(Un)bidden

by Melissa Haag

  “At least, now you don’t have to worry about forgetting your responsibilities to chase me,” I said, still bitter about the bite. I faced the crowd. “Will you let me stay here in peace or should I move on?”

  “Stay,” Thomas said through clenched teeth. No one else said anything. He appeared to be their spokesperson.

  “To be clear, this means no more fighting to meet me. No more looking for ways to win my favor in hopes for a little nip. None of it. Because that was the last bite.”

  “We heard you before. We understand,” he said.

  “Then, thank you for letting me stay.” With a minute nod, I turned and went back inside. Mary was by the table, ready with the alcohol and gauze. I sat and let her clean my neck, grinding my teeth against the sting.

  I’d done it. Won my freedom without trying to fight them all. Though it didn’t make the prior bites worthwhile, it gave them meaning. They weren’t for nothing. I could stay here safely now.

  “There’s blood on your shirt,” Mary said. “I’ll go get the clothes from the line.”

  I stood and moved to the double doors as she walked outside. Though the men had given their word that they wouldn’t pursue me, I didn’t want to linger in the room. The building was quiet as I climbed the stairs and closed myself into our bedroom. I dropped my bag beside the dresser and started to unpack.

  In the hall, I heard the creak of another door and froze. Mary wouldn’t need to go into any of the other rooms. I strained to hear more and almost screamed when someone knocked on my door.

  “Who is it?”

  “Thomas.” His familiar voice held a note of impatience.

  I crossed the room and opened the door. With crossed arms, he stood in the hall.

  “I wanted to let you know that Gregory and I will be staying in the room next to yours. Henry and Paul will be in the room to your right. Several other men will be staying in the rooms downstairs. We wanted to know what we should work on next.”

  My mouth fell open. They were moving into the building?

  “Why?”

  “I thought telling you would be considerate. And we have no idea what your plans are.”

  “No. I mean, why are you staying here? I thought...”

  “You thought we’d leave?” He gave a dry laugh. “Not after your pretty little speech about being different.”

  “I didn’t give a speech. I said that to Gregory in the—”

  “Main room where we could still hear. You said no more biting, and we agreed. That doesn’t mean we’ve given up. It means we need to figure out how to Claim you without using our teeth.”

  I stared at him, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure how I felt about their intent. Knowing the biting would actually stop was a relief, yet I didn’t like that I had no say in their decision to continue pursuing me. However, their presence could be an advantage.

  “How many are willing to help?”

  “Seven, so far,” he said.

  I glanced at the window. We had several hours of daylight left.

  “Let’s meet in the main room after I change my shirt.”

  He nodded and walked down the hall to his room. I closed the door, still slightly shocked by this new turn.

  * * * *

  When Mary and I entered the common room, there were three rabbits roasting on the fire. My mouth watered at the smell. But, I ignored my need for food to address the men who waited.

  I knew Gregory and Thomas, and Henry and Paul, but not the other three. One I recognized as the man who’d arrived with Thomas. The other two I was certain I’d never seen.

  “I’m Charlene,” I said, extending my hand to Thomas’ friend first.

  He looked down at my hand, grinned, then wrapped his fingers around mine. It was less of a handshake and more of a handholding.

  “I’m Grey, Thomas’ brother.” He released me. “These two are Bine and Zerek.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said politely. “Thomas said you wanted to know what I planned to do next.” They all watched me, even Mary. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do next. For me to live here through the winter...well, it’s a long list. And I don’t know what your plans are. Will all of you be staying too? It could change what we should do first.”

  “What do you mean?” Thomas asked.

  “If it’s the eight of us, we need to consider how we’ll feed ourselves. I’m guessing as hunters, you follow the food. If you’re staying in one place and the game leaves, then what? Also, if you’re living indoors without your fur, how will you stay warm? You’re going to need shirts, shoes, socks, and other things. We’ll need more bedding, a large supply of wood, and jackets, mittens, hats. And we can’t steal what we need. If we mean to stay here permanently, robbing the surrounding homes and communities would put us at risk. We need to find a way to earn money. Money will buy us the food and clothes we need.”

  “Bine, head out to find an ax,” Thomas said. “Zerek, pull any deadfall from the woods into the clearing. Enlist whoever is willing to help.” The two nodded and left, shutting the outside door.

  That took care of the wood.

  “Do you have suggestions how we can earn money?” Thomas asked, turning to look at me. My neck ached as our gazes met. I tried to ignore the sensation and promised myself I’d take a pain pill before bed.

  “There’s always the route Winifred took. Go out and get jobs.” He didn’t appear to consider that option so I moved on. “There were some useful things at the junk yard. Perhaps more could be found there and sold in town. If we can spare any wood, we could also sell that.”

  Thomas glanced at Gregory and Grey. As if Thomas had spoken an order, they both nodded. Gregory held out his hand to Mary, and she went to him with a grin.

  “We’ll find something good,” she said to me, and Gregory led her out the door.

  Thomas waited until the door closed behind them before speaking again. “I heard you had one of the buildings dismantled for the boards. How do you plan to use those?”

  “To board up the windows with no glass. It should help keep the cold out.”

