Chapter 3

"Come inside, I'm sure you're cold."

I was freezing, but I wasn't sure I wanted to go inside the cabin. I didn't know whether I would come back out. There was a piece of me that wanted to trust him, oddly enough, and I couldn't shake it.

I followed him around the house, staring at his back as he led me up the stairs to the side door. He was almost a foot taller than me and I guessed almost a hundred pounds heavier unless he had several layers under his coat.

I turned to look at him as he did so. I gulped.

He was a lot better looking in the light than I had expected him to be. As he took off his coat I came to the conclusion he hadn'tblayered and he was indeed built like a brick house. I could seebthe outline of his chest and arm muscles under the gray, form-fitting Henley he wore.

He brushed the snow flurries from his short, chestnut-colored hair and I let out a long breath.

We looked at each other and the world stopped for a moment. He had the oddest eyes I'd ever looked into. They were a bluish-purple and they were beautiful.

I felt my breath caught in the back of my throat as we both fought to look away.

Someone walked into the room and I backed away from thebtowering, handsome man.

I looked over and froze as I recognized the man who walked in. He was the one from the funeral, the one who had snapped the neck of the man in the casket.

He clearly recognized me, as he stopped in his tracks too. 

"What are you doing here?"

I looked to the handsome stranger for some kind of help. 

"Granddaughter of Otto Müller," he explained shortly.

"I know that," the guy sassed. 

"I mean how did you find us?"

I shifted nervously on my feet.

"I followed you," I admitted sheepishly.  

I saw the two men exchange looks and I was  convinced in that moment that they were about to kill me.

"I just wanted to find out what happened to my grandfather." I added quickly.

"We're trying to figure that out, too" the Asian one addedbHe walked over to me, extending his hand. 

I noticed the sleeve of tattoos on his arm as he did.

"I'm Jai," he said, shaking my hand.

"Ella," I replied.

I turned to look at the handsome stranger but he walked pastbme, neglecting to introduce himself.

Rude, I thought. But not as rude as killing me would have been, so l'll let it slide.

"When did you fly into Germany?" Jai asked.

"Uh, two days ago," I said.

"When was the last time you saw your grandfather alive?" He asked.

I shrugged, trying to recall. 

"A few years at least."

"You didn't know him well," the handsome stranger assumed aloud.

"I knew him well enough."

"Did you ever see the body?" Jai asked.

I stopped myself from replying and looked at the two of thembsuspiciously. 

"You're not implying he might still be alive." I said.

I took their silence as affirmation of this statement.

I shook my head, stumbling over the words I spoke next.

"He had a heart condition," I informed them. 

"His neighborbfound him passed out in the yard and he died on the way to the hospital due to heart failure."

"But you never saw the body?" Jai asked.

I huffed "No, I never saw it. I didn't need to."

They didn't say anything.

Jai had his arms crossed as he stood in front of me and stared at the floor in thought. The other man was on the other side ofbthe room with his back towards us, staring into the fire.

"When was the last time you spoke to yourbgrandfather?" Thebother man asked.

I thought for a moment. "About a month ago."

"Did anything seem off to you?"

I shook my head. "No, should something have?" I asked.

The other man turned his attention from the firebplace to lookbat me.bHis intense stare caught me off guard.

"This isn't the first time this has happened," he said, walking toward me.

Jai looked startled that he was sharing thisbinformation with meband he looked at him warily.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Other members of this community and those surroundingbmen, in particular-have been reported dead by hospitals and morgues but haven't shown up for their own funerals," he explained.

I looked between them incredulously.

"Are you police?" I asked.

"No."

"Are you private investigators?"

"You could say that," he replied, crossing his arms.

That's not very specific, I thought.

They saw my hesitation to believe them.

"The last man this happened to we found alive." Jai said.

My eyes widened. "You really think my grandfather could be alive?" I asked.

Jai shrugged and the other man stared at me straight-faced.

"If that's the case, I want to help you find him," I said.

"I don't think so," Jai replied, suppressing a smile. 

"We're returning to Hechingen tomorrow morning."

"Come on," I said.

"I knew him better than you. If something wasbup, I would be able to tell. I can help."

"No." Jai said firmly. 

"The most you can do is tell us everything you know about your grandfather and let us handle things from here."

I looked to the other man, who was still looking at me in deep thought. The eye contact that I made with him was intense, so I looked away quickly.

"Take me with you," I demanded.

 "I can help you find him."

Jai shook his head. "I think it's time for you to leave."

I huffed and planted my feet firmly. 

"Listen, if you didn't want me to come with you, you shouldn't have told me where you were going."

Jai struggled over what to say next.

"If you come, you have to help us find him and anyone else thatbhappens to go missing in the meantime." the other man bartered.

"Deal," I answered immediately, sighing in relief.

Jai looked at him in disbelief.

"And we'll need all your grandfather's financial and health records from the past few ears." the purple-eved man added.

I nodded. "I'l get them."

"We'll pick you up at five in the morning tomorrow then."

"Okay," I said slowly.

I looked at the two men as I backed towards the door and opened it. They watched as I went back out into the night air, in totalBdisbelief of what had just occurred. I walked quickly from the cabin into the darkness of the forest. I found the truck a few minutes later and I drove away quickly.

Fortunately, there were never many turns made on the trip toBthe cabin, so I easily remembered my way back home.

I pulled into the empty driveway of my grandfather's cottageBand it hit me for the first time that he might not actually be dead.

There was a chance that I could find him, alive.

I got out of the truck, fiddling with the keys as I walked up toBthe door. I thought I saw something move in the corner of my eye and I looked to see nothing but an empty lawn.

Weird.

I looked around for a moment before going inside. Waiting for me in my room was Zak. 

He was the only one in the house.

"Where are Mom and Dad?'' I asked.

''Police station,'' he signed. 

"Where have you been?''

I sighed as he raised an eyebrow. "I did something stupid.

Narrative P.O.V.

"What were you thinking?" Jai seethed.

Cain stepped back into the room and brushed the snow from his hair that had fallen in it during his run.

 "I don't recall giving you the authority to question me," Cain said calmly.

Jai took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"She's a human," he reasoned.

Cain turned to look at Jai as he took of his coat.

"She's my mate."