WE REACHED THE cabin, another small backwoods, off-the-grid one probably used by anyone needing shelter.
When we arrived, Eli insisted Reese stay outside--apparently, he didn't want the cute, blond Aussie getting too close to his girl. That was fine, but I made Eli wait, too. If this girl was as set on staying as he said, then she needed to tell me that herself.
I opened the door. Inside, it was dark, the light having flicked off the moment we drew within sight of the cottage.
"I won't go," said a voice from deep in the shadows. "You can turn around right now. I'm eighteen, so I can make my own decisions."
Of the three missing girls, two had been twenty, which gave me a good idea who I was talking to. The one who'd been living on the streets, trying to escape a life of abuse and neglect.
"You're seventeen, Adine."
"Eighteen next month. Better off saving yourself the paperwork and pretending you never found me."
"I'm not from social services. I'm just someone who wants to make sure you're okay."
I turned on the nearest lantern. A wavering light filled the cabin. Adine sat on a cot in the corner, her face set, her expression saying if I was going to take her out of here, I'd damned well better have brought an army to do it.
"I know what happened to you," I said.
"Yeah? Same shit, different day."
I met her gaze and recognized that haunted, hunted animal look. I'd never been this tough, though, as much as I'd wanted to be.
"What happened to you is--" I began.
"Gonna leave scars. Scars no one can see. Yeah, I've done the sessions. If you're expecting me to say I'm fine, you're wrong. But I'm sure as hell going to get back to fine. And Eli's going to help me."
"He--"
"He's just a kid, I know. And something... something's not quite right about him. I know that, too. But I don't care. He rescued me and he took care of me, and he doesn't want anything in return, just to be with me, talk to me." She met my gaze. "You know what that's like?"
Actually, I did, but I knew she wouldn't believe me. And as I looked in her face, I knew she wasn't kidding herself. Eli wasn't her knight in shining armor. She didn't expect happily ever after. But whatever it was, it's what she wanted. What she needed.
"If she wants to join us, she may," rumbled a voice behind me.
I turned to see the Shifter Alpha in the doorway. Behind him, Eli's father had his son by the scruff of the neck. The Alpha stepped in and shut the door.
"This is not our way," he said. "But if the girl wants to come..." He looked at me. "We should not argue."
In other words, sending this girl back to civilization, angry and unhappy, really wasn't the best idea. She was likely to start talking about the Shifters. That might only land her a bed in the psych ward, but they couldn't take the chance.
He turned to Adine. "We live far away. You will not be able to visit your people."
"Fine by me," she said, chin lifted, defiant.
"We have a village, but we are hunters. We do not come to the city."
"I can hunt and I can fish, and I'm a damned fine cook--though I like the hunting and fishing part better. I've had enough of the city. It wasn't..." A look passed over her face, disappointment and regret. "It wasn't what I thought it would be. I'm ready to go back inland." She straightened and met his gaze. "I'll do my share. You won't regret it."
The Alpha's expression said he was pretty sure he would, but he only nodded.
I turned to him. "She might want to go now, but after a while..."
"She may change her mind," he murmured. "If she does, we will bring her back. You have our word."
As I looked at Adine, I realized I had no right to make this choice for her. No one had that right, because no one was her, no one else lived her life and knew what was best.
What would I have done if someone told me to stop seeing Clay when we were dating? They couldn't have told me anything I didn't already know. I'd spent years telling myself that Clay tricked me, deceived me, but he hadn't. I'd seen the warning signs and I'd worried about them and, in the end, I'd decided to do what was best for me--stay with him.