Wild

Chapter 20 - Storm's Pain

Storm

I stare in disbelief at Callum, eyeing him suspiciously.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Makai growls at him.

He holds his hands up in surrender, about to speak when he spots my frozen handiwork.

"Oh, my goddess Stormy! Did you do that? I always knew you had it in you and would rise to the occasion when it matters."

Makai glances at me. "What does he mean?"

I feel the flush climbing up my neck. "This is the first time I've dead-frozen a living thing. In magic school, I couldn't bring myself to dead-freeze the practice animals."

Makai gapes at me. "Storm, you're a wolf. You eat animals daily but you couldn't freeze them for practice?"

"It's not just freezing!" I defend. "It's a dead-freeze. Whatever is inside a dead freeze just dies. If I eat the animal, its death serves the good purpose of filling my stomach and nourishing me. You can't eat something after a death freeze so in that case the animal just dies a useless death."

Kai just shakes his head in disbelief, and Cal looks like he wants to laugh at what I believe is perfect logic, but a glare from Kai wipes the amusement from his face.

He returns his interest to the frozen abomination. "And damn you did it so well too! I'm so proud of you, babe. I-"
He stops in his tracks when Makai blocks him from moving closer in his excitement to examine it better.

"You didn't answer the question. Why are you here?"

"Kai, please. There's no reason to sound so accusatory. He -" The look Kai sends my way promptly shuts me up, and I swallow, sending Callum a sympathetic glance with a silent message.

You're on your own.

"Start talking," Makai prods, crossing his arms and gracing my friend with a death glare.

"I was just passing by?" Callum tries, and the fact that it comes out like a question alone makes his answer unbelievable. I scoff at his foolishness while Makai arches a dark brow.

"Try again. This time, sound more believable."

Cal clears his throat and opens his mouth to speak, and I hope for both our sakes that he will be honest this time.

"I came to pawn something," he claims, making me groan. I could have told him that stupid answer wouldn't work either because Kai holds out his hand and demands like I had known he would, "Okay, let's see it. The valuable thing you came to pawn."

Callum falters, glancing at me. I roll my eyes and shrug. What's he expecting me to do? I'm not getting on my mate's bad side to help him out if he won't help himself.

"If you think it's just fun and games-"

"Fine, fine! I followed you guys, okay?" Callum finally admits grudgingly, confessing to what I had suspected all along.

Makai is not impressed by the answer. "So you followed us. Why?"

Callum glances between Kai and me, then finally decides to focus his attention on me.

"I was worried, okay? I had a feeling whatever you were here for had something to do with the Nahash necklace, and I wanted to be sure you were okay. Those people are dangerous, Stormy. They don't just dabble in it; they are immersed in dark magic. I was just...looking out for you."

Kai stares at Callum for a couple of minutes and shakes his head. "I don't believe you, and neither does my wolf."

I'm not surprised. I had a feeling Kitai wouldn't like Cal either.