And frankly, neither did I. I had no clue how my cousin Zak and his mate Kamari had defeated this spirit in real combat. Maybe Animus was weaker back then. He didn't look weak now. He looked like someone with a deep grudge who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
I was suddenly uneasy. I moved closer to Meeko, ready to protect him if things got ugly.
Meeko didn't move. He kept glaring at Animus like he was trying to win a staring contest.
"I'll ask again, omega," Animus said, dropping the act. "Agree to my terms and—"
"No. My answer will always be no."
A low hiss rumbled in Animus's chest. "You would refuse without even hearing the terms?"
"I don't care what they are. I'm not working with a spirit," Meeko declared.
Animus smirked. "Oh? Even though your little alpha friend here has spirit blood running through his veins?"
But Meeko didn't take the bait. He didn't react at all to Animus's words. "Cloud is different."
Animus wrinkled his nose in disgust, like Meeko had said something rancid and offensive. "Fine," he spat.
Bristling with smoky energy, Animus stormed out of the cabin.
Despite my slight flicker of relief that Animus was gone, something didn't feel right. He may have been callous and full of tricks, but he wasn't entirely wrong. We didn't have a plan except chasing Mistral over and over again. We'd caught up with him once, sure, but that was because it was an ambush. Now that he knew we were following him, I doubted he'd be as easy to catch. Not only that, but he was the spirit of air. All he needed was a burst of magical gusts to out-speed me. I may have had spirit blood, but that gave me no advantage. I still got tired and I still needed to rest.
But if Animus helped us, we might have a chance.
Zak and Kamari, Quinn and Farley, Ashe and Bear, and River and Castor... All of my family members had run-ins with Animus and survived. Not every interaction with him was bad. So even if this was a risk, it was one I felt comfortable making for Meeko's sake.
"Stay here," I told him.
"Where are you going?" Meeko asked.
"I'll be back in a second."
I ran outside the cabin as fast as my legs would take me, hoping I hadn't missed Animus. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw his tall, brooding figure a few feet away.
He knew I was there without even turning around. "What?" he asked, voice dripping with venom. It was entirely different than the way he spoke to Meeko.
I swallowed a lump of fear. "Animus, what are your conditions?"
My question intrigued him enough to turn around, but his expression wasn't any less icy. His pale eyes glinted like literal shards of ice in the shadow of the trees.
Yet he still refused to speak to me. His gaze raked over me like he was trying to blow me up with telepathic powers.
He couldn't actually do that, could he? I realized I didn't know what kind of powers Animus possessed.
"I know you don't want to talk to me, or any other alphas for that matter, and that's fine," I said. "But that sword means the world to Meeko. And you're right that we probably can't do this alone… So please tell me what your terms are if we accept your help."
Animus's eye twitched with irritation. My hopes fell the longer he went without replying. I knew he could be difficult, but for some reason I didn't expect him to be this bad. Was I doing something wrong?
I racked my brain for ideas. I needed to get my foot in the door with him before he left and our best lead was gone.
I took a tentative step closer and lowered my voice. "Animus, you’re… an omega, aren't you?"
In a split second, Animus sank his claws into my shoulder and lifted me off the ground. A startled cry came out of me.
"I should kill you for being so forward with me, mortal," Animus growled. The quality of his voice changed to something unnatural and bone-chilling. His claws sank in deeper. "The only reason you're still alive is because Nautilus would render me unconscious for the next century if he found out I'd harmed a hair on your head, and I don't yet have the power to destroy him."
I was so terrified that I barely understood what he was saying. Pain seeped throughout my shoulder and cold sweat broke out over my skin. I didn't dare fight back. Animus hated me, for whatever reason, so the best thing to do was wait until his interest faded.
