a watermelon from the display and thrust it into the man’s arms.
“Thanks,” he says and hurries away. I shake my head and look around the store. Bael takes on a human form. If he ditched the crown and robe, he’d blend in. He could be anywhere. On edge and ready to throw an energy ball at the first creepy old man I see, I move through the store.
Callie, he calls again, and the smell of sulfur wafts through the air. Callie, come to me.
“Will you stop it?” I spin around, eyes wide. The lights flash throughout the whole store, and bags of chips come flying off the shelves. “Not here,” I say through gritted teeth and walk out into the next aisle, grabbing what I need as fast as I can.
There’s a long line at the checkout. “Fuck,” I mutter to myself. I need to get out of here before Bael shows up and attacks. Just being here, surrounded by all these people, puts them at risk. I’m not human, yet I live among them. I never thought it was wrong before, but what if I really don’t belong here?
Finally, I get to the register. A sharp pain hits me right between my eyes, just like it did the last time Bael appeared.
“Are you alright?” the cashier asks, seeing me be all jumpy.
“Yeah,” I pant, looking around for Bael. What the fuck will I do if he shows up? I can’t throw energy balls at him. One, it does no good, and two, I can’t throw energy balls in the middle of the grocery store.
I help the bagger get my groceries in my cloth bags, needing to get the fuck out of here. Walking at warp speed, I slip on an icy patch on the sidewalk and catch myself with the cart.
“I’m leaving, asshole,” I whisper. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.” The pain immediately intensifies, feeling like a red-hot piece of metal is slowly being drilled into my forehead. Sucking in a breath and gritting my teeth, I make it to my Jeep.
“Fuck,” I pant, and open the tailgate. Nausea rises in my stomach, making my throat feel thick. He’s here, he has to be, and dammit, I’m surrounded by people he could take hostage.
“Well, well, well,” someone says, and I whirl around, holding a bag of carrots in my hand like a weapon. A young woman stands before me, wearing torn-up jeans, black biker boots, and a leather jacket. Hair on one side of her head has been pulled back into a tight braid, and she pops her hip, resting her hand on it.
She’s a werewolf, and a strong one at that. The alpha perhaps? Cocking an eyebrow, she drums her long red nails on her side and stares me down.
“You’re Callie King, aren’t you?” She tips her head and inhales. “I can smell the magic coming off you in waves. It stinks.”
“Listen,” I start, eyes darting around the parking lot. My head hurts and I’m feeling more and more like I’m going to throw up. Bael is here—somewhere. “Now is not the time to get into…whatever it is you want to get into.”
“Oh, it is,” the werewolf says. “Someone from my pack was attacked, and that’s not something I take lightly.”
“What, oh, right. That was like a month ago.” I put another bag in the back of the Jeep, and my haste to get the hell out of here pisses the werewolf off. She expected some sort of standoff, or at least to get a better reaction from me than this.
A pack of angry wolves isn’t anything to sniff at, I know. But compared to an earl of Hell who has plans to take over and make Hell great again, they’re not even a thorn in my side, but more like an annoying piece of dirt stuck under my fingernail.
“Yeah, you and your vamp got the hell out of town right after. You ran away with your tails tucked between your legs, huh?”
“Not from you.” I heft a case of water bottles into the Jeep. “There are bigger things at play here, and I need you to trust me on this.”
“Hah, trust you?” She crosses her arms over her chest and looks behind her at a black truck. Two guys sit in it, with the windows rolled down. They’re weres as well and are ready to come to her aid if need be.
“I have nothing against you,” I go on and put the final two bags in the Jeep.