The sounds above quieted. I heard Ness’s heavy footfalls stomping down the metal stairs inside. She strongarmed the door open and stepped outside, clueless to the fact that I was right behind her. When she inhaled deep, her startled gaze flicked to me.
“Where the hell did you come from?” she asked.
“My mother,” I said as I pushed off the wall.
She gave me the most unimpressed look before turning around and storming off into the night. There were a few clouds lingering overhead from her earlier shift. I marveled at how the storms followed in her wake. I even wondered if maybe her attitude had something to do with it. Electricity seemed to spark around her like a fence barring others from getting too close.
Not that I minded. I hadn’t come here to make friends, or even find lovers. Ness and I needed each other to fulfill certain tasks. That was all.
I’d started to doubt her control lately. She had displayed arcana, but it seemed that she had no idea how it worked. Her command to stop hurting Harvey had stayed with me. I’d learned earlier that I couldn’t hurt the smarmy little rat anymore. I highly doubted that Ness had done that on purpose.
She glanced back at me, as if checking to see if I were still following. Upon seeing me, her shoulders eased away from her ears. A slight smile curled the corners of her mouth. My heart seized at the little bit of comfort she displayed.
This woman who had been abandoned by everyone else in her pack found safety in my presence. It made leaving that much harder. I had to do it, though. Once I found the evidence she needed to turn the pack against Alvin, I would hit the road again.
Despite what the witch said, Ness couldn’t help me. She didn’t have the power. Had Ness been given the room to discover her arcana at an earlier age, then this might have been different. Instead, Ness got to use me.
I would do what I could here, then go. I had to leave. If I stayed much longer, then Morgan would catch up.
“You look miserable,” Ness said. “What’s eating at you?”
“It could be the fact that the person I’ve been trying to protect snuck out without telling me. That’s the kind of a thing that really weighs on a person’s mind.”
Ness stuck her tongue out at me. I wanted to bite down on it. I wanted to pull her into me and push my tongue past her lips. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest. This loneliness wouldn’t get the best of me. Getting involved with Ness was a one-way ticket to trouble town.
Once the pack denounced Alvin and started protecting each other, Ness had a possible future with Connor. The male wolf shifter had annoyed me, but he seemed like he had Ness’s best interests in mind.
The thought brought my dragon to the surface. It growled and bared its teeth at me. The sky above cracked, lightning arcing across it. I inhaled and forced the dragon back down, where it belonged. It fought me, though. The beast thrashed and rebelled against my control.
Ness’s eyes rose skyward before coming back down to show her concern. “Are you sure you’re okay, big man? It’s pretty hard to hide your feelings when the whole sky is your mood ring.”
“I was thinking the same thing about you, earlier.”
Her nose wrinkled. This time, she flipped me off. Had she stuck out her tongue again, I might not have been able to control myself. Even now, watching her walk in front of me scrambled my thoughts.
“Are you ready for the hunt?” I asked.
She stumbled, her feet tangling together. I caught her before she could fall face-first. She gripped my forearm pressed against her chest. For a moment, I thought she was angry that I’d touched her. Then I saw the way her lower lip trembled. She quickly bit down on it to hide her fear, but it was too late.
“You’re not ready,” I said.
“I thought I’d have more…I don’t know. Time? Power? Something that would make this easier? I’m not sure.”
Ness shoved off my arm. She swayed for half a heartbeat before straightening. Though I’d gotten a glimpse of her fear, she quickly hid it behind a thick layer of attitude once more. She walked backwards and spread her arms wide.
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
A dark shape darted out of nowhere and crashed into Ness.