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But like lightning, it flashed and dissipated in the same instant. Those memories were no more. Why was I attempting to cling to them like they meant something? Obviously, the nightmare had been a nightmare, and I was rotten to my core with the absurdity of this situation with Xavier, who I had just called by a name I didn’t recognize.
At once, though, he seemed to perk up at the sound of the nickname. “I haven’t heard that name in years.”
Heat flushed my cheeks and neck. Impossible qualifications had been met already in his presence. And by impossible, I meant the standard of treating him as anything other than a pompous jerk. He was proving to be cocky enough to make mistakes, and that wasn’t the type of person I wanted around me.
No wonder I was short with him. He had something hidden in his aura that told me he was wrong in the head somewhere. Either he was harboring a secret or he was a womanizer, like he was making himself out to be with his little comment. Being nice wasn’t something to be praised, and it most certainly didn’t need to be considered a courtesy in the company of women.
I tilted my chin up. “Your help is appreciated,Xavier, but I’d rather dismiss you from the project.”
He slapped his gloves to the ground. “That’s stupid, Galanthia. On what grounds? And you’re not even the lead of this project. It’s Raven’s project!”
“She’s put me in charge.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
I met his bully attitude with a strong jab from my finger. “Believe it, wolf man. You’re not welcome on this project if you’re only going to be nicer to me than other women on some faulty exception.”
“Is that really what this is all about?”
“What this is about is the fact that your existence disgusts me to my very core.”
Never in my life had I seen a man wither away from me in such a fashion, not without a weapon. Yet my words had proved sharp enough for the likes of his pride. Though his wounded expression hardly detracted from his handsome appearance, it made him look weak.
“If you can’t take it,” I warned while heading to the door, “then don’t try to dish it out.”
To hell with the project needing a lead like me. Izdor could easily take over. He had a team of volunteers waiting for him along with Xavier heading his precious department of bullying. My wings came out without much coaxing at all, ripping new holes into my cropped top. Another shirt would have to go into the sewing pile. Thankfully, the skill required minimal attention from my mind, my fingers knowing what to do, but it was annoying work when my emotions got the best of me.
But that was just the thing. My emotions rarely got the best of me. In the war, my countenance had been praised as entirely unreadable. Poker had become one of my favorite games for nobody was able to penetrate my fields.
With Xavier, I had to admit something of a loss. It was a mixture of things.
A man like him shouldn’t have influenced me at all—yet he made all the influence in the world seem like it was right at his fingertips.
And I was helpless to it.
Chapter 5 - Xavier
Fury was like fuel in my body. Stress like what I had to deal with earlier this morning was just part of construction jobs. Sometimes, people just butt heads. But it was usually about the labor itself or the parts being used, or how to do what and when.
Galanthia made a dummy collision course look like a theme park ride. She had a furious glare that made me feel like a child, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to march over to her house and challenge her to a fight. That woman got under my skin. She irked me so badly that I had to take time to myself before I could so much as look at the volunteers.
Lucky for me, Izdor had been chill about the whole thing. He’d laughed it off, made a few jokes about Galanthia being fussy, and got me focused on work in no time. The guy was a treat to have around, a real joker who knew when to crack fun and when to get to work. Somebody like Izdor was good to have around for plenty more than just work.
So, why the hell was I fuming about Galanthia walking out?
Moonlight illuminated the line of trees next to my house. Leo was with his uncles, having a game night of some kind that involved lots of shouting and strategy. He kept talking about wizards and shit, but I wasn’t super into the nerdy stuff like him. He seemed to keep a nice balance betweenscienceandfiction. Which I appreciated.
Even when I didn’t understand it.
I sighed as I paused just on the other side of the tree line. I methodically removed my clothes, placed them in the plastic bin I had set out here for just this purpose, and opened myself to the call of my wolf.
Like clockwork, my bones resonated with the ancient tune passed on to me from my father. His presence in my life might have been cut short for reasons unknown, but that didn’t mean I had to abandon all that I held dear. Even with someone like Galanthia up my ass, I wouldn’t let it sour my goals.
I’d come back for my mother and Leo, and no one else.
Maybe in some ways that included my half-brothers, and I had to think maybe they were also disappointed about not finding our father. But that was in the past now. What was recently set down would have to stay down until I could handle picking it up again.
Right now, I just wanted to run.
