body dissolved.
Meaning what I’d seen was either a ghost or a specter; the two were not the same, despite the fact many believed them to be. Ghosts could be souls trapped in this world because of an untimely death, an unwillingness to move on, or even the desire to complete unfinished business. Specters, on the other hand, were nearly always out for vengeance of one kind or another.
What category this one fell into, and why it had been following me, I had no idea. The wild magic might have strengthened my senses enough to see the entity, but to have any hope of understanding what she’d wanted or why she’d followed me, I had to uncover who she’d been in life. And to even begin that process, I first had to see what she actually looked like. While it was possible for Belle to summon a ghost or specter on description alone, to truly ensure success it’d be better if we had some form of identification.
Of course, she may have simply been curious. Not all ghosts were bound to the area in which they’d been killed. Some were free to roam, although most of these did so out of confusion or because they were still seeking something.
Either way, it was something Belle could tackle if or when the entity made another appearance.
The threads of wild magic unwound themselves from my fingers and drifted away again. It left me feeling oddly alone.
I moved back inside and, after locking the sliding door, grabbed an overnight bag and shoved in everything I’d need for tomorrow. While a lot of my toiletry stuff had migrated over to Aiden’s, I’d yet to move any of my clothes or shoes, even though he’d suggested it a number of times and had even cleared out space in his wardrobe. My reluctance was due to nothing more than fear—a deep belief that the minute I took that step, the minute I committed to sharing his home on a semi-permanent basis, fate would present him with the wolf he was destined to be with.
Of course, it was ridiculous to think that not moving in would, in any way, stop that from happening, but I just couldn’t take the risk. I needed to keep some distance between us, even if that distance was in reality more illusion than fact.
With my packing done, I made myself a coffee, then called a cab and headed outside to wait. It took just over thirty minutes to get to Argyle from Castle Rock, and I managed to get in without setting off the alarm—something the neighbors were no doubt thankful for. His home was situated at the far end of a six-unit complex that had been built close to the sandy shoreline of the vast Argyle Lake. It was a two-story, cedar-clad building, with the lower floor being one long room divided by a wooden staircase. In the front section of the room, there was an open fireplace, a huge TV, and a C-shaped leather sofa. On the other side of the staircase there was a modern kitchen diner, complete with a bench long enough for six people to sit around. The open stairs led up to two bedrooms, each with their own en suite. Aiden’s was the front one, which had a balcony and lovely long view of the lake.
I helped myself to some leftover lasagna, poured a glass of whiskey, and then plopped down on the sofa to watch TV. He still wasn’t home by the time I headed up to bed at ten-thirty.
Sleep came relatively quickly, but it was haunted by visions of a lady in white whose form gradually morphed into that of a blood-soaked hag holding a small but broken body close to her chest as she wailed in utter grief. I stirred restlessly, my heart rate climbing, but I couldn’t escape the visions or even wake up. It was only when an arm snaked around my waist and warm lips brushed my bare shoulder that I was finally released.
I stirred and pressed my butt back against him, needing the contact to erase the unsettling remnants of the visions.
“What time is it?” I murmured.
“Just past midnight.” His hand slipped upward, and his clever fingers began teasing my nipples. “It took longer than we expected to exhume the first body.”
The last thing I wanted to think about—let alone talk about—was bones. I shifted to face him and gently ran my fingers from his chest to his washboard abs. “At least