Page 89 of His to Hunt

“Too bad I didn’t have a wolf to ride when I used to explore this forest as a kid,” she laughs. “That was actually kind of fun.”

“See, there was no reason for you to be scared,” I transmit, walking closer to the cave before lowering myself to my belly.

Once Taryn hops off, I shift and put on my clothes. Everything we need for the ritual is in my backpack. I sling it over one shoulder, take her hand, and walk into the cave. Taryn squeezes my hand, then pulls out her phone, using it as a flashlight.

“Oh, right, light. I wish you could see in the dark like I can,” I comment.

“Yeah, and it’s really dark in this part of the cave,” she says. “I always had a flashlight or a lighter when I would come in here.”

“No wonder you want to bless this place with eternal sunshine,” I mutter.

“The cavern has some light. You’ll see,” she says, turning to the left when we get to a fork. “We kind of made it our clubhouse. We even had campfires, when it was cold.”

“Seems like a lot of effort just to hide from your grandmother’s switch,” I chuckle, looking around as we go deeper into the cave.

“We always found somewhere to hide. At my grandmother’s house, it was the cave. At Shana’s, it was the basement. At Madison’s, we used her mother’s she-shed.”

“She-shed?” I ask, raising a brow.

“Her mother wanted a place of her own, so she had Madison’s dad build her a she-shed. Then she never used it,” she explains. “Madison tried to get them to let her move out there, once she was older, but her dad ended up turning it into a man cave.”

“Probably better than this cave,” I reply.

“There’s the cavern,” she says, some excitement in her voice.

Based on how she explained it, I was expecting something rather magnificent. It’s not. It’s just a dusty, dirty old cavern with some cracks in the ceiling that let in the sunlight. The last campfire Taryn and her friends made is still a black smudge on the floor. There are broken dolls, old toys, and several empty cigarette packs of various brands strewn across the ground.

“Home away from home, huh?” I scoff, dropping my backpack on the ground.

“Now you see why I thought a basement was an upgrade,” she laughs, sitting down on one of several small boulders scattered across the floor. “But I’m getting rather fond of the penthouse, too, so maybe we should do the ritual so we can go back.”

“I wasn’t going to argue with you if you asked to stay at your grandmother’s tonight, but I’m glad we won’t be sharing your childhood bed,” I grin, leaning down and opening the backpack. “It’s quite small.”

“I would just have to sleep on top of you,” she quips, grinning until I pull out the book. Then her expression darkens. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

“I asked Ingrid to monitor the location, so let me send her a pin. Assuming I can even get reception down here.” Pulling out my phone, I’m annoyed to see zero bars. “Nope; let me walk closer to the entrance.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you to get started,” she says.

I’m not sure if this is the best place to do the ritual, but at least we’re underground. If it covers this entire area with sunshine, I hope it doesn’t stretch very far. I don’t know how big the Garden of Eden supposedly was, or how that even worked.

I guess we’re about to find out.

CHAPTER 26

Taryn

I never thought I’d see my grandmother’s house again, much less this old cave.

It’s hard to remember why I used to hide from the world here. My grandmother’s house is the most amazing place I can remember, but you never truly recognize how amazing something is when you’re living in that moment. Well, except for this one. I certainly recognize how amazing these moments with Victor are.

He bought my grandmother’s house over the course of a few minutes. Saul helped, but Victor still made that happen. Now I’ve got the keys in my pocket, and I can go there anytime I want. My old home is now mine. The realization causes my chest to squeeze.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised my uncle unloaded the house, memories and all. He didn’t even take his own pictures down from the wall. Didn’t he want any of his mom? I don’t have many of mine, but I didn’t throw them away. I just keep them in the box with everything else from my past that always hurts when I look at it.

All of that pain and misery because our bloodline was fate-blocked. It feels like a curse, even if it wasn’t truly meant to be one. My grandmother never found her mate and died in her house with a granddaughter who never truly appreciated her until she was gone. My mother… who knows? She never found whatever it was she needed to make her strong enough to come back for me.

My future hadn’t look very promising, either. Not until Victor showed up. Now it’s filled with unimaginable craziness, including seven rituals I am expected to perform. Me! And the first one is eternal sunshine. I guess it can’t get any brighter than that.