Chapter 23: Those red eyes (part II)

**Brooke

They seemed to be speaking a language unknown to me. They understood each other perfectly, as if Malloy already knew everything. A doubt pierced my head, but it was still too vague to give shape to.

“I was saying, child, that perhaps his methods were a little rough, true, but there is no denying that he is courting you without putting pressure on you.”

“To be honest, I better start pressuring her,” muttered Farrow, arrogantly.

“But don't overdo it,” instructed Malloy, as if I wasn't even there.

Again, doubt appeared in my head and I fixed my gaze on Malloy. He was a friend of the family, he should have made a deal for me, threatening that my father would intervene… at the very least be outraged. Instead, he seemed to be on the same page as Mr. Farrow, addressing him as if he knew more than I could.

“Why do you need this promotional campaign?” I turned to the sergeant. It was not a question, but an accusation in all respects. Doubt was beginning to take an increasingly distinct form.

“In a crowdfunding,” he replied without hesitation.

“Were you the one who convinced Farrow to choose me as his assistant?”

“Don't underestimate yourself,” my boss intervened. “You're very competent… if it's not for winding threads.” he craned his neck towards Malloy to talk to him more closely. “It's incredible how she can roll them up.”

The edges of doubt dissolved again like fog, and I called myself an idiot for believing that Malloy had hatched a plan with Farrow. However, suspicion remained. It was a very small suspicion, but one that still didn't want to go away.

“I better get the beer,” I said, with my back to them.

That's when I saw them. At the edge of the forest, where the moon's rays found no space, remaining trapped between the tangle of branches so low that they touched the ground, eight small circles of red light pointed at me.

I froze in fear and instinctively took a step back. The small spheres of light remained in position, so motionless, that they seemed to have been painted overnight by the hand of a painter. It's hard to guess what they were.

I narrowed my vision, trying to focus, but as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared.

“Brooke!” Farrow's voice was dark and close. Very close.

I turned around with a start, finding him behind me, and again my heart skipped a beat. The violent fury in his gaze was the most threatening thing I've ever seen. For a moment, I foolishly thought that it was precisely thanks to his gaze that those flashes of red light had disappeared.

“Did you see them?” I asked, forgetting to address him formally.

“Yes,” he replied laconically.

“What were they?”

“The eyes of some wolves.”

“Wolves?” I gasped in panic. I was full of fear and had to lean against the side of the car to calm my breathing.

Farrow stood in front of me as if he wanted to protect me. “They left as soon as I approached. Don't worry.”

“The other night, you said they wouldn't come any closer and that the howls were the adults' call.” with wide eyes, I pointed to the place where I had seen them. “But now they were ten meters away from me.”

“I also told you the other night that I wouldn't let anyone do anything to you.” he reminded me, calmly. “So breathe Brooke. If you stay by my side, nothing will happen to you.”

I looked at him uncertainly. He seemed to be trying to tell me something else, in his words I could hear the promise of something fiery, wild, solemn. And I became even more insecure when I realized that his mere proximity gave me such tranquility that it made me feel safe.

“Are you calmer?” he asked sympathetically.

I nodded, looking towards the edge of the forest for good measure. There was no longer any trace of the red eyes, so I risked quickly retrieving the beer cans from the trunk and hastily returned to Farrow's side.

“I caught,” I said quickly. “Shall we go back to the fire?”

“Are you still scared?” it wasn't a question.

“A little. I don't like wolves.”

I noticed his eyebrows furrowed, but it was only for a moment. “Maybe you didn't know them well. They are a species that humans should learn from.”

“I prefer to meet them on Google.” I interrupted, passing by him.

“And you're still mad?” he said behind me. That wasn't a question either, and it had the power to slow my steps.

“I don't know.”

“Come back here.” he insisted, using a tone so authoritative that it froze me in place.

A second later, he reached me, standing so close to me that I had to tilt my head to look at him. I wanted to see if Malloy was still there, but Farrow's broad chest and incredible muscle mass blocked my view, forcing me to focus solely on him.

“I'm not a patient man,” he said, approaching again.

I took a step back, and he immediately took a step forward.

“And I will not accept any more rejection from you.” another step forward.

I backed away again, without taking my eyes off his. I needed to keep the situation under control, even though it was getting out of control.

“Mr. Farrow, please,” I begged nervously. “I need this job.”

“Is that what makes you deny yourself?”

I moved back further and felt my buttocks rest against the hard metal of the side of the car. I was trapped. My throat felt dry, and I had to swallow a few times to respond.

“Don't get me wrong, but I can't believe you're interested in me.”

With a lightning movement, Farrow leaned forward until he almost touched my nose, but he didn't kiss me or touch me: he simply stretched his arm behind me, against the side of the car, removing any possibility of escape.

“What makes you think I don't want to?” he breathed against my lips.