The Siege of Kadenburg by T. E. Ridener Read Free Book Online

end of the hall. She was putting in some earrings, and she looked….very nice.
    Beau’s brows shot up on his forehead as he did a quick sweep of his cousin’s attire. The big brother-figure within wanted to make her march straight back to her room and change, but what right did he have?
    “That is a very short dress.” He mumbled.
    “Short?” Louisa glanced down at her dress and then stared at him quizzically, “It comes to my knees, Beau. This is not short.”
    “It shows too much of your legs. It’s cold outside.”
    Louisa sighed, rolling her eyes, “I am not changing out of it. I like it. Presley gave it to me. Isn’t it pretty?” She twirled around, smiling from ear to ear.
    “Remind me to thank her.” Beau replied sarcastically as he chewed at his lower lip briefly. Louisa was happy-and she had every right to be. He suspected she was dressing up so nicely in hopes of seeing a certain ursi-lycan, and he couldn’t get in the way of that, could he?
    “We should get a move on. They’re going to eat without us and those wolves will have everything consumed before we get there.” Beau stated as he pulled open the front door and turned off the main hallway light.
    “Hey! I can’t see!” Louisa whined, stumbling towards the door.
    Beau grinned to himself. For the first time in many months, he felt a brief moment of happiness. He wasn’t even sure why. Perhaps Louisa’s mood was rubbing off on him. If that was the case, then he could only hope it would last. Even the coldest of bears craved warmth in dark times.
    Something told him that the deputy at the hospital was in pretty dark times, too.
    ———————————
    I t was the wind howling roughly outside the stirred Sammy from her slumbering this time. She had no idea what time it was. All she knew was that it was dark, and she was cold. She could hear the scraping noises and they sent chills down her spine.
    Sitting up in the hospital bed, she glanced towards the window and saw the tree branches slamming against the glass. That had to be some powerful wind going on outside…..
    Slipping her legs over the side of the bed, Sammy pressed her bare feet against the cold floor and another shiver ran through her. God, did it have to be so cold in here? What kind of hospital was this? She hugged the flimsy hospital gown tighter around her body and cautiously moved towards the window.
    It was an eerie noise. The way the wind howled and the branches clawed at the glass…it was almost as if something was trying to get inside; trying to get to her.
    Don’t be ridiculous, she scolded mentally as she peered out the window. You’ve been doped up on pain meds and you’re talking out of your mind.
    Why was she here, anyway? Oh. Right. She’d collapsed at work or something. She could vaguely recall the conversation she’d had with the handsome doctor. How long ago had that been? How long had she been asleep?
    Her eyes moved towards the ticking clock on the wall, but it was far too dark to make out the numbers. Damn.
    “I’m going down for coffee. Do you want some, Sandy?”
    The muffled conversation of the nurses outside had Sammy’s attention, and she quietly crept to the closed door to listen.
    “No, thanks. I’m good.” The other nurse, presumably Sandy, replied.
    “Okay. I’ll be back in a few. I’m going to call and check on my kids. The snow should be here soon.”
    Snow? Again? Sammy was sick of the bipolar weather lately. One day it was sunny and beautiful, the next it was cold and dreary. She honestly could not wait for spring.
    She pressed her ear against the door, listening to the retreating footsteps of the first nurse. She had to get out of here. She couldn’t stay here all night-she had things to do! Ugh, so stupid.
    Tiptoeing back to the small wardrobe near her bed, she carefully opened the door and peered inside. Where the hell was her uniform?
    “Damn it.” She hissed. Weren’t they supposed to put the clothes she arrived