The Devil Inside (Wolf Guard Book 1) by Roxanne Lee Read Free Book Online

him but I don't think he'd except what I had to say.
He'll be waiting a long time for me. I'm buried deep, under a mound of sifting
soil. He can cage the beast, he can tell me all the stories he likes but I'm on
my own path now and it's paved in scarlet before me.

Chapter 8.
    I woke to a heavy weight on my stomach, a
large paw slung over my chest. The whisky had been quick to put me to sleep and
Sam soon pushed an old shirt at me and sent me to bed. The weight grumbled when
I tried to dislodge it. I looked down to see a large black head snoring softly,
jowls puffing out with each breath. He'd taken over most of the cot, my body
pushed to the edge by his bulk. Sam called him Remy, an adage to his native
home. I prodded his head with one finger and received a slow eyed blink in return
before he resumed snoring.
    I don't know why he chose to sleep with me.
Surely Sam was a better option. Did he not sense the obscurity inside me? Not
smell that slow burning storm? Maybe he did yet, like his owner, he chose to
ignore his instincts. They were both fools.
    I heard Sam move around in the kitchen and
Remy's head lifted, his ears perked and head cocked. He stood tall and leapt
off the bed, no doubt realising breakfast was up. I snorted, at least I
haven't replaced food.
    Sam called out a, "girlie", and I
assumed that meant he knew I was awake. I threw the jeans back on and stuck
with the shirt, I think I was done with Clara's jumper. I shuffled my way to
the kitchen, it was warm from the stove's heat and my toes curled up in
gratitude.
    "Arya."
    Sam looked up from stacking pancakes and
bacon on two plates; the man may have stopped shifting but he still ate like a
wolf.
    "Watcha say?"
    "My name, It's Arya."
    "Fair 'nough. Grab tha' coffee will
ya, girlie."
    I sighed. I could deal with it, I'd been
called worse. The coffee was black tar in a mug, I winced at the smell. God
it even smelt like poison.
    "Cream n' sugar on the side if ya
wan'."
    I looked at him, his expression completely
serious.
    "Yes.....Yes I'd like that."
    I sat down to a plateful yet again. I could
see me gaining the weight I'd lost quick enough with a few more meals like
this.
    "We goin' on a walk afta', boys need
exercisin'. You too for tha' matter."
    "I was going to try making it to the
town today."
    "What for? Ya got money? Plannin' on
replacin' tha jumper? Maybe one withou' blood?"
    I squinted at him, did he think he was
funny? "Well no. I was thinking of getting a job maybe for a bit, just
until I moved on."
    Sam put his fork down and took a sip of
that coffee. Black. I waited for the reaction.
    The man had a steel stomach, I got nothing.
"You goin' ta work all day on those sticks ya call legs? Goin' ta serve
folks coffee and breakfast while beastie in there tugs on them chains?"
    I looked down at my coffee swimming in
cream.
    "Yeah, didn' think so. Eat up girlie,
we got a long ol' day ahead. There's a box in tha livin' room, my babies
clothes when she a teenager. They goin' fit well 'nough. Was wonderin' why tha'
damn woman dun throw nuthin' away."
    I took a cautious sip of my coffee and
declared it drinkable, resigning myself to staying for now.
    The box was fruitful, I found several pairs
of jeans that were a better fit than the ones I had. Shirts and jumpers, clean
and bloodless. I even found a pair of boots, worn but wearable, a size too big
but with Sam's big socks they were comfortable. I took a moment to relish the
feeling. My clothes. Not Clara's, not his, but mine. Sam's daughter wouldn't
need them any more. Something all of my own. As a winters first frost wrapped
the landscape in a lethal embrace, I grabbed hard onto that feeling and found I
couldn't let go.
    We walked for miles, or so it felt, Remy
bounding along in front. He was an odd animal. He had an air of carelessness, a
carefree nature I didn't understand. He was loyal and watchful yet, where Luce
spent his walk on edge, ever the protective detail, Remy was a puppy in adult
form. Sam had