Chapter 120

Candido shook his head. “Them smelling different to you could mean any number of things. Smelling something isn’t part of your job. Being level-headed, obeying orders, and acting in the best interest of the werewolf world is your job.”

I pouted. “You’re just being mean to me.”

“Whatever you want to believe.” Candido walked past me. “It’s not that far.”

I stomped after him, grumbling. I couldn’t believe Candido was being like this. I’d show him that I was Pandora for a reason. None of this was my fault. None of this had anything to do with me. I shouldn’t be blamed just because I wanted to be at his side. If anyone should be blamed, it should be him not looking into the vampire situation more thoroughly.

I made all those discoveries. I found Claire. I’m the reason that Francium and Francia are even somewhat on our side.

“You should be thanking me for everything I’ve done for you.”

He stopped and turned to me, staring down at me. “As Pandora?”

“As me!”

He hummed. “Hedy is a nineteen-year-old girl who just so happens to be the mate to the alpha king. She has no place anywhere but a Full Moon bunker. Pandora is a Moon Shadow operative.”

“I’m both!”

“You can’t be both in the field, Pandora,” he said. “Maybe you should spend the walk thinking about why we have codenames in the first place.”

He turned and wavered on his foot. I hoped he fell, but he started walking forward as if nothing was wrong. We walked for a while longer. I started to get dizzy from how much my shoulder hurt and Candido just kept walking as if that didn’t matter.

“My arm hurts,” I said. “And my feet hurt.”

“I’m sure it does,” Candido said, his voice was patient but it irritated me. It felt condescending like he was treating me like a child. “And we aren’t that far.”

I scowled at him. “What took you so long to find me? I thought you had control over the caves.”

“I thought you weren’t talking to me.”

I huffed. “Fine! I won’t then.”

I glared at his back as we reached the lake beneath a beautiful waterfall. Candido kneeled beside the water and pull his shirt open before splashing his face with water. I grit my teeth and ran at him, planning to shove him into the lake.

He shifted at the last minute and I tumbled into the water, plunging down into the lake. I kicked and tried to swim, but I couldn’t use my arm. I thought I was going to sink when the water shifted and lifted me up so my head broke the surface. Candido sat on the edge of lake looking at me.

“Are you done?” Candido asked.

I glared at him and said nothing. Candido said nothing and shook his head, pulling out his phone from an inner pocket. I was tempted to splash him and ruin it. Shouldn’t he be paying more attention to me? I was hurt. I was in the lake though I couldn’t use both my arms, and he was fiddling with his stupid phone.

He sighed and shook his head, tucking his phone back in his pocket.

“The towers are down. No service.” He glanced at me. “Are you ready to come out of the lake or are you going stay in there all night?”

I huffed. “What do you care?”

“You’re going to have to take cough medicine if you catch a cold,” he said wearily.

I wrinkled my nose at the thought and listened to him stand and wander into the forest.

“Get out of the lake or don’t. I’m going to find firewood.”

“You’re just going to leave me in the lake?” I cried. “What if there’s something in here?”

“Then get out,” Candido said. “I don’t have the patience to deal with your childishness right now, Hedy. When you’re ready to at least pretend to be almost an adult, or at the minimum start thinking like a Moon Shadow operative, let me know.”

I splashed the water. “So, you just don’t care about me because I won’t do what you say? How is that love?”

Candido didn’t answer me and disappeared into the shadows. I glared after him and didn’t bother getting out. It would serve him right if I I got attacked or something in the lake or caught a cold. He’d have to take care of me, and he’d feel so guilty. He’d apologize for yelling at me and being mean.

I listened for him to come back, but I heard nothing.

He came back later with an arm full of firewood and sank down on the edge of the lake without a word. I watched him, waiting for him to say something, to do something—but mostly to apologize, but he said nothing.

The silence was irritating me. Then, I felt something move past my leg. I screamed, kicking away from it toward the edge of the lake. I rolled out of the lake, shaking and scrambling away from the lake.

“There was something in there! It could have gotten me, and—”

Candido flicked his hand and something shot through the air. The stick floated back with three wriggling fish speared on the end.

I set my jaw and glared at him. “That felt like an attack.”

Candido said nothing, seemingly ignoring me. He set up another stick and leaned it over the fire. He pulled out a dagger and gutted the fish with easy slashes of the blade before putting the fish over the fire.

Cold wind wrapped around me. I shivered and looked expectantly at Candido, but he was standing and walking away from the fire. He said something I didn’t catch, but I couldn’t believe he was just walking away from me while I was clearly shivering and cold.

He jumped and caught a tree branch before pulling himself up and disappeared into the tree. I frowned, watching him. He jumped from the tree onto the face of the waterfall and began to climb.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he reached the top. He turned around, scanning the area. I couldn’t make out his expression but he looked concerned.

Soon, he came back down with a little huff of exertion. He sank down in front of the fire and pulled a fish from the fire, poking it before biting it.

“We’re several miles from any town. I don’t think we’re still in Full Moon territory. The trees aren’t right.”

I stared at him, taking in the fact that he was talking, but not what he was talking about.

“I’m cold,” I said, cutting him off.

He took another bite of his fish. “And?”

I grit my teeth. “You’re supposed to take care of me.”

“You’re going into shock because you decided to stay in the lake and let your shoulder remain out of its socket all this time,” Candido said. “Of course, you’re cold, but as you requested, I’m not touching you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “And you—”

“You cannot have it both ways, Hedy.” He said. “You cannot want to be upset and want my help. You cannot treat me poorly and demand my assistance. I am your mate, your king—I am not your punching bag when you feel slighted.”

“I’m not your punching bag either! You yelled at me.”

Candido cocked an eyebrow at me. “Battered, injured, in the dark, and avoiding further attack. I told you to be quiet. You didn’t listen. It was luck that whoever those people were did not mean us harm. Had you continued on, who knew who would have found us.”

“You’re treating me like a child.”

“You’re acting like a child, Hedy,” Candido said. “While I tend to indulge you usually, this is not the time for you to be a brat.”

My eyes bulged. “I’m not being a brat!”

Candido shook his head and stood. I flinched away from him, but he caught me with a firm grip and jostled my shoulder. I felt it pop into place as I screamed in agony. I slumped against him, unable to fight him. I was too tired. Everything hurt.

Candido took off his jacket and wrapped me up to lay between him and the fire as he ate.

“Sleep,” he said. “Brat.”

My eyes watered, but I turned into him, willing myself to think about anything but the pain in my shoulder. As it began to fade, I listened to the forest and the sound of Candido eating. He caught a few more fish.

“You still haven’t apologized,” I pouted.

“You still aren’t obeying orders,” he said. “Go to sleep. Blue Moon operatives should find us in a few hours. Hopefully, this time you’ll act like Pandora and not a child.”

I scowled at his chest, but I didn’t pull away. He was so warm and though I was still mad at him, I fell asleep in his arms.