Trust From Within - Book 3 Daughter of a Monster Series

Chapter 27- Suspicious Smells

Nate's PoV

Oh god oh god oh god. She's bad, she's in bad condition, she's half dead. Is she going to survive? She has to survive, she has to, she has to.

I curl up beside her, my arms wrapping around her body, the steady beeping of the magic detector swirling up that little flame of hope in me. I hope she wakes up, and soon, because she's all I have. Her and Callum.

I need to tell him, he'll want to know, maybe will want to see her.

With that thought, I kiss her on her crown and get off her bed, walking to the door as my magic claws at me to go back to her. I walk out the door to the medical room, walking down the hall, hands in my pockets. But I shake off the guilt to go back to her and shift into wolf form, ripping through the hallways until I get to the portal. I easily jump through it, landing on the other side, and without hesitation, I sprint forward. I sniff at the air, trying to find Callum's scent.

I do, even though it's a day old, and I quickly chase after it, but I end up on the outskirts of the village. Wait, I thought he was at a safe house? Oh well.

I shift back and run into the village, keeping the inside of my nose as a wolf so I can track his scent. After little to no time, I end up outside his house, hearing him and Kayla inside. I step up onto the porch and knock on the door, the conversation ceasing as one of them walk forwards.

The door opens and I'm met with the blonde haired girl that I've come to know over the years, her favourite jacket on as she wearily looks at me. "Hey, Nathan. How are you?" She asks sweetly, smiling at me.

"I'm... fine. I need to talk to Cal."

"Oh, hey mate!" He calls, walking over to me, leaning against the door, one arm hidden behind the door.

His black eye is gone.

And I smell iron.

A few plasters decorate his face, but I don't smell blood on him. Weird. "Did you get Jade?" He asks worriedly.

"Yeah... I did. She's at home. I was wondering if you wanted to come visit her?" I ask him, my magic swirling uneasily in me. No, he's my best friend, he would never do anything to hurt me, or Jade. The guys who did it must've high tailed it out of here and Callum came back.

"That would be great," he says, obviously relieved about something. He moves his arm subtly, but with my magic so close to the surface, I spot it easily. Kayla walks up, mostly hidden behind the door, giving him a kiss on the cheek before walking away, hands in front of her.

The smell of iron goes with her.

He smiles at me before leaning down, grabbing his boots and tugging them on, closing the door behind him. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," I respond, my magic unsure of the man that I've known for years, the same man that has a trickle of sweat running down by his ear.

We walk out of the village, getting to the forest, and I shift into my wolf form, my magic taking control for a bit as Cal climbs on. We race forward towards the Nether portal, the pull to go to our mate overwhelming the uneasy feelings from before. I leap through the portal without a second of hesitation, easily landing on the other side, Cal gripping to my fur with all his strength.

He rolls off me and I stretch before shifting back to human form, and I lead him through the winding corridors until we end up outside her room. "I'm warning you now, what they did to her, it's not good," I say seriously, locking eyes with his hazel ones.

"Okay, just... let me see her."

I sigh and open the door, instantly walking over to her side, settling down beside her as I hear Cal gasp. "Oh god, what did they do to her?" He asks, eyes wide.