9. Doom and Gloom

Chapter Nine

DOOM AND GLOOM

Indy

“ H e was seven when that happened, and I thought he was going to kill that boy. He might have if his Grampa George hadn’t stepped in. We should have known at that point, it was a pretty big red flag. It was like my grandson skipped right over the trifecta and went straight to… Well, hi there, pretty girl.”

I can feel my brow furrow as I turn toward the quiet voice to my left. I don’t recognize her voice, or her scent. Neither are upsetting, they aren’t malicious, and I’m not afraid, but I don’t know who this woman is, which is a little unsettling in itself.

“You don’t have to open your eyes if you don’t want to, or if you can’t. I’m just glad to see you’re feeling well enough to wake up.” I hear light shifting of fabric before her voice is a little closer. “You don’t have to speak, either, if you aren’t ready. I’ll keep talking while I work, just so you know what’s going on, then I’ll leave you to rest. If that’s ok, tap your finger for me.”

Thinking over her words, I relax the best I can and try to get a feel for my surroundings.

It smells clean but not sterile, not like the infirmary. It’s warm in here, and there isn’t a draft like my stall. Still frowning, I slowly turn my head the other way, searching for those horrible scents; bodily fluids, fear, so many other omegas, and death. None of that is present, and it’s enough for me to try to force my eyes open.

If I’m not at the stable, or in the infirmary, I have no idea where I could be, and I really need to figure it out.

My eyes shift back and forth behind my lids, slowly moving side to side until they start to flutter. It stings a little, like my eyes are very dry and sitting inside slightly swollen sockets. After a few tries, I finally get them open but everything is blurry.

There aren’t any defined lines or obvious shapes. The lighting is soft and low, it’s calming, and it doesn’t hurt my eyes the way the harsh fluorescent fixtures in the stable do.

“Such a strong young lady,” the voice says quietly, drawing my attention back to the unfamiliar woman. “And my, aren’t your eyes gorgeous.”

Blinking a few times, I desperately try to clear my vision so I can see who’s been talking but things are still fuzzy. It isn’t until she comes closer that I can make out much in the way of her features, but when she does, I see her clearer, and any concerns that might have started to creep in are pushed completely to the back of my mind.

“I’m Mona, but you can call me Nan if you want, everyone here does.”

She’s older than any of the women I’m used to, older than my mother was when she died. Mona looks like the epitome of what I imagine a grandmother to look like, and if it didn’t hurt a little, I’d smile at that.

Her hair is completely silver except for a few random strips of a dark color, but I’m not sure if it’s black or brown. Mona’s cheeks are round and a little rosy, her lips a petal pink and a touch thin. She has wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and around her mouth, laugh lines, I think is what my mother called them, and I really like seeing them on someone who’s obviously had a long time to create them. Mona’s frame is relatively small but she looks strong, like she doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty every once in a while.

This woman’s entire presence is warm and inviting but the severe blue of her eyes, that’s where the edge is, where that strength is really coming from, but it doesn’t scare me.

Taking a deep breath, I lick my dry lips and whisper, “Indigo.”

“That’s you, then?” She smiles wide as I barely nod. “Indigo. It’s lovely, and matches your eyes.”

That’s exactly what my mother thought, and why she named me that.

“Where…” my voice cracks and I swallow, my throat thick and sticky when I try to swallow. “How…”

“Here, pretty girl.” Mona reaches beside her and brings a cup to my lips, her hand sliding behind my neck to help lift my head. “You can have a sip to wet your whistle but we’re going to have to work up to more than that.”

The water is cool and sweet as it hits my tongue, my eyes momentarily sliding closed while I savor it in my mouth. I’ve never tasted anything so good, so clean and pure. I feel like I could drink an entire bucketful of that water and still want more. I want more now, but I should probably listen to Mona.

I don’t know why I’m compelled to, but I am.

“Are you sure you’re up for getting the answers to those questions right now?” I nod and she sighs. “Ok, Indigo. I’ll do my best but I don’t want you getting upset, so if you feel like it’s too much, you tell me to stop.”

“Ok.” God, my throat is so dry and hoarse. I barely sound like me. But I want to know what happened because the last thing I remember is going into heat, and even with how bad that was, I know that’s not why my body is so sore.

Mona scoots closer, raising a cloth to my head but pauses, waiting for my permission, and when I give it, she starts a rather sordid tale. “You, my dear, have found yourself in the small town of Obsidian Falls, West Virginia.”

I listen intently as she talks a little about how remote the area is, how it’s set in the mountains and surrounded by forest. Obsidian Falls was founded by her family, and started as a logging town nearly two centuries ago. She describes the way it looks in the fall, how it’s been buried under piles of snow like it was back during The Great Appalachian Storm, and how that same snow kept me alive.

When Mona tells me how long I’ve been here and starts detailing my injuries, my stomach twists into knots as I recall exactly how I got them. Those strangely dressed men, the herder, and the counter. Scarlett.

I thought I was going to die, I was sure of it.

I don’t share that with her, though, not yet.

“My grandson, he’s the one who found you.” She reaches out and uses the compress on my forehead again. “He’d been hunting and, well, it was divine intervention that he stumbled across your hiding place, and brought you here. Lucky for you, there are two doctors in this family.”

Mona smiles and I try to return it, but I find myself getting sleepy, and I’m not sure how much more I can listen to before it gives me nightmares.

“There will be plenty of time to get the answers we both want, we don’t need to go over everything now.” I watch her move to a small table at my bedside—a real bed with an actual mattress and multiple, cozy blankets—replacing the cloth before she picks up what looks like a small jar. “I’m going to apply this to your bruises. They’re mostly faded, just yellow spots here and there, but I imagine you’re still a little sore. This salve will help with both, and I’ll give you an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever in your IV before I let you get some rest.”

Mona does exactly what she said, tending to my injuries with a gentle, caring hand before fiddling with the thin tube running from my arm to a bag hanging on a stand. She tucks me in, pulling my blankets higher, making sure my pillows are fluffed and positioned where I want them. Then Mona moves to a large fireplace across from me, adding a few more logs before heading to what must be the door.

“I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you. If you need anything in the meantime, there’s a bell on the table next to you. If you have the strength, grab it and give it a ring.”

I nod and try to smile. “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, my dear.”

I take a slow, deep breath, fighting the fear that keeps flaring after hearing what happened, fate learning that those men from Harden Ranch left me for dead, and they failed. They probably haven’t given me a second thought, I was tossed out like trash and I doubt they cared enough to remember where that was, but what if… What if they come back? What if those men are looking for me right now? What if?—

“Indigo?”

My eyes shift in the firelight, finding those intense blue ones staring from across the room.

“You’re safe here, dear. I don’t know exactly what you’ve been through, or where you were before Butch brought you here, but I can promise you, you’re safe here, and you are never going to deal with any of that bullshit ever again.”

Then she gives me a curt nod, and a warm smile before she slips out of the room, leaving me with her words.

Her words that I’m so desperate to believe that I convince myself she means them.

Too bad this all feels like a dream, and I’m nearly just as convinced that I’m going to wake up at any second, only to find myself back in my stall, waiting to meet my fate all over again.

And if that happens, I truly hope it’s the end for me.