Fighting with Fire #2 ✔

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟒 - 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

I decided that the best way to wake up in the morning was with my limbs tangled with Theo's and our bodies pressed tightly together — and that was the way I woke up the morning after Theo and I slept together— this time, in both ways.

"Morning." He kissed my bare shoulder.

Rolling over, I faced him and smiled. "Morning."

He stroked the side of my face and smiled back. "I really enjoyed last night."

"Me too." I nodded, leaning in to kiss his lips softly.

Someone knocked on the hut's door before our kiss could escalate any further. Thankfully, the curtain across the window was shut tight and the hut door was locked on the catch.

"Time to get up, lovebirds!" Jade's voice was muffled through the wooden walls of the hut as she knocked again impatiently. "Jason's calling an important pack meeting, so get dressed and come up to the ranch ASAP!"

Theo groaned, "Em... There's something I need to tell you — it's about Maia."

Apprehension filling me, I sat up and searched Theo's face for answers. "What is it?"

His face crinkled uncomfortably. "She, erm... Well, the hunters' experiment on her went a little awry. We thought she was transitioning back into being a human, but instead, she's now a skinwalker."

I shuddered; I'd come across a skinwalker whilst I was in Svalbard and she'd almost killed Uncle Rob.

"You've seen one before?" Theo placed a hand on my shoulder as I nodded, mute. "I'm so sorry, Em... But if it's any consolation, she's locked in the basement with someone watching her all the time."

"Does she — did she know what happened to me?" I asked, starting to get out of bed and pull on a fresh set of clothes.

"That's the thing," Theo began, following suit and getting dressed. "She claimed she killed some hunters for you. She said she wanted vengeance for the Phoenix."

My blood ran cold; I knew how bloodthirsty skinwalkers could be. But at the same time, did Maia's reasoning prove that some part of the old Maia was still in there, under that wolf pelt?

I voiced my thoughts to Theo, and he nodded in agreement. "That's along the lines of what I was thinking. As well as the fact that the hunters' experiment could've gone wrong because of what they did to you — maybe it was some sort of unseen consequence, that Maia would shift to become a creature of vengeance."

"Maybe." I shrugged a shoulder. "But we can't fool ourselves into thinking that the skinwalker Maia is the same as the Maia we used to know."

And with both of us dressed, we walked back up to the ranch, hand in hand.

When we got up to the ranch, the entire pack, plus Thea, minus Maia, were standing around the kitchen island — a small, single object in the middle of the table.

"Who's watching Maia?" I asked. "Theo told me everything."

"Dad dropped by," Thea spoke up, eyeing me. "He's watching her at the moment."

Jason began speaking, "Theo, why didn't you—?"

"Ryder, why did you tell him about the USB stick?" Theo cut in, glaring at Ryder.

The object in the middle of the table was a USB drive. Though I was confused about why Theo was so bothered about it.

"Maybe because it's important?" Ryder countered, "Maybe because Jason is still my Alpha?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Theo growled, aggressively stepping forwards.

Confusion was beginning to make my brain ache, and thankfully Abi stepped in. "Can everyone just put their inter-pack feuds aside and focus on the issue at hand? That being the hunters and stopping them."