Distinctly Defiant

Chapter 10 ~ Monster

Chapter 10 ~ Monster

Everett quickly packed up a bag of things he would need and froze as Vivienne turned in her sleep. He waited for a moment and when he was sure that she was still deeply sleeping he continued. He found a piece of paper and something to write with.

I have some things to take care of. I should be back by nightfall, at the latest next morning. Take the time to rest. Don’t leave the inn for any reason unless it’s an emergency. I would recommend minimizing contact with other people just to be safe – Everett.

He predicted that she wouldn’t like that he told her to stay in the room for most of the day but she would understand why. It had been a few days since their encounter with Vince Ashworth but he wasn’t going to let Vivienne go that easily. The fewer people that saw her recognized Vivienne’s description when Lord Ashworth’s guards inquired, the better.

He had decided to spend more than one night at this inn for he felt he put enough space between them and Vince and Vivienne looked tired. The fact that he had things to do also influenced his decision. They would likely be gone tomorrow afternoon.

He pulled out the slip of paper in his pocket and made sure he memorized the address. He slipped his bag over one shoulder and left the room with one more glance at Vivienne to make sure she was asleep. It wouldn’t be good for her to follow him considering he was going to meet up with her captors. With all the unforeseeable events he hadn’t had the time to sneak away from Vivienne to update his group. So they had taken matters into their own hands.

He went over to the table next door and walked past the sleeping stable boy. He quickly saddled the horse and was off. The next town was close, most of the time he spent traveling was backtracking to the fork in the road where he took the other path to the other town where his group were waiting for him.

He tied Shadow’s reins to the fence near the house, more like a shack on the outskirts of town. He knocked on the door and Miles opened the door clapping him on the back as he walked in. Griffin crossed his arms and met Everett’s gaze straight on until he stared away.

Everett looked up as Griffin began to speak. “Well? Any new developments?” he asked, his eyes scrutinizing. “Has she shown any signs of becoming a werewolf?”

Everett shook his head. “No, not exactly, except for her eyes,” he replied. “You saw them, didn’t you? They’re golden now.” Griffin’s eyes widened slightly. He must not have seen the change that one night. “Other than that there’s no sign that I saw that showed she was close to shifting so we could move along this mission.”

Griffin scowled. “Keep observing her. If it goes to long without any more signs we may just have to tailor an event to make her shift.” No one said anything in disagreement. “Where are you heading to? Does she trust you?”

“Yes, ever since you guys tried to capture her again and I saved her,” Everett explained. “She doesn’t suspect a thing.” She seemed to trust him wholeheartedly. He would have thought considering what she had been through that it would have been harder.

“Well how could she think that you were working secretly with us considering how strongly you fought us,” Griffin absentmindedly rubbed his jaw where there was a fading bruise. “Make sure you watch her carefully tomorrow night. It’s a full moon, the first full moon she’s dealt with since more signs of what she is started showing up. Is there anything else?”

Everett hesitated and then nodded. “We had a run-in with the girl’s fiancé. He’s not pleased that she defied him. We escaped and so that’s why we’ve been traveling nonstop. I’ve been trying to put distance between them. The last thing I need is Lord Ashworth ruining everything,” Everett stated with disdain.