Shift | Complete ✔️

7 | The Guild

As if waking from a blissful dream, I buried my head further into the pillow before pulling the covers up to my neck.

I hadn't yet opened my eyes, completely oblivious to prior events, and completely oblivious as to where I even was.

I took a moment to let that thought sink in. Where I was. Which was where exactly?!

Blinking rapidly, I rubbed my eyes before jarring myself upright. Scanning my surroundings, I felt my heart stammer as I tried to get my bearings.

Looking to the bed covers I was currently entwined with, they were coral red, textured with embossed weaving patterns. I traced the outline them with my finger, confused but interestingly unafraid.

Past the timber bed posts, I noticed that I was definitely in an upstairs room. The ribbons of burnt orange hues that filtered through the floor to ceiling window led to a balcony, the colours indicating that it was late afternoon.

Straining my arms above my head, I tossed the covers off and immediately noticed the bandage wrapped around my right ankle. That's when the throbbing hit me.

Rubbing it cautiously, I inspected my foot, grasping around it to feel the damage. It was swollen, and figments of purple bruising scattered above the bandage, bringing to the forefront what had led me to injure it in the first place.

Jogging... Wolves... Snow, lots of snow... and a muscular, bloodied, and very naked Phelan in the middle of the mountains.

My eyes bulged as it dawned on me.

Jesus Fucking Christ! I need to get the fuck outta here!

The onslaught of a million different things hit my mind one after the other.

He wasn't human... wolf... pack... killed... saved? No. I shook my head at the thought. I knew what I saw was real. But wasn't that what every crazy person thought, that they weren't crazy, which was in fact what proved that they were?

Okay. I took a moment to regain some semblance of composure. Tucking my hair behind my ears, I let out a breath and climbed out of the bed.

I doubted that there'd be much in the choice of weaponry in, wherever the hell I was, but I had to arm myself with something if I wanted to get some answers.

My eyes stopped at the wrought iron lamp shade on the bedside table. Sure, the floral cover wasn't exactly screaming murderous intent, but the stand itself was rock solid, and well, if I had to chose between it and the linen basket in the corner, I was willing to take my chances on it.

Pulling it from the wall socket, I wrapped the cord around the palm of hand before wielding the lamp like I was a shield-maiden in medieval Norway.

I've got this.

Hobbling over to the door like the fiercest of warriors, I was careful not to let my body weight creak across the floor boards. When I reached the oak stained door, I put my ear against it.

Talking.

Definitely downstairs.

Male voice. And another, possibly two others. One of them definitely female.

It didn't sound heated. There's was no sharpness or terseness in either tones. If anything, it sounded like they, whoever they were, were attempting to be hushed.