Hallow Haven Cozy Mysteries Bundle Books 1-3 by Mara Webb (books to read fiction .txt) 📕

history that had been a secret to me all this time. Who were my parents? Where are they now? I tipped the crumbs into the trashcan and walked towards the living room, assuming I would see Greta. There was another noise, like a low, snarled breathing sound.

I hadn’t gotten round to closing the blinds or curtains anywhere in the house yet. This allowed me to see a silhouette pass by the outside of the house, a dark figure looming by the window. I wanted to see who it was, but as I stepped forward, they moved. Was the stalker here? Were they after me now?

I still hadn’t taken the time to go through the dispute notes, I didn’t know if Greta had made a bad decision or sided with the wrong family and put a target on her back. Why stalk Rosie too though? In the time between Greta being killed and me arriving on the island, the stalker must have known that there was no peacekeeper in place. Was this about the café?

Something loud hit the door, like a body throwing themselves at it. A shoulder shove or two could probably allow them to get into the house and then I’d be trapped. I looked around for an object I could use to hit them with, the living room was filled with small clay pots and fake flowers, none of which would be useful in a fight.

As I expected, the second attempt to ram the door down was successful. I heard the splintering wood hit the floor and then the sound of the ocean lapping the shore was slightly louder, masked only by the sound of my breath and a stranger’s footsteps on the floor of the hallway.

My magic had so far produced a cookie, I had doubts that produced baked goods would help me out of this situation.

Something outside the living room window gave me instant comfort.

‘Miller, come in. Miller, we have a situation reported over at Sadie’s place, do you copy?’

Miller was outside. The police knew that something was happening, and they were on the way and Miller was already here. I was safe, I felt it. The intruder nudged the living room door open and I regretted having not switched on the light before I came in here. The moonbeams seeping through into the room allowed me to see the size of the figure in front of me, not as tall as I had expected.

Not tall, not human.

This creature would have been larger than me if it reared up onto its back legs, but on all fours we were seeing eye-to-eye. I wasn’t scared now, I wondered if my body had gone into total shock or if I somehow knew that this thing wasn’t a threat to me. Something about the eyes was calming, almost familiar.

Was it possible that there was no stalker, just this creature? The silhouette of a tall figure rushed past the window outside and the creature turned and bolted back out of the house. I couldn’t explain why, but I followed. By the time I had reached the hallway, the creature was bolting along the sand, running towards the base of the cliffs in the distance.

I saw the tall man that had passed by my window, just for a second, then he was spooked by the arrival of the police and ran off in the same direction as the creature. The voices crackling through the police radio drew my attention to a discarded walkie talkie on the ground. Who did this belong to?

Three police officers ran towards me and seemed to be more concerned with checking if I was harmed or not, than making any attempt to chase the tall man or the four legged beast that had just broken into my home.

Ryder ran towards me and ushered the police away. They muttered something about monitoring the perimeter and I watched in silence as Ryder stepped around me and into the house, he gestured that I should follow him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I heard your house was broken into,” he replied as if it was obvious.

“From who? It all happened in the last ten minutes,” I said, the adrenaline of the moment wearing off and the trembling in my hands taking over.

“You think a wolf was going to get in here without me knowing about it?”

“Wolf? How could it be a wolf? Do mammals even live on islands like this? I thought it was always just birds.”

“Do you know a lot of birds that size? With four legs? And fur?” Good point. “We haven’t had wolves here for a long time, that means something has changed and I have to lead the hunt.”

“You kill wolves? Doesn’t it make more sense to just check the boats when they get here and make sure that no one is bringing animals here? They do that in Australia,” I said. His expression gave me the sense that once again I was the last person to know what was going on.

“Sadie, no one brought that werewolf here.” My mouth fell open. In a world where magic and witchcraft was real, it had to be possible that other mythical stories were true, but I hadn’t had chance to catch my breath about all this since I arrived. It had been one bombshell after another.

A werewolf had broken into my home to do what, kill me? Surely there was an easier meal on the island than me, a woman behind a locked door. Why would I be the target? I’d seen a glimpse of a tall man outside my home too. I’d seen his face for a second, but it was all I’d needed. At some point I would have to tell the police that Rosie’s ex-boyfriend, Simon, was outside my window and might be the one that killed Greta.

13

Would you find it relaxing to have your new house, a place you have spent exactly one entire night in, surrounded by police until sunrise? A