Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
I’d been getting worked up this last week. Couldn’t explain exactly why. Some of it had to do with my growing and undeniable attraction to Dyl. It wasn’t just sexual anymore, it wasn’t just physical. It had grown to be a mental connection as well. I truly enjoyed spending time with him, talking to him, sitting in silence with him. We’d hung out a few times since that night he invited me over to play video games, but he’d been incredibly busy with the start of the new season and me with keeping all the players fit and healthy, that our times together were brief. Much shorter than I wanted them to be.
That realization frustrated me. It made me wonder which path in front of me would be a mistake and which would be a blessing. Should I follow my heart, or ignore the song that only Dylan could orchestrate inside my chest?
That wasn’t all that frustrated me, though. I checked my phone for the hundredth time today with a twinge of dread. It had become a habit of mine. Flinching at the sound of a text, bracing myself with every vibration, every notification. Wondering when it’d be another unhinged threat from my stalker. It had been quiet on that front, which only made things feel more ominous. As if they were gathering themself in the wings of the stage, ready to leap out and finish me for the big finale.
I couldn’t let that happen. I made the decision around the midpoint of my run today, when my mind was most clear.
I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for something to happen. Nor would I rely on law enforcement that didn’t seem to have a good grip on this situation, especially considering I had to be careful with the information I gave them in order to not expose myself as a shifter.
So I decided I’d be finding this fucker before they got their hands on me.
I unlocked my phone and brought up my texts with Dylan.
MILES: Hey, remember you mentioned knowing a druid that’s a pro at finding people?
It didn’t take long at all for him to respond.
DYL: Yeah he used to date Yuni. Lives about thirty minutes out.
MILES: Do you have his number?
DYL: Better yet I have his address.
MILES: Can I just show up?
I was already grabbing my car keys.
DYL: He prefers that actually. Weird guy, didn’t last more than three months with Yuni. Also always smelled like garlic.
MILES: I’ll hold my breath. What’s the address?
DYL: I’ll tell you when you pick me up.
Huh. I didn’t want to involve Dylan in this more than he needed to be—which was not at all. Bringing him to this meeting felt like I was tying the strings of fate together, wrapping them around the both of us. Right now, apart from opening up to him about it, I’d kept him very separate from my stalker issue. Even when the worry would eat away at the back of my brain like a bore worm, I’d stay quiet, not wanting to freak him out or worry him or make him think he had to do anything to solve this himself.
I knew he was stubborn, though, and he was likely being serious about not giving me the address unless I picked him up.
MILES: I’ll be at yours in ten minutes.
DYL: See you soon!
I was at his house in seven. He was already closing the front door as I pulled into his driveway. He came out wearing a baby blue T-shirt and dark gray athletic shorts, with tall black Nike socks and a clean pair of white sneakers. He’d just gotten a haircut so that it was nearly buzzed down all around his head. The bold white birthmark streaked across the freshly buzzed side of his golden-brown hair, stretching over his forehead and connecting again at his brow.
Fuck, he was so damn hot.
He hopped in my car and for a second I wanted to lean in and kiss him hello, but stopped myself at the last second. He smiled at me and held his hand out.
“Let me put that address in your GPS.”
“Thanks, Dyl,” I said, handing over my phone. He opened the map and typed in the address he had saved on his phone.
“You probably could have just texted it to me,” I suggested as Dylan worked to balance two phones. He put his on his lap and gave me a shrug.
“I like making things harder for myself sometimes.”
I chuckled at that, wondering if he knew how hard he was making it for me. The map on the dashboard screen updated and pointed me in the direction I needed to go to find this druid and hopefully the answer to my problems.
“Is this about the stalker?” Dylan asked. The air immediately felt like it was sucked out of the car even though all the windows were up and the AC was blowing. “Sorry, I just figured…”