“To board up the windows with no glass. It should help keep the cold out.”
Henry and Paul nodded and walked out the door, leaving Thomas and I alone.
“What else?”
The way Thomas took charge and told everyone what to do bothered me. No. It wasn’t that. It was his arrogance while he did it that irritated me.
I crossed my arms to match his stance and arched a brow at him.
“Why the sudden willingness to help? I thought you didn’t want me making changes here.”
“Without some changes, you won’t be able to stay. Like you said, you’re different. More fragile.” He stepped closer, looking down at me with an expression that somehow crossed tender and domineering.
“I want you to stay.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I struggled not to blush.
“Why? The bite didn’t work.”
“No, it didn’t. But it doesn’t change what I know. You belong to me.”
I continued to stare up at him while I wondered what he had planned. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, but didn’t move. We stood like that for several minutes until I finally uncrossed my arms and turned away from him.
The bags from Winifred still waited by the pump. I pulled out the top sheet and considered its length. A dress would be nice but given the thin material, probably impractical. Curtains would provide privacy; however, with the loose drafty panes, a thicker material would be better. What could I do with the material then? Nothing inspiring came to mind.
“What is that for?” Thomas asked. He’d moved to stand just behind me.
“Whatever we need, I suppose.” Maybe I should just leave the sheets as sheets. If Mary and Gregory happened to find more beds they might be needed.
I unpacked the bags, setting all the items on the table. The pasta, dried beans, and rice lay in a small mountain.
“Can you ask Winifred to let Mary know that we could use a cabinet or shelf to store the food?” I asked, turning my head to look at him. Our faces were inches apart as he too studied what lay on the table.
“Do you always have to stand so close?”
His lips twitched. “If I wasn’t worried about being knocked on my back, I’d stand even closer.” He didn’t meet my gaze but reached out and picked up one of the items on the table. “And no, I don’t need to ask Winifred. I let Gregory know.”
“How?”
“Just like Winifred can communicate with all of us, I can communicate with the members of my pack.”
“Members of your pack. You’re Gregory’s...what? Leader?”
“Yes.”
“That explains a lot,” I mumbled as I turned away from him. Like why he was so domineering and why he seemed to expect that people would listen to him.
Long after the sun had gone down, I still sat on my bed, bored. I’d taken the pain pill, but with several of the men in the building, I couldn’t bring myself to turn off the lamp and sleep. Not until Mary returned, anyway. Then, as if my thoughts conjured her, I heard her yell my name.
“Up here!” I called.
Her steps were light and barely audible on the stairs. The door opened a moment later.
“Come see everything we’ve found.” Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed, and I was sure it wasn’t because of what they’d brought back. There was a dark spot on her neck, a kissing mark.
I grabbed the lamp and followed her.
“It’s an odd collection of things, but I think we found some amazing pieces.” She paused at the bottom of the steps to wait for me.
From above, I heard Thomas’ door open and fought not to roll my eyes.
I’d returned to the bedroom after a very long, very uncomfortable afternoon shadowed by him. Even in my room, I hadn’t been free of his presence because seconds after I’d closed the door, I heard his door close, too.
“I’m glad it wasn’t a wasted trip,” I said, hurrying to get to the common room. I didn’t want to linger in the gloomy hall with him not far behind me. I pushed through the doors then stopped.
Mary hadn’t exaggerated about what they’d found. An odd assortment of items littered the area. I set the lamp on the table and walked further into the room. Some of the taller objects cast shadows on other objects. It was definitely too much to go through with the poor light of night.
“Wow, Mary. How did you get this all back?”
“Winifred asked a few others to help us.” She moved further into the room and patted a large looking metal upright chest. “This is an old refrigerator. We can use it for storing food. Nothing will be able to get to it.”
What did she think would try to get to our food?