"Shall we go?" I asked.
"Yes, please. I'm starving."
I smiled, and we walked out to the garage. I took her home, and she looked at the screen door that was ripped off the hinges. She barely touched it, and it fell back into the living room. Her anger was palpable. She took a deep breath, turned on the living room's light, and walked in. I could smell a different smell around the house. Someone had been here as the scent was all around the house. I didn't recognize it, though. Dominique had mentioned Tim saying it was alright, but I didn't like the smell. It had been recent when they had been here. I grabbed Dominique and stopped her from going any further into the house.
"Allow me to look through the place to ensure no one is here."
"Nathaniel, if anyone is here, then they know we're here. I just made a thunderous bang by knocking the door down."
"Please, Dominique. Just let me make sure, okay?"
"Alright. Go ahead."
I walked slowly down the hallway and looked at the few rooms she had. The house wasn't massive, so there really wasn't anywhere to hide. I flipped the lights on as I went. I didn't need them, but I wanted to reassure Dominique. Plus, she would think it was odd if I didn't. I stopped in her bedroom. Whoever had been here had waited for her in here. The scent was strong. I went to the closet and looked through it, but no one was hiding in there. I saw things thrown onto the floor, and there was a gun there. That must have been what she had used on Roxy. Her room had been tossed. Was the person looking for her? Were they trying to figure out where she had gone? I heard Dominique call out to me. I returned to the living room and saw Dominique looking out the door.
"What's wrong, Dominique? You look scared."
"I, I'm not sure. I heard a noise and looked out, but I didn't see anything. Then it looked like a pair of eyes but not human eyes," Dominique stammered.
I rushed over to the door and took a big breath. The scent was much stronger now, and I also heard the noise in the woods. Then I saw them. The eyes were part of an animal that Dominique didn't think existed. We stared at each other, and then he howled, and I returned to where Dominique was. I didn't think they would hide here and wait for Dominique.
"Dominique, just get what you need for tonight, and let's go," I said, wanting to get out of here.
"What is it, Nathaniel?"
"It's a wolf," I said, not saying it was actually a werewolf.
Was that Jacob outside waiting on us to come out? Would he follow us back to my place? No. I wouldn't allow him to do that. So either Tim didn't know Jacob was still after Dominique, or he did know and was helping get Jacob close to Dominique. I kept an eye on Jacob as I pulled out my phone. I remembered Tim's number from Dominique's messages earlier.
I texted Tim, saying, "I thought you said Jacob had backed off? Why is he at Dominique's place right now? I see him. Dominique saw eyes but didn't know what it was. I'm having her gather a few things, and then she is staying with me tonight. I will kill you if I find out you are just trying to lure her out."
I watched as Dominique grabbed a few things and then walked over to the kitchen. She started grabbing some food and stuff. I walked over and put my hand over hers as I shook my head.
"We will go to the store. Just put it back," I said, looking over my shoulder.
My phone went off, and I saw a text message from Tim. "How did you get my number, for one? For two, I'm not helping Jacob. He gave me a choice which I didn't like, but that is none of your damn business. If Jacob is there, it's because of you. He still wants to kill you. Get Dominique the hell out of there!"
"We are leaving. She is adamant that she is coming back here tomorrow to get her door fixed. I made her promise that she would bring you along. As for your number, I saw the messages between you and Dominique earlier. I have a fantastic memory. Nevertheless, I will find out if you have anything planned to harm her."
"I don't have any plans on harming her. I'll figure out what to do. Just leave and don't bring her back there. It's you that Jacob is after. The more you are around her, the more danger she is in. I was under the impression I had until Roxy healed before Jacob would make a move as far as Dominique was concerned. She has to heal human-slow. That may take a month or two. We will discuss this later when you aren't supposed to be looking out for Dominique."
I wanted to kick Tim's ass. He had kept information that I had needed to protect Dominique. If I had known that Jacob had plans for something like this, I would have never brought Dominique back here. She was safe at my house. However, if Jacob were planning to kill me and use Dominique, I would have to stay away from Dominique. Could I manage to stay away from her until all of this was over?
We got into the car, and I watched out of the rearview mirror and saw Jacob slinking through the woods as we drove out. He followed us a good way before I started seeing houses and lost sight of him. Where had his car been? If I had seen a car parked anywhere on Dominique's property, I would not have gone down there. So it had to have been Jacob. Whomever it was had been powerful. If not him, then who?
When we got to the store, Dominique went in and looked around. She sighed as she picked up a couple of fruits and looked like she was contemplating a few other things to get.
"Dominique, just grab some things to last for a few days," I urged, still feeling uneasy about the wolf at her house.
Dominique looked at me, and I just looked back at her. There was no way I was letting her stay at her house by herself now that I knew they were still after her.
"I'm only going to be at your house until the morning, Nathaniel. So I don't need much."
"Would you change your mind if I said that Jacob is still after you? Would it make a difference if I said he was actually after me and using you to get to me? Would it matter to you if I said I could no longer be around you as it is putting you in danger?" I asked as I looked around to ensure no one else was around to overhear me.
"What?" Dominique asked.
"Dominique, please, just grab some things so we can go, okay? We can discuss this once we get home."
I was worried, and I knew I wasn't hiding it well. I heard her heart beat a little faster. I wondered if it was due to what I said. She went around and grabbed a few things, including some paper plates and cups. I paid for everything even though she protested. I know she liked to be independent, but it wasn't like it was a struggle for me to pay for it. I took everything and put it in the car. I looked around to make sure that no one was watching us.
The ride back was silent as I kept an eye on my rearview mirror. Even though I hadn't seen anything suspicious, I took an indirect route to my place. I noticed Dominique looking behind us but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She probably thought I was crazy, but she didn't understand what was happening. I pulled into the garage and got out. I went over to the box and got the key out to the Trans Am. I handed it to Dominique.
"You promise that you will collect Tim before you go home, yes?" I asked.
Dominique looked at me and said, "I promise. Nathaniel, tell me what's going on, please?"
I shook my head. I couldn't tell her what was really going on. I hadn't even told her about myself yet, and I knew Tim hadn't either. Right now, our world is too dangerous for her. I didn't want her in the middle of it. But how could I keep her safe if she didn't understand what was truly at stake?
"I believe Jacob was at your house tonight. When I went to your bedroom, things were tossed around. You didn't go in there, did you?"