  Henry and Paul nodded and walked out the door, leaving Thomas and I alone.

  “What else?”

  The way Thomas took charge and told everyone what to do bothered me. No. It wasn’t that. It was his arrogance while he did it that irritated me.

  I crossed my arms to match his stance and arched a brow at him.

  “Why the sudden willingness to help? I thought you didn’t want me making changes here.”

  “Without some changes, you won’t be able to stay. Like you said, you’re different. More fragile.” He stepped closer, looking down at me with an expression that somehow crossed tender and domineering.

  “I want you to stay.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and I struggled not to blush.

  “Why? The bite didn’t work.”

  “No, it didn’t. But it doesn’t change what I know. You belong to me.”

  I continued to stare up at him while I wondered what he had planned. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, but didn’t move. We stood like that for several minutes until I finally uncrossed my arms and turned away from him.

  The bags from Winifred still waited by the pump. I pulled out the top sheet and considered its length. A dress would be nice but given the thin material, probably impractical. Curtains would provide privacy; however, with the loose drafty panes, a thicker material would be better. What could I do with the material then? Nothing inspiring came to mind.

  “What is that for?” Thomas asked. He’d moved to stand just behind me.

  “Whatever we need, I suppose.” Maybe I should just leave the sheets as sheets. If Mary and Gregory happened to find more beds they might be needed.

  I unpacked the bags, setting all the items on the table. The pasta, dried beans, and rice lay in a small mountain.

  “Can you ask Winifred to let Mary know that we could use a cabinet or shelf to store the food?” I asked, turning m
y head to look at him. Our faces were inches apart as he too studied what lay on the table.

  “Do you always have to stand so close?”

  His lips twitched. “If I wasn’t worried about being knocked on my back, I’d stand even closer.” He didn’t meet my gaze but reached out and picked up one of the items on the table. “And no, I don’t need to ask Winifred. I let Gregory know.”

  “How?”

  “Just like Winifred can communicate with all of us, I can communicate with the members of my pack.”

  “Members of your pack. You’re Gregory’s...what? Leader?”

  “Yes.”

  “That explains a lot,” I mumbled as I turned away from him. Like why he was so domineering and why he seemed to expect that people would listen to him.

  * * * *

  Long after the sun had gone down, I still sat on my bed, bored. I’d taken the pain pill, but with several of the men in the building, I couldn’t bring myself to turn off the lamp and sleep. Not until Mary returned, anyway. Then, as if my thoughts conjured her, I heard her yell my name.

  “Up here!” I called.

  Her steps were light and barely audible on the stairs. The door opened a moment later.

  “Come see everything we’ve found.” Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed, and I was sure it wasn’t because of what they’d brought back. There was a dark spot on her neck, a kissing mark.

  I grabbed the lamp and followed her.

  “It’s an odd collection of things, but I think we found some amazing pieces.” She paused at the bottom of the steps to wait for me.

  From above, I heard Thomas’ door open and fought not to roll my eyes.

  I’d returned to the bedroom after a very long, very uncomfortable afternoon shadowed by him. Even in my room, I hadn’t been free of his presence because seconds after I’d closed the door, I heard his door close, too.

  “I’m glad it wasn’t a wasted trip,” I said, hurrying to get to the common room. I didn’t want to linger in the gloomy hall with him not far behind me. I pushed through the doors then stopped.

  Mary hadn’t exaggerated about what they’d found. An odd assortment of items littered the area. I set the lamp on the table and walked further into the room. Some of the taller objects cast shadows on other objects. It was definitely too much to go through with the poor light of night.

  “Wow, Mary. How did you get this all back?”

  “Winifred asked a few others to help us.” She moved further into the room and patted a large looking metal upright chest. “This is an old refrigerator. We can use it for storing food. Nothing will be able to get to it.”

  What did she think would try to get to our food?

  “And this,” she said, tapping something else big and metal and partially hidden in the refrigerator’s shadow, “will come in handy for cooking.”

  I moved closer and grinned when I saw the old-fashioned stove. I vaguely remembered my grandparents having one like it. The metal beast had two doors and two removable plates on the cook surface. The smaller door, I knew, was for wood. When lit, it would heat the oven that was behind the second door and the cook surface above. It would also help heat the room. Mary had just made life much easier.

  “That is totally amazing,” I said. Most older people like my grandparents replaced these things years ago with gas stoves.

  “And check this out,” she said, waving me over to a small, potbellied stove. “This is for your room. In winter.”

  I didn’t miss her use of the word “your,” however, I pretended to.

  “I can’t wait to look at the rest of it tomorrow when we have better light.”

  Mary nodded excitedly, said goodnight to Gregory, grabbed my hand, and practically dragged me from the room. I managed to take hold of the lantern on our way past.

  As soon as we closed the door to our room, she grinned at me.

  “That was the best evening of my life. We talked about everything. Did you know that he’s Thomas’ cousin? He’s only four years older than me—that’s a relief—and said he wouldn’t mind living here if that’s what I wanted to do.”

  “He does seem pretty sweet,” I said, returning her smile. “I’m very excited for you. How much longer are you going to make him wait?” I just wanted to know when I’d be sleeping in this room alone.

