Girl Gone Rogue (The Shadow Hunters #2)

17. Bandana Boy

I didn't stay inside.

I couldn't be laying around, waiting for them to return when I could do my own digging around.

My only safety was that the sun was out. The changelings often remained hidden during daylight.

I decided to revisit the place Jamison, Alexei and I had last encountered the changelings. Maybe it was morbid curiosity I decided to study the cliff edge I almost fell off of if Alexei hadn't dragged me up from plunging into the depths at the bottom. I peeked over the ragged edge, feeling a rush of vertigo dance in the pit of my stomach. I crouched low and brushed the pads of my fingers along the stony edges, feeling the pitted and pockmarked surface. Some of the rocks easily gave way, tumbling down the side of cliff like dusty rain.

There was no way anyone would've survived if they fell off.

I noted there were some rock slabs that protruded from the cliff face. They looked completely unstable. There was little space on the jutting rock slabs to provide a landing spot for anyone to sit on.

The wind picked up and I stood, bracing myself against the current.

There was still an abundance of time before they returned.

I arrived back to the cabin, having intentions to prepare an exercise routine to pass time when I noticed the door was slightly ajar, waving slightly in the breeze. I quietly pushed the door open, peeking inside.

It took me a second, but I froze as the male intruder rummaged through the drawers of the kitchen, stealing half-filled bags of random food in the kitchen. Someone must have placed them there last night. He slammed the cupboards shut and turned. He froze when he caught sight of me standing near the entry.

The man was slender, donned in loose denim trousers that bagged at his thighs. He was swathed in a big, oversized red jacket that drowned his lanky form. A red and blue bandana masked half his face, and the jacket's hood covered his head. I could only see clear teal blue eyes framed with fair lashes that gave him an eerie look. His feet were bare, smeared with dirt. Dried blood caked his toes, which had smeared on some parts of the floor.

I scrutinised his slim form again. He looked more like a teen. The longer I stared, I was convinced that he was when the silence stretched on longer.

His scrawny arms hugged the pilfered items against his chest as I closed the door behind me, widening my stance.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" I asked the intruder.

I scented his panic, which was strange. Shifters usually were more aggressive to strangers that were not part of their Pack. I sniffed the air again, finally understanding why he was panicking.

He was a Rogue.

Empathy instantly washed over me.

I examined him closely. He didn't look like he was controlled by his wolf. I could only sense the human with the faint edge of his wolf. His wolf was tame, but his scent determined enough.

He was without a Pack.

And he was stealing food from the cabinets.

"I have chocolate chip cookies in my bag." I confessed when he continued to stare at me warily.

His heartbeat stuttered from the sound my voice.

That was not a good sign.

"You should take them with you." I told him as I yanked my duffle bag from the inside of the bedroom. I slid the zip across, pulling out my home baked goodies. I held the bag up, shaking it in the air, "You can't buy them anywhere else. These were made by me."