Saviour

Chapter Seventeen

     We had finally arrived in Astoria; a little town in Oregon, Washington.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and took a deep breath as Gideon pulled into a little bed and breakfast we had found at the heart of the small city center. Something about it had called out to me, call it intuition or whatever; I just knew we were meant to stay here.

The white paint on the outside of the dated but cozy building was starting to flake off with age, and it had an enormous wrap-around porch with a swing that made me smile.

As we headed up the wooden staircase to the porch, our footsteps announced our arrival. A sweet looking elderly lady met us at the front door without so much as having to raise my hand to knock.

Her hair reminded me of a fluffy white cotton ball and she had a flowery shawl wrapped around her frail looking shoulders. She looked like Betty White, and I immediately warmed up to her.

"Welcome, welcome! Come, let's get you into the house where it's warm." She ushered us through the front doors until we found ourselves standing in a warm foyer that looked as old and weathered as the outside of the house. Despite that, it didn't feel dirty; it felt like home.

"My name is Beatrice, but my friends call me Bee. What brings you two to Astoria?" She introduced herself with a smile, her eyes crinkling on the sides. She looked to be in her seventies. Her dark eyes studied us curiously, as if Astoria didn't get many guests coming through.

"Oh, we're just looking for some distant relatives of mine. I heard they may live in this town. My name is Halle and this is Gideon." I responded easily, gesturing to Gideon. Gideon side-eyed me as if to tell me to shut up, but I happily ignored him.

Something about this woman told me that I could trust her.

Bee's eyes lit up ever so slightly. "Oh, do you know their names dear? It's a very small town so I'm sure that I could help you."

I sighed, shaking my head. "No, unfortunately I don't. But your help would be much appreciated, I don't have much time here."

Bee nodded, beckoning us forward. "One room then, dears?" Bee gave us a mischievous grin, looking between Gideon and I.

I gaped at her in surprise, "Oh! No... we're not together. Separate rooms or two beds would be much appreciated." We followed her down the hallway as she lead us to our rooms.

She laughed airily. "No problem at all. I didn't think you two were meant to be."

I frowned at her back in confusion, wondering what she had meant by that. She couldn't know how literal her statement actually was. The reminder of Greyson made my heart ache painfully. I missed him; and more than anything, I wished I were doing this trip with him instead of his brother. We had barely had any time together that wasn't full of sadness, anger, or stubbornness.

My eyes followed Gideon we trailed behind Bee, wondering where in the world his mate currently was. She would definitely have to be special to put up with him. Then again, both him and Greyson were a lot to handle.

She stopped at the end of the hallway with a door on each side. She gestured for me to have the one on the left and Gideon the right.

"Well, I'll leave you two to get settled for now and then you can come downstairs for some food and you can tell me a little about yourselves." Her eyes twinkled mischievously and I fought the urge to cringe. If only this sweet little old lady actually knew what we were up against.

I twisted the knob, nodding to Gideon on my way in. He looked like he was constantly on guard. I supposed that was a good thing, all things considered. He reluctantly turned and headed into his own room. His movements were stiff, obviously uncomfortable with the current situation we were in.