Page 38 of Their Alpha

Fletcher had just pulled the suitcases out of the trunk of the car, where he’d tossed them when we bought it earlier. “I bought this house just after we bought the farm three years ago,” he said.

“You did?” I blinked in surprise. I really hadn’t been paying attention back then. I’d still been so scared afterhehad almost found us the first time, and if memory served, I’d gone into heat shortly after that, too.

“It’s okay, baby,” Fletcher said, carrying the suitcases up to the small porch that stretched along the length of the house. “We’ll be safe here. At least for a while. I bought the house under one of the fake names. No one can trace it to us.”

After everything we’d been through that day, I wasn’t so sure.

Then again, Fletcher had bought the farm under one of the fake names and it had takenhimthree years to track us down. I was certain he’d find us again, but it was possible we had years before he could do that.

“Let me help you,” I said, pushing myself to open the back door of the car and take out the basket of food.

Fletcher usually didn’t like it when I helped, but he stayed silent as we unloaded the car and took everything up to the porch. I was a little surprised when he produced the keys from a random box he’d brought with us and when they fit easily into the lock. My wonderful husband really had been prepared for this.

Artemis would be so proud of him.

That thought hit me out of nowhere, giving me a shiver. It was a good shiver, I thought. Maybe. I wished Artemiswas there to keep both of us safe, but I knew it would break Fletcher’s heart if I told him that.

I followed Fletcher into the house, expecting him to reach to the side and flick on the lights. He didn’t, though, and as I squinted through the dark to get a better feel for the strange, musty space we were now in, I couldn’t see any light switches or fixtures at all.

“It doesn’t have electricity or potable water,” Fletcher answered the question I hadn’t actually asked. “I’m sorry for that inconvenience, baby, but it’ll make it that much harder for Goode to find us.”

I flinched at Fletcher’s use ofhisname. I didn’t ever want to say or hear that name again for the rest of my life.

“It’s okay,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “I think I see a fireplace over there. Do you know if there’s any kindling or a way to light it?”

“There should be,” Fletcher said. “I come up here once a quarter, just to make sure it’s still standing and that it has everything we would need in case we need to use it.”

My brow shot up. I was impressed, but also a little annoyed that he’d done that without telling me.

Then again, he might have told me something, thinking that I understood what he meant when he didn’t. He’d gone off on day trips now and then, telling me he was checking on the house. I was usually so busy with my work that I hadn’t asked questions.

We fumbled around in the dark a little until Fletcher found a group of oil lanterns on the table in the kitchen. He was able to light them with the matches sitting next to them. The lanterns were surprisingly bright once the flame was at full height.

From there, we walked around the house, lighting a few more lanterns and getting a fire going in the livingroom. There was a second fireplace in the bedroom that Fletcher went off to light while I explored a bit.

The house was rustic, but it was also kind of cute. There was dust everywhere, and the whole thing was decorated in a style that had gone out of fashion three decades ago. The furniture was clean and sturdy, though, and I actually got a little excited about the possibility of trying to cook on the old-fashioned wood stove in the kitchen.

Fletcher really had stocked the place in preparation for our sudden flight. He had a lot of crates of bottled water in the pantry, and he said there were more in a storage cellar outside. There wasn’t a lot of food, though, which made sense. It would have been a waste to stock the place with food that would just sit there and spoil. We’d brought enough with us to last a few days, at least.

There were linens in a closet that I could use to make the bed and a few towels, too. The water wasn’t potable, but after testing the taps in both the kitchen and the bathroom, I was relieved to see it was running. There was no boiler to heat it, though.

After going over the house once, I stepped out onto the kitchen porch, which looked out over the sea. That’s when I started to figure out where we were. We had to be northeast of Barrington, along the rocky, rugged shoreline over a hundred miles away. The area had been popular with tourists a century earlier, but had fallen out of favor when transportation became easier and people were able to drive or fly south in the summer to warmer beaches.

I had always wanted to come to this part of the country. The People never traveled or took vacations, and since escaping and making a life with Fletcher, we hadn’t had time. I was here now, and despite the terrifying circumstances, I was excited to get to know the area.

“It’s remote,” Fletcher said, joining me out on the porch. “There’s not really much in any direction for at least a fifteen-minute drive. That’s why I bought it.”

“You’re so smart,” I said, slipping into Fletcher’s arms and hugging him. “I knew you would take care of me. You’re my dragon prince.”

Fletcher laughed, the sound low and soft, but I could tell from the tension in his body that he had a long way to go before he felt relaxed or safe.

“Is that a cliff?” I asked, glancing out over the ocean. The moon was out, but it was only a sliver. I could see a lot of stars, too.

“It is,” Fletcher said. “You’ll see in the morning. It’s pretty high and there are some jagged parts, but there’s also a staircase that leads down to a small beach area.”

“I love it already.” I hugged Fletcher harder.

He made a wry noise. “It’s sad,” he said. “This whole place, the house, no electricity, it’s all just sad.”

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