Chapter 12: *CHAPTER 12*
The sound of my terrified screaming brought the pounding of multiple sets of footsteps careening down the hallway and into my room. I could hear the door slamming open against the wall, though I couldn't see it past the monster crouched on my chest.
"Kassie," someone called out, I couldn't recognize their voice over the pounding of my heartbeat.
"Oh no," another voice said, "Winnie, Winnie, get down boy. Down. Bad boy, Winnie." The beast turned its massive head and bright red eyes toward the sound of the new voices. It shot me one more curious look before plopping down from my chest and onto the floor, its weight making a giant thud against the carpet.
I sat up, scuttled up against the headboard looking around in shock. Jenna raced over toward me as another person I didn't recognize ran for the creature, grabbing it around its thick neck. The monster let out a grumbled whining noise, before letting himself be pulled unceremoniously from the room.
As the monster disappeared through the doorway, I shot a wild look at Jenna who looked positively horrified, "Kassie, I'm so sorry. He's usually much better behaved than this, but he's just figured out how to open doors on his own and has been getting into terrible amounts of mischief these past few weeks. I'm so embarrassed right now."
I swallowed hard, my thundering heartbeat slowing a bit as I struggled to catch my breath, "What was that thing?"
"Oh my," Jenna ran an embarrassed hand through her hair glancing back toward the door, "That's our pet, Winston. He's a luprador."
"A what?"
“A breed of hellhound," I eyed the doorway it had just disappeared through.
A hellhound? What the fuck?
Jenna bit her lip, "He's still technically a puppy, so he's just discovered he has an affinity to air and has been using it to cause all sorts of havoc around the house. Opening doors, getting into the treat cabinet, you name it. He must have smelled that someone new was in the house and came up to investigate."
"It's fine,” I assured her, "he didn't hurt me." Though I still was reeling from the fact that there was an actual hellhound in the house I was staying in.
"I'll lock him in his crate tonight so he can't do this again."
I chewed on my lip as everything from the following day hit me again.
Not a weird fever dream. Real.
"I hadn't realized there were other magical creatures aside from the things that attacked us last night," I said. Though the black-furred hound that had just trotted from the room wasn't quite as horrifying as what I'd seen last night.
"Oh, you mean the Rafka," Jenna said, leaning against the nightstand, I realized for the first time that she was wearing a set of navy blue scrubs, her black hair pulled up in a neat ponytail, "That's right. You probably have so many questions still.” She rubbed her lips together, standing up straight from where she'd been leaning, “I'll give you some privacy to get dressed. Come downstairs when you're ready. I made breakfast and we can talk while we eat. You’re probably starving.” With one last sunny smile, she strolled out of the room, shutting the door behind her as she went.
The kitchen was just as pristine as the rest of the house. It was a large spacious room that looked like it had been pulled from a home decor magazine. White countertops and high white cabinets made up the majority of the room. Gleaming dark wooden floors stretched the expanse of the room and a massive island took up the center of the space laid out with plates. The dining table at the far side of the room looked rarely used.
After getting dressed, I’d followed the sound of clanging plates and the smell of cooking batter down the stairs and through the sitting room I'd been in last night recognizing the white pristine couch I'd laid on when I'd first gotten here. Amazingly there wasn't a stain in sight from my dusty dirt-riddled clothes laying on it.
Jenna had her back to me as she plated food at the counter. There was a guy around my age standing beside her. The same guy who had tugged the hellhound out of my room earlier. I don't know how Jenna heard my slow footsteps by the kitchen door, but she called over her shoulder, "Just in time Kassie, I'm just finishing up the last waffle."
She turned around, setting up the last plate, motioning to the guy chopping fruit at the counter, “This is my son, Caleb. He wasn't here last night when everything happened, so you haven't had the chance to meet yet."
He had the same black hair that had some lighter brown streaks dyed into it and the same almond-shaped eyes as his mom. He looked like he was probably around if not the same age as me. He looked a bit more gangly than Malcolm, his hair longer at the top and short on the sides was rumpled and he was wearing a faded black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and sweats. When he smiled at me, I noticed a small barely noticeable gap between his front teeth.
“I heard about what happened last night," he gave me a sympathetic wince, “Welcome to the family, cuz.”
It took me a minute to realize what he meant and I cringed internally. With the marriage—I could barely think the word without wincing—Binding with Malcolm, I guess that technically did make us family in their community for the time being.
I tried to hide it, though I think they could still read the horror on my face because Caleb snickered as he finished chopping.
“Caleb,” Jenna sighed, “Let’s not freak her out more than she already is.”
“It’s fine.” I assured her, making my way around the counter.
“Richard and Malcolm took off to the Coven's archives this morning to do some research into your Curse Marks, so it's just us three this morning." Jenna explained as she came around to my side of the island, a plate of waffles in hand,
Ah. That explained the lack of my big blond brute of a “husband”.
"Do you think it'll be very difficult to find out how to get rid of the Marks?" I asked.
Jenna slid into the middle seat at the island, Caleb moving around to the seat beside hers, both of them plating up their food. I followed suit, taking the stool next to Jenna. The smell of the vanilla and butter from the waffles made my stomach growl. It all looked delicious.
Caleb nodded, "It shouldn't take more than a couple of days with those two looking."
I plated up a crisp-looking waffle, piling some chopped fruit, a mixture of some fresh-looking peaches and berries. As sad as it was to admit to myself, I couldn't remember the last time someone had cooked for me—that wasn't at a restaurant anyway that I'd paid beforehand. It made something in me tighten uncomfortably as I cut into the now syrupy food.
"Did you want some coffee, Kassie?" Caleb asked around a mouth full of food.
"That would be really great, thank you." Hopefully filling myself up with caffeine and sugar would stave off the headache pounding the back of my skull.
Without rising from his stool, Caleb lifted his hand out in front of him, and with the flick of his wrist, a mug came flying across the room landing squarely in his palm.