Page 55 of The Hunt
“Since you weren’t fed yesterday, would you like me to come back tonight to feed you again?”
“No. This is fine.” Those words sounded almost choked, and he glared at me harder afterward.
“All right. Then, we’ll get out of your way. The outside of the house looks beautiful. Thank you, Elbner.”
“I did it for my master.” The passionate, rage-filled words followed us out the door.
“He’s awful,” Jenna said quietly. “How did Megan not kill him?”
“I have no idea. He had a brownie companion with him when he arrived. The brownie told me Elbner licked his wings on their journey from New York to Megan’s house. The goblin tried telling the boy they were ‘wing baths.’”
“That’s terrible.”
I nodded and opened my door. “Would you like a ride home?”
Jenna’s expression turned to one of relief.
“Yes. Thank you so much. That little ingrate was exhausting.”
She made herself comfortable in the passenger seat as I pulled out of the driveway.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Fenris should have called me and said Elbner was being difficult again.”
“He didn’t want to bother you.” Jenna shifted in her seat, and I could feel the sadness growing in her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She said it far too quickly to be believable.
“You know I can sense all emotions, not just sexual energy, right?”
She gave me a sheepish look.
“I was getting jealous about all the time Fenris was spending with you and said something to him. He explained some of what you’re going through with missing Megan and how Adira and your mom are pressuring you and acting like there’s something wrong with you just because you won’t toe their line.” She paused for a moment. “I guess I’m just feeling a little upset with myself for being so focused on my own misery that I haven’t stopped to think there might be someone else who was feeling the same or worse than me. Yet, when you saw I was having trouble with Elbner, you stepped right in and stuck up for me. Thank you.”
Uncomfortable with everything Fenris had shared with her and her gratitude for not allowing Elbner to call her names, I kept my response simple.
“You’re welcome.”
She flashed a relieved smile at me. We drove in silence for several minutes as I navigated the roads toward the pack’s territory.
“I’m not exactly sure where you live,” I said when we got closer.
She started giving me directions that led to a gravel parking lot edged by trees. Through them, I caught a glimpse of an open field and a cluster of houses that looked like a mini town.
“I’ve never been this far into pack territory. If this is where everyone parks, how did Aubrey keep her convertible snow-free, out in the open like this?”
Jenna pointed to several canvas-topped carports hidden in the trees along the parking area.
“She managed to get one of those. And it’s not her car. We’re supposed to share it. Do you want to see a little more?”
“Am I allowed?”
She grinned.
“Given who your guardians are, yes, it’s allowed. For anyone else, I’d probably have to get permission first.”
I glanced at the houses again and let my curiosity, plus Fenris’s repeated reminders to do what I wanted, influence me.
