One Insatiable

She shakes her head. “Last week was the first I’d heard of any of this.” I see her thinking, a light in her eyes. “My aunt Penny might know!”

“Let’s go.” We’re on our feet, and I take her

hand, leading her through the woods in the direction of the mansion.

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Questions

Mercy

Penny’s still in her room when we arrive at the mansion. I leave Koa in my bedroom and head down the long hall to where she hides most of the day and night. It never occurred to me to ask why. I’d always chalked it up to her personality.

“Are you awake?” I call softly, tapping on the door as I enter.

She’s curled at the head of her enormous bed. An elaborate headboard of blonde wood and blood-red velvet serves as her pillow. It matches the red velvet armchairs arranged around the space. Beaded lamps and cut-glass chandeliers make up the rest of the décor. It’s vintage, but Penny is older than my mother would be, which puts her nearly one hundred.

“Mercy?” Her voice trembles, and her eyes fill with wonder as she sits up. “He didn’t take you?”

“I told you he would honor Dylan’s arrangement.” Walking around the room, I take her hands in mine. “Hayden’s not a monster. He simply is what he is.”

“So you do like him then?”

The question catches me off guard. I pause to consider my feelings for my new owner. “I don’t know how I feel about him now. I never hated Hayden. I hated the way he felt forced on me and his entitled attitude, which now I understand. I guess all I feel now is desperate.”

Shaking her head she looks down at her lap. “Persephone hated him.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Sitting on her bedside, I catch her hands. “I need you to tell me about how this started. Who committed the crime? How did it happen exactly?”

“Why do you want to know this?” She pulls her hands away and fumbles for a shawl as if she feels a chill. The room is suffocatingly hot.

“Koa wants to know.” A curl lifts the corner of my mouth. “He thinks he can save me.”

“He can’t! If Hayden doesn’t take you, he’ll kill us all! He’ll release those things on our family… on the town…”

“Shh! It’s okay, Aunt Pen.” I try to hug her shoulders, but she’s frantic, pushing me away.

“You have to fulfill your obligation, Mercy. You have to try and love Hayden if only for yourself.”

“I’ll never love Hayden. I’m bonded with Koa.”

“Oh, no!” Her hands fly over her face, and she turns into the pillow. “It’s the end of everything.”

I’m growing tired of my aunt’s behavior. As much as I want to care about her feelings, it’s my future I’m fighting to save. Her theatrics make my stomach cramp and erode my confidence.

“Either way,” I interrupt, my voice commanding. “Can you at least tell me the name of our ancestor? The one who did it?”

“Hunter. It was your great great grandfather Hunter Quinlan. Only at the time, they went by the last name Strong.”

My brow lines. “Why did they change our last name?”

“It was a common thing back in those days. People would change their names to distance themselves from criminals or unsavory incidents. The country was young. It wasn’t hard to start over.” She turns to the side, pulling the shawl even tighter as if trying to disappear in her cocoon. “Especially if you had nothing to lose.”

“Our family was poor.” I turn this idea over in my mind. “Hayden let us live here in his house, on his property.”

“I’m tired now.”

Stepping forward, I kiss her head before going to the door. “I’m sorry to make you worry. I hope this isn’t the last time we see each other.”