only saw a chicken pecking at the lawn.
Fuck. What the hell did he care? He didn't care. His bear growled. Oh, they fucking cared.
Marci had sheer determination in every step. "He left me. Or well, maybe I left him when he was caught with his pants down. Who cares."
Without his shifter hearing, he'd have had a hard time hearing her words as she nearly ran up to the house. He caught up as she stopped at the door.
"So, there is no fiancé?"
She nodded, still not turning away from the house.
"No. Not anymore."
"You said fiancé though."
"Sorry. Habit. Can't you feel that?"
He pursed his lips. "Feel what?"
"The spirits? This place has odd energy. Maybe this is what I am here for?"
The place was old. "Okay. If you say so, this town is old. Has a long and interesting past like most mining towns."
She looked up. "I need to start researching things I get into. I keep following my instincts, and, yeah."
He snorted. "Yeah. Except with that fiancé apparently."
Her head jerked his way. "I want to be offended. But yeah. Fine. Moving on. So, do you have a key to get in here?"
Holding the key up, he nodded. Caleb unlocked the door and pushed it open pausing. He paused, the door always open and before she walked in, he said, "you're aware it hasn't been open for a year. Right"
Marci shrugged and pushed past. His bear growled as the wind blew her scent to them, Caleb grit his teeth. This strange woman had awoken something that woke the human side of him just as much as the bear, and he had no fucking idea what to do.
His eyes followed the sway of her ass as she nearly charged in. No need to say ladies first when she didn't bother waiting. Biting the inside of his cheek he tried to keep a strange, yet obvious feeling from clouding his judgment. Jealousy. The idea of another man touching her pissed them off; his bear didn't take kindly to anyone but them touching her.
Shit. Why had Marci come now and why wasn't he able to ignore it? His bear grumbled and stomped around within him. Okay. He knew why. He hadn't touched a woman in far too damn long. The unofficial vow of celibacy had reached its expiration. His bear roared.
He let her go in before him, or well, she pushed past him on a mission. Pausing at the threshold, he tried to breathe. He needed to get his shit handled. She seemed to have a tough exterior, but behind it, he could see the cracks. She wasn't a no strings attached kind of woman. He wasn't the kind that had anything to give.
As she screamed though, his hackles rose, and he prepared to give his life for her.
Caleb came to a halt as Marci flailed around in front of him. He tried to track her, his hands rising and falling as she spun and danced all over the foyer.
"Get it off. Get it off." She screamed over and over.
He stifled a laugh. The white string glistened in Marci's hair. She'd found one of what he suspected would be one of many spider webs.
He reached out to her and grabbed at her waist trying to help her.
Regret rose in the pit of his stomach as she freaked out and lost her balance.
Well, for shit's sake. This woman should be kept away from any hills and holes in the future.
"Marci? Stop screaming. It's just a spider web."
He threw an arm out and braced for them to hit the ground. Caleb stopped the fall, but he'd never seen someone turn so pale.
He reached down to quickly remove the spider. The snow had more pigment than Marci did right now.
"Marci? Breathe."
He flicked the tiny spider corpse toward the open front door. The need to kiss her jogged around his head before jumping off a mental cliff and dying.
He gulped in air. A cool fear numbed his body long enough to focus on reality.
"Marci? Your lips are blue. Are you holding your breath? Just breathe. "
He leaned over her and moved his face towards her. She didn't move. Her eyes were bright with fear. The woman charged into a house she said was haunted, but was done in by spiders? Could she have died from fear?
The sonic beat of her heart meant she was alive, but he couldn't hear her
