Chapter 50 LEWIS
WILLA’S POV
Lewis’ arrival was both a boon and a curse.
A boon because it was the slap in the face that I needed to wake up from the spell of Gallahan’s addictive existence, scent, kiss and touch.
A curse because Lewis, as much as I loved the man, was an oblivious human fool.
“Come on,” I whispered impatiently, pulling him along with me.
Unfortunately for me, he was a big man who wouldn’t budge with just a bit of tugging and pulling.
“But Willa, there’s a bit of blood on your fingertips!” Lewis took my hand, lifted it close to his face, and inspected my fingers. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I am not hurt,” I answered quickly, pulling my hand free from his grip. “But you will be, if you don’t come with me this instant.”
Lewis frowned and crossed his arms. “What’s going on with you? I looked for you and our beautiful twins at the feast, but the three of you weren’t there.”
I barely suppressed a frustrated groan. I badly wanted to zip Lewis’ mouth shut, because I just knew that he could set off Gallahan, who would likely tear him to pieces.
“Lewis, shut the hell up and just come with me if you still want your head to be attached to your neck,” I whispered, my tone betraying my rising irritation for the man.
He may be a good friend, but damn was he frustratingly dense sometimes.
I had always appreciated him and his valor to step in whenever he would see men bother his friends. It was almost a second nature for him to always pretend to be the boyfriend to ward off unwanted advances, but now was really not the time.
Not when the man bothering me was not someone he could provoke and survive unscathe.
“Hey! No need for violence,” he huffed.
“Yeah,” Gallahan chimed in. “I wouldn’t chop someone’s head off just because he had the audacity to call my pups his own. I am not that violent, Miss Alfiero.”
“Oh,” Lewis exclaimed, acting as if he had just finally noticed Gallahan.
Oh, dear me.
He was playing with fire, and he would burn. Badly.
“And who is this, love?” He asked, slipping an arm around my waist. “Why is he claiming my Calisto and Gillian as his pups? Hm?”
Lewis, bless his oblivious heart, pressed a kiss on my temple and murmured soothingly, “I got you.”
I pulled away from him and shook my head, saying, “Let’s just go, Lewis.”
I dared to steal a glance at Gallahan, and my heart jolted in its confinement upon seeing the glow of his eyes.
Yeah. Not good for Lewis.
It didn’t help that he was a human, which Gallahan loathed with burning passion. So Lewis’s chances of survival had just gone from zero to a negative hundred.
“Is this your chosen mate, Willa?” Gallahan asked, spitting out ‘chosen mate’ like it was poison on his tongue. “How pathetic.”
“Oh, yeah?” Lewis squared his shoulder and turned to Gallahan with unfounded braggadocio. “Nothing is pathetic with how I can take care of her.”
“Lewis!” I screamed, trying to silence him before he could make a bigger damage for himself.
I pulled him by the arm, putting the most effort my human body could afford. But I only managed to make Lewis stagger a few steps back.
Foolishly, he couldn’t take a fucking hint and dared to continue, “With how I can make her come undone-”
Lewis was immediately cut off with a punch that got him stumbling a couple of steps before ultimately landing on his back with a painful thud.
“Lewis!” I cried out as I knelt down beside him, checking the damage on his face.
But I couldn’t even take a look for longer than a second because Gallahan picked him up by the collar and lifted him back to his feet.
He then growled to Lewis’ face, “I dare you to say it again. Go on.”
“Mr. Wick! Let him go!” I said, already back on my feet and trying to pry Gallahan’s tight grip on Lewis, who was pathetically struggling to get away.
But Gallahan was akin to a mountain. He wouldn’t budge.
“Talk that way about my mate again,” he hissed threateningly, “and I will make sure you won't have a tongue to use again.”
“Your mate?” Lewis scoffed. “She isn’t yours, you bastard.”
Gallahan snarled and lifted a fist, ready to throw another punch at Lewis, but I had gotten my claws out again and quickly pressed them against his neck.
“Hurt him again, I dare you. I wouldn’t hesitate slicing your neck with my own claws.”
Gallahan sucked a long breath, then released it slowly through his nose. “Wow. I can’t fucking believe this. You really do love humans, huh?”
A sardonic yet maniacal laughter burst out of him suddenly, and I could only watch frozen as my hackles rose with how terrifying it was.
Then out of nowhere, he shoved Lewis free, making him land painfully on his butt.
“Ah,” Gallahan drawled, sounding as amused as he was bitter. “Suit yourself. Have fun fucking a pathetic man.”
Then he walked away without sparing me a second glance, heading back to the Glass Dome with heavy footsteps, rigid back, and clenched fists.
As soon as he was completely out of sight, I rushed to Lewis’ side and helped him stand up again.
“Are you okay?”
Lewis chuckled softly. “As okay as I can be after getting nearly mauled by a werewolf.”
“If you had just listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened. Seriously!”
“Girl.” Lewis sighed, patting himself clean with his hands. “For years, I have been Sarina’s designated fake boyfriend whenever boys won’t bugger off. I do it for you for the first time ever, and I got fucking punched and manhandled like a ragdoll.”
“Who told you to do it for me?” I retorted, tilting his head a little to check the ugly bruise forming on his cheekbone.
When I lightly caressed the spot that was blooming in purple, Lewis flinched in pain and recoiled away from me.
“Seriously,” I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest. “I was a Warrior and a Peacemaker once. I can handle things myself.”
“Sure,” he agreed easily with a shrug. He then mirrored my pose and said, “But handling it yourself means potentially getting hurt. You are a mom, Willa. You can’t let anything happen to you. And besides, men usually back off in the face of other men.”
“Usually,” I parroted with a light chuckle. “You shouldn’t have provoked him.”
“It’s not like I had the slightest clue he would go absolutely berserk.”
“Well,” I said slowly, “he’s Gallahan Wick.”
The information had Lewis gaping at me like I had turned into a ghost. His arms fell limply to his sides, and his shoulders sagged heavily.
“Gallahan Wick? The Gallahan Wick? The fucking general of the Culling Army?”
“Yes. The very same.”
He visibly malfunctioned for a little while, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, before finally stammering out, “And… And he’s your mate?”
I sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted now that the adrenaline had ebbed away. Then I admitted softly, “Fated.”
“Oh,” Lewis mumbled. “I'm as good as dead, aren’t I?”
“Probably.”
“If I plead my case and confess that I am, in fact, a gay man, will it make a difference?”
Hearing his pitiful question, I couldn’t help but snort in mild amusement. “You are an absolute dunderhead. This is why you don’t always dive head first like an idiot.”
“Damn it, Willa. I might have to move in with you and live a sequestered life.”
“That might just anger him further,” I replied lightheartedly. “Anyway, enough about him. I must go now. Calisto and Gillian are waiting for me.”
This seemed to have distracted Lewis from the doom that had filled his head. “Where are they anyway?”
I smiled, the expression small but genuine.