Claimed by the Primals

Chapter Five

Yes, I am fully aware that running away to the patio wasn't a real escape. I was upset, and I was reverting back to things I used to do when my dad got mad. Which is run away, hide, and avoid the problem until everyone calms down so I can grovel, apologize, and take whatever scolding or punishment he had in store for me.

Even so, it felt good to take a breath of fresh air. As fresh as hot, Arizona, smoggy desert city can get on the tenth floor of an apartment building in the middle of downtown. I was away. That's the point. Away from Kade and Warrick and this whole fucked up situation.

The downside was that the light was making my headache worse. Yeah, by then I was convinced I had a minor concussion. Or maybe just overwhelmed. It was a lot to take in! My whole life was a lie! I didn't even know what to believe anymore. I wanted this to be one massive mistake. That they got me confused with someone else. Another part of me wanted it all to be real. That my life could be something more than what it was.

But more than anything for some fucked up reason, I wanted to go back inside and apologize to that asshole! For what!? I get that he might have been offended by what I said, but I didn't know! Innocence in ignorance... right? I had to force myself to sit down so I wouldn't go back inside. I was determined to be mad at him, and I would not apologize!

I don't know how long I was out there before hearing the doors sliding open. It was a while, I do know that. I probably looked like shit, too, with my knees curled into my chest and rubbing my temples. A second later, a hand pulled mine away and pressed a cold compress against the wound. I groaned, opened my eyes, and saw Warrick crouching in front of me. "Sorry about him," he said softly. "He lets his emotions get in the way sometimes. He can't see that we fucked up this time."

"This time?"

"You're not the first magical creature we've had to explain this to. Far from it. It's our job."

"So... what? You just drive around the country looking for primals who didn't get the low-down from their parents like me?"

"Not just primals, and not just this country. We've been all over the world helping people understand what they are. We met a shapeshifter family that could turn into penguins in the middle of Saudi Arabia once."

I started giggling at the absurdity. "You're screwing with me."

"No, really," he insisted with a laugh. "We have no idea how they ended up there, and they were miserable. We explained everything and relocated them to Greenland. But with you... like I said, it's odd for a primal woman to be on her own. We should have realized that it was going to be a lot more overwhelming for you than for the others."

"It probably doesn't help that I was all over Kade last night."

"Probably not."

I watched him quietly for a bit while he held the ice pack to my forehead and stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. The questions were eating me alive. I had to know. "Kade said we had a connection. Is that why I remember you?"

Warrick stiffened, and a wash of mixed emotions danced in his expression. "How? How do you know me?"

He didn't remember me. I don't think I'd ever been so crushed. "Ten years ago, I was in an accident. You were the one who pulled me out."

"Here, in Phoenix?"

"A few miles from Payson."

Warrick blew out a breath and backed up to sit on the edge of another chair.

"Ten years ago, we were on a job down here. I was in Payson, Kade was up in New York, and I was supposed to fly up and meet him when I was done. I remember booking the tickets, but... then I was in Phoenix two weeks later. I have no memory of what happened in between. Just that..." he sighed and pulled my bracelet out of his pocket. "My mother gave this to me after my and Kade's claiming ceremony. She told me to give it to the woman that would join our set. I... I thought I'd lost it."