Free Hearts Aflame Collection IV: 4-Book Bundle by Melissa F. Hart

to
make her feel safe.
    “Okay.” Erin smiled
thinly, wishing she’d never brought it up.
    “It’s a difficult time,
being pregnant,” Frank commented sympathetically. “You just need to rest and
take it easy. If I hear anything strange at night, I’ll make sure to check it
out.”
    Erin’s smile broadened.
“Thank you.”
    “Anytime.” Frank waved at her before disappearing back in to
his house. Erin watched him leave as a sinking feeling avalanched through her.
    Frank was kind and
chivalrous. He wouldn’t just leave the woman who was carrying his child. Not
like Sean.
    Erin’s hands bunched at
her sides. Every time she thought about Sean, her blood almost boiled over in
rage. This tended to coincide with her baby kicking her, as though mirroring
the agitation in her thoughts.
     
    ***
     
    In her bed, Erin tried to
wish the howling away but it seemed to only grow louder. There were multiple
voices now, all howling in unison. It felt like they were on every side of her
house. How could Frank possibly sleep through it all? It was almost deafening.
    As the pitch within the
howl intensified, Erin fearfully crept from her bed, desperate to peek from a
window and catch a glimpse of one of the canine callers. She’d never yet
actually seen anything around her house, which made her feel as though she were
losing her mind. From the level of sound, she was certain that as soon as she peered
from behind her curtains she’d see a circle of wolves all neatly arranged
around her home, their heads bent back to the moon as they released their high,
drawn out cry.
    Taking careful, quiet
steps, Erin approached her bedroom window and the howling seemed even louder.
Keeping one hand protectively wrapped around her stomach, she carefully peeled
back her curtain and looked out in to the night.
    To her surprise, the world
appeared as it should. There were cars neatly parked on driveways, currently
dark and idle. Homes were cast in shadow as the occupants soundly slept. There
seemed to be no one or nothing outside, yet the howling persisted.
    Erin strained to focus her
attention closer to her house, to the wall directly beneath her bedroom window.
As she lowered her eyes, she heard something move in the bushes by her front
door. She caught a fleeting glimpse of something silver and then the howling
suddenly ceased.
    Desperately, her eyes
searched the point below her bedroom window, trying to find what she had seen,
but now there was only darkness. At least the howling had stopped. Sighing
wearily, Erin considered going back to bed. She yearned to creep back in
beneath the covers and just sleep. But she knew that the moment she dared to
close her eyes again, the howling would resume, it always did.
    “ Dammit .”
Erin moaned in frustration at her sudden desire to urinate. She felt that she
spent half her life on the toilet now that her baby was pressing down on her
bladder. Reluctantly, she stood up and walked over to her en suite bathroom,
grateful for its proximity to her bed. Since seeing the glimpse of something
silver, she didn’t fancy venturing out beyond her bedroom while it was still
dark.
    Sat on the toilet and
grateful for the relief, Erin tried to bring the brief image she’d seen outside
to the forefront of her mind. Had it just been a trick of the light or had she
actually seen something? The howling had certainly stopped, which made her
believe that she’d spooked whatever it was that was so determined to keep a
vigil beneath her bedroom window. But what was it? Surely it wasn’t a wolf? It
all made no sense. Erin refused to believe Sean’s mad theories, even in her
fragile state.
    Eventually, she made her
way back to her bed. Still, the world outside remained quiet and peaceful. Erin
felt relieved that the howling was now gone, at least for the time being. She
looked eagerly at her bed. It looked so comfortable and inviting.
    As she lowered herself
down and pulled the sheets tightly around her, she glanced