How did she forget about her friend Margo? She must believe she’d been eaten by some feral monsters or something horrible had happened to her by her lack of communication.
She tried reaching for her vidphone and hissed in pain.
Monte swiftly retrieved the vidphone and handed it to Kiri, worry lines creasing his forehead. She accepted it with a sheepish smile and gave him a grateful nod. “Thank you.”
She pressed the button to return the call and saw Margo’s face pop up on the screen. Her friend’s eyes widened in shock when she saw Kiri’s face and Monte standing behind her.
“Kiri! Oh my god, are you okay? Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you!” Margo exclaimed, her voice filled with concern. “You never checked in with me when you arrived…Wait, weren’t you supposed to be stationed at the lycan village?”
“I’m fine, Margo,” Kiri reassured her friend. “Just had a little accident while exploring the mountains.”
Margo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Exploring the mountains? You never mentioned anything about doing something like that! I thought you were going to try to make it to your destination before the sun set?”
Kiri shrugged nonchalantly. “That was the plan.”
“Well, obviously that didn’t happen,” Margo commented sarcastically. “I was starting to think you got lost or kidnapped or something crazy like that.”
Kiri laughed at her friend’s overactive imagination. “Nope, just some minor injuries that are already on the mend.”
Margo shook her head in disbelief. “I’m assuming your new friend has been helping you?”
Kiri introduced Monte, explaining how he had saved her from falling down the mountain side and taken care of her injuries.
“And where are you staying?” Margo asked curiously with an eyebrow raised.
Kiri’s smile faltered as she realized she didn’t actually have a place to stay. She had been so caught up with her unexpected injury that she hadn’t even thought about finding her way to the Lone Lake Pack to stay at the village’s inn.
“She’s staying with me at my cabin for the time being,” Monte announced with a huff, gripping her shoulder. “I can carry her to the Lone Lake Pack to do business with them whenever she needs.”
Margo’s expression immediately turned into one of concern mixed with suspicion. “Kiri, are you sure that’s a good idea? You barely know him.”
Kiri felt a twinge of guilt as she saw the worry in Margo’s eyes. She knew her friend was just looking out for her, but she also didn’t want to come off as ungrateful toward Monte’s help.
“I’ve known him long enough to trust him,” Kiri assured Margo, shrugging again. “And besides, if I decided to stay at the inn, I wouldn’t be able to be fully independent and would require strangers to aid me. I would rather stay here, as long as he’ll allow, until I finish my contract.”
She could tell that Margo still wasn’t convinced but decided not to press the issue further.
“Well, just be careful, okay?” Margo said sternly before changing the subject. “So, have you had any luck seeing if your equipment works?”
Kiri released a sigh. “Not yet. But I will make sure I do so tomorrow because it’s late and I’m not in the mood to sift through all my belongings.”
“Fair enough.” Margo rolled her eyes dramatically, tossing her curly hair over one shoulder. “Speaking of late, you’ll never guess who owns the place where I’m staying.”
“Who?”
“A naga,” Margo revealed with exaggerated distaste, “and not the friendly kind. This one’s got an attitude as long as his tail.”
Kiri hid her face but couldn’t help but chuckle at Margo’s pinched expression, as if she’d been given something extremely sour. “That bad?”
“Worse!” Margo exclaimed dramatically. “The naga is constantly checking up on me, asking if everything’s all right or if I need anything else. And his watchful gaze is just... unsettling.” She let out an exaggerated sigh of exasperation, although Kiri noticed the slight twitch at the corners of her mouth that suggested Margo was secretly amused by the ordeal.
“What have you done to make him act like that?” Kiri chuckled quietly, imagining the fiery interaction between the upbeat Margo and the watchful naga. “Well, isn’t he just doing his job?”
“Nothing!” Margo jerked both of her arms dramatically. “You got to believe me!”
Kiri shook her head, knowing how much her best friend loved getting into trouble…and pushing her limits when it came to others.
“His job is to run his inn, Kiri, not to babysit me,” Margo countered with mock indignation, but then her expressionsoftened. “But I suppose it’s better than feeling alone, especially since we’re amongst the few humans on Monster Island…”