  “He asked the same thing today. I don’t have a set time. When it feels like it’s time, I’ll tell him.”

  I nodded, kicked off my shoes, and crawled into bed with a yawn. Now that she was back, the need to sleep kicked in with full force.

  “Good night, Mary,” I said softly.

  She turned down the lamp. Mary saw better in the dark than I did, and there was less of a chance of her bruising her shin on her way back to the bed.

  I closed my eyes and listened to her settle under her covers.

  “Did you have a nice day with Thomas?” she whispered.

  I didn’t answer. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust Mary with the truth. I did. But I didn’t want her to feel bad that she’d had such a great day when my day had been so awful. Plus, I had a suspicion that Thomas was in his room already. I didn’t want him to hear what I had to say.

  “Good night, Charlene,” she whispered after a moment. “I hope you have a better day tomorrow.”

  A smile curled my lips. Mary was smart.

  * * * *

  The amazing mounds of goods that crowded the common room looked even bigger in daylight. There were small and large tables, chairs, dressers, cabinets, toys, lamps—not the gas kind—pieces of metal I couldn’t identify, bags filled with things—it looked like clothes—a pile of random tools, and many other odd items. None of it was in good condition. After Mary’s excitement last night, I’d expected a bit better than what I saw. Though, the stove totally was a find.

  Paul, Henry, Gregory, Grey, and Mary watched me study everything. Through the open door, I listened to the thwack of the ax and the crackle and crunch of breaking wood.

  “Okay. Let’s store the tools in the other building.” Mary and I hadn’t yet explored it, but it looked like it was in as good of repair as the main building. “Maybe take a table out there, too, so we can take stock of what tools we have.”

  Thomas opened the door and asked for volunteers. A rush of men fought to crowd into the room. Thomas didn’t appoint someone to move the tools but looked at me. His deference puzzled me.

  “Can you two start carrying the tools to the other building?” I said, pointing to two men toward the front of the group. “And you two carry a table over? Then maybe the four of you can organize them and tell us what we have?” I said everything as a question because I didn’t want to sound bossy. The four I pointed to nodded and got to work.

  “Can everyone else grab the furniture and move it out to the yard? The stove and the old refrigerator can stay in here.”

  Within minutes, the room was cleared of everything but the odd items and the bags. I sorted through some of the oddities and found several old window frames still with whole glass.

  “If they don’t fit, I thought we could cut the glass to work in some of the windows here,” Mary said.

  “Perfect,” I said with a smile. “Anton could probably do that since he helped us before.”

  She shook her head. “He left yesterday.”

  I gave Mary a puzzled glance.

  “There was no point in staying. He already had his chance.”

  “Then why is...never mind,” I said. I didn’t want to know why Thomas was being exceptionally persistent.

  She gave me a knowing grin. “I’ll see if someone else is willing to come in and help with that.”

  “Before you do that, what’s in the bags?”

  “Clothes,” she said, confirming my suspicion.

  “From the junk yard?”

  “Yeah. Just as we were coming in, some church group was leaving. They had a sale and brought what didn’t sell along with some of the stuff they didn’t think was good eno
ugh to put out. We took the bags before they hit the gross stuff. Wini said that even if some of the items are stained, spare clothes are better than no clothes at all.”

  I agreed.

  “Let’s carry these outside before we check out the furniture. Maybe someone will be willing to help us sort the clothes.”

  Four hours later, everyone seemed to have something to do. Two work groups divided the yard. On one side, men chopped or just broke the deadwood into smaller pieces and stacked it where the old shed used to stand. The other side of the yard, cleared of everything but the tables, functioned as a general work area.

  The men surrounding two of the tables sorted clothes into gender and size, adult vs. child. When a folded stack grew too tall, the man would carry it to the front entry where another table was setup to hold everything. Only a few very tattered pieces were on the ground beside the table. Most was salvageable; I’d even found myself a pair of cotton shorts and a soft top to sleep in.

  On several other tables, men worked to fix some of the odd items the group had brought back. The intent was to take those things to town and sell them the next day. The tools and the paint that were brought back from the dump came in handy at those tables.

  As Mary and I moved around the yard to answer questions or help as needed, Thomas, Gregory, and Grey shadowed us. They never spoke a word. Gregory’s presence, I understood. He rarely took his eyes from Mary and growled at any man who looked at her for too long. Thomas and Grey puzzled me, though. I couldn’t be sure if they were watching me or just listening to what I was telling the men to do.

  Seeing everything well in hand, Mary and I went inside to start a late lunch. Our shadows came with us. Three cleaned rabbits waited on the table.

  “Dad and Paul went hunting,” Mary said, eyeing them with me.

  “The rabbits are perfect. We should be able to make a stew for the group outside,” I said, moving to the pump. While we started to fill a pot with water, the three men moved around the new cook stove. Their quiet conversation was lost over the noise of the pump.

  “Excuse me,” a voice called. I looked up from the pot to see a man and woman standing in the doorway. Though they were clothed, they were filthy, and the woman was very pregnant. The man wasn’t looking at me, but at Thomas.