The Ballad of Aramei Read Online Free PDF Page B

escaped last night. It’s hot because you’re stronger than any girl I’ve known who was Turned and not born a werewolf.”
    He must be mistaken. That’s absurd.
    I look back at the wall opening and say, “It was just a weak wall.” Then I turn to see Isaac again. “This is an old house.”
    He kisses my cheek and says afterwards, “I told you about this, remember?”
    “About what?” I say, and I really can’t recall just yet what he’s referring to, but somehow I know it’s about to be an Oh, that! moment.
    “About females often turning out stronger than males,” Isaac answers.
    “Oh, that…,” I say, stepping away from him.
    I’m not as laid-back about this news as they clearly appear to be and Isaac detects it right away. I turn my back on him and walk back to the opening in the rock wall and step out into the partial sunlight.
    I hear Daisy and Isaac whispering to each other, but I’m too involved in my own thoughts to wonder about what they’re saying. Besides, when Isaac joins me outside and I hear Daisy’s footsteps fading as she goes back up the basement steps it’s sort of obvious they were agreeing that Isaac should ‘take it from here’.
    I turn to look at him immediately, letting my arms fall back at my sides. “Okay, so where am I supposed to go every month if there’s no basement to shackle me to?”
    Isaac lets out a sigh and his shoulders relax. It’s as if he had been trying to figure out exactly what was bothering me and realized too late what should’ve been obvious in the beginning.
    “We have a month to figure it out,” he says. “It’s really not an issue.”
    “Isaac, I could’ve hurt… killed someone last night.”
    He steps back up to me, raising my chin with his fingertip. “We’ll fix it,” he says. “And before you say it, I mean the situation, not the basement wall.” Another grin creeps up at the corner of his mouth and I can’t help but smile a little.
    I go to kiss him until the sound of rocks and earth grinding under several sets of tires funnels around to us from the end of the driveway at the main road. Isaac’s gaze is solely fixed on the back of the house as if he’s staring right through it to see who’s pulling into the drive. That intense look etched in his expression instantly has me on edge.
    I feel his fingers slip through mine and then his grip tightens around my hand. Before I even think to ask what’s going on, we’re walking around the side of the house and into the front yard where three 4-wheel drive SUV’s and one massive black Escalade are pulling up to the front of the house. My heart is hammering inside my chest and I don’t even know who’s inside the vehicles yet. I have this feeling in my gut, twisting my insides into knots and it’s telling me that I probably don’t want to know.
    Standing just at the edge of the front of the house, Isaac reaches out his hand and carefully pushes me to stand behind him instead of at his side. I don’t argue.
    “Who’s that?” I whisper harshly.
    “It’s my father,” he says quietly, never taking his eyes off the vehicles.
    Figures pile out of the SUV’s; tall, brute men that I know aren’t really human. I count twelve of them who each take up a position in the yard and around the house. One in particular walks right past Isaac and me to stand watch at the back of the house. My eyes lock on him as he walks by and for a moment I can’t look at anything else, my mind is lost in theories of what this could be about. Trajan doesn’t come here often and I can count the times I’ve seen him at this house on one hand, but never has he come here with an entourage. And I’m a little discouraged that Raul, the ancient werewolf soldier whom Isaac is good friends with, isn’t among them. Seeing him might have made me feel better about this. Maybe. Okay, probably not.
    The driver’s door opens on the Escalade and another guard steps out wearing average clothes like the rest of the