“Yeah, we’re here!” I grabbed the plate and stood back up. Lake and I turned from the woods and headed back toward the cottage. Raindrops landed on top of my head, and flashes lit up the sky, closely followed by another loud boom.
Maddox opened the door wider and stepped onto the porch. “A storm’s coming. Why are you outside?”
“Um.” I went up the steps, guided by Lake’s hand at my lower back. Not the injured one though. He kept that one at his side and hidden from a certain captain’s view.
“Um isn’t an answer.” Maddox led me inside right as the rain really hit. It pelted against the window as we walked into the kitchen.
“Well, I don’t think you’ll like the real answer.” I set the plate in the sink and fidgeted.
“Evan…”
“Oreo was outside,” I blurted out. “We fed him the steak left over from dinner.”
“The Fenrir came here?” Unease flickered in Maddox’s eyes, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “And you went outside to see him? Gods, sweetheart.” He lowered his hand and gave me a disbelieving look. “What were you thinking?”
“I wanted to thank him.”
Maddox eyed me for a few excruciating seconds before glancing at Lake. “What happened to your hand, wolf?” He missed nothing.
Lake glanced at me, then back at him. “An accident, is all.”
“An accident,” our captain repeated in a clipped tone. “One that involved him biting you?”
“The thunder frightened him.” Lake examined his hand. “He meant no harm.”
“Yet, he caused harm anyway,” Maddox countered with a growl. “The beast bit you. How could you be so reckless? What if he’d bitten Evan? What possessed you to—”
“He wouldn’t bite Evan,” Lake interjected, hands balled into fists. “He told me so.”
Maddox scoffed. “He’s a demon. Violence is in their nature. And you let our male near it? Have you gone mad?”
“That demon saved him.” Lake’s eyes turned a vibrant purple. A sign of his agitation. “Perhaps you should stop being a stubborn ass and show some gratitude.”
Stubborn ass? Holy crap.
“Don’t fight,” I begged them. Unfortunately, neither seemed to have heard me. I braced myself for the imminent explosion.
“You’ve been around the thief too long,” Maddox snapped. “His ways have started rubbing off on you. Foul-mouthed and insolent.”
“Rowan is blunt, yet honest,” Lake said. “He speaks his mind. And he doesn’t hesitate to put you in your place when needed.”
“My place? And where is that, wolf?”
The two of them hadn’t argued like this in a long time. I guess nothing lasted forever. Just as I was preparing to jump between them, a crack of thunder rattled the walls.
My knees wobbled.
“Sweetheart?” Maddox caught me against his chest and smoothed his hand over my hair. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
Lightning flickered outside the window. I clung to his shirt and squeezed my eyes closed, jolting as another crash sounded. A second set of arms came around me from behind. My wolf.
That was one way to stop them from fighting: be my pitiful, storm-fearing self.
“Wolf?” Maddox looked at him over my shoulder. “Forgive me. I was out of line earlier. The thought of Evan around a demon…”
“Worried you. I know.” Lake offered him a small smile. “I didn’t take it to heart.”
“How’s your hand?”
