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The young man lifted his hand and waved as he helped who I presumed must be his grandmother toward me.
“Mikalina?”
“Yes, but just Mika is fine.”
He inclined his head and smiled. “I’m Andrei.” His accent was thick and richly EasternEuropean. “This is my grandmother Mininya, although everyone calls her Mini. She’s the owner of the cottage and lives right next door. She doesn’t speak English, so I handle all the details of the rental, and the postings on the internet. You and I were communicating online.”
Despite his accent, his English was impeccable. I smiled and offered my hand. After we shook, he started speaking with his grandmother. Mini was speaking quickly in her native language, but her focus was eerily trained right on me the entire time. She eyed me with intelligent eyes, then said something in a tone that suggested whatever agreement she’d come to, that was that and nothing would sway her. She gestured toward the house.
“Shall we go inside and look around?” Andrei asked and smiled but didn’t give me a chance to respond as he led us toward the small house.
Mini started going on again, and he responded in an exasperated tone but nodded as if he knew he lost whatever fight was going on with the older woman.
“Is she okay? With this?” I tacked on that last bit, feeling as if maybe she didn’t approve of me.
He waved off my concern and shook his head. “She’s rambling on about nonsense. She’s very happy you’re here, I assure you.”
Once inside, I was shown around to the quaint, intimately confined space. The living room and kitchen were all one room with traditional folk accents throughout, bright colors and designs that made me feel like I was transported back in time. The bedroom was to the back, the bed tiny with a white lace bedspread. Andrei told me his grandmother wanted me to specifically know she quilted it when she was but fifteen years old.
Before I could comment on the beauty of it, she was speaking quickly again and pointing to things in the home, which Andrei translated just as fast.
The bathroom was small, the tub and toilet looking ancient. But it had hot running water, so I couldn’t complain.
Finally, they showed me the backyard, and I actually gasped at the beauty of it. The small garden I’d seen in the front yard was only the tip of the iceberg. The garden extended all the way to the rear, even coexisting into Mini’s yard. There were fruit trees and an array of vegetables, and sprinkled through all of this were beautifully colored flowers. It was quite a scene.
We made our way back to the front, where Mini started speaking again, her tone hard and unyielding. It was clear she got what she wanted, set in her ways, and I couldn’t fault her for that. I looked at Andrei when she was finished, expectant on what he’d say as he translated her words.
He nodded and relayed in Romanian before turning to me once more. “My grandmother wants me to ask if you’d join us for dinner tonight.” His accent was thick and his smile was friendly. “But don’t feel obligated. Your trip has been long, and she’d understand if you decline.”
Although looking at his grandmother told me she probably would take offense. I was tired, but I didn’t want to start things off on the wrong foot, so to speak.
“Um,” I murmured as I looked between them. “Sure.” I returned the smile. I faced Mini and told her “thank you” in her native tongue. She gave me a hint of a smile, as if pleased I replied in her language. Although I was pretty sure I butchered it with my accent.
After they left, I made my way back inside the cottage, my bags by the front door where Andrei had set them when he led me inside. Then I just stood there and looked around. I had to call my mother and let her know I got here safely, our video chats happening every few days so she knew I was still alive. I’d have to see if there was a place in town, or in a larger town close by, that had Wi-Fi, since it was clear there was none in Dobravina.
Then I’d have to see how my finances were faring. I didn’t know how long I planned on staying here, but as I stood in the cottage—or more accurately, when I entered the village—I felt strangely... at home.
Comfortable and at ease in a foreign land.
I really had lost my mind.
4
Ren
I sat in the leather recliner before the fire, a glass of bourbon in my hand, my focus on the flames. Another night alone. Another night staring into these flames until I got so fucking drunk I stumbled to my room before passing out.
I brought the glass to my lips and took a long pull from the crystal at the same time I heard an echoing boom from the very bowels of the castle. I closed my eyes and felt a deep-rooted sorrow as I listened to another maddening roar pierce through the thick stone of the manor.
I opened my eyes and finished off the bourbon, curling my fingers tightly around the glass, knowing I should leave him be, but I found myself rising and making my way toward my only living relative.
After going through several doors, taking many hallways and corridors, I descended into the depths of the castle. The scent of moisture and earth filled the air. I stopped at the wood-and-wrought-iron door that kept me from my brother.
Luca.
Another roar came through, shaking the very foundation. The pain in that sound so fierce it nearly took me to my knees. I placed a hand on the scarred and weathered wood, closing my eyes and willing my older brother to find ease, even though I knew that wouldn’t happen. Not without his mate.
He’d gone insane... because he hadn’t found his mate. It was that hollowness in the pit of his soul that slowly encompassed him until he was mostly all beast, hardly any human left in him.
