Page 35 of What the Hex
While disappointed by the information, King understood. With a couple of exceptions, he wouldn’t recognize any of the guests out on the street. He likely wouldn’t be able to discern if they were human or Otherling, let alone what designation of paranormal.
After ten minutes of staring at the screen, watching guests enter the ballroom and begin milling about, he realized what an arduous task they had ahead of them. From start to finish, they had at least three hours of footage to scour, all while keeping track of who Storm, Cyrus, and Nita had interacted with.
Another ten minutes passed before the hellhound echoed his thoughts. “This is going to take a while. If you guys have something else to do, I can take it from here.”
Storm had been scheduled for an interview that morning, but Priya had decided it was probably best to keep him out of the public eye for the time being. Honestly, she had taken the news of her rising star’s amnesia better than expected. At least, she had appeared outwardly calm.
As such, they didn’t have anywhere to be until after lunch, but King got the sense they were more hinderance than help.
“I’m going to try to get ahold of Nita and find out if she remembers anything from last night.”
Cyrus didn’t take his eyes away from the monitor. “Good thinking.”
“Thanks for doing this.”
“Trust me. I want to know who’s behind this as much as you do.” Finally, the guard lifted his head and turned to face him. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.”
King thanked him again before leading his mate out of the office. “We have a few hours. What do you want to do?”
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Glancing through the windows on the other side of the lobby, King winced at the crowd gathered in the parking lot. “Outside? I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Come on.” Storm dropped his mostly full cup into a nearby receptacle, grabbed King’s hand, and began dragging him around the staircase. “We’ll sneak out the back.”
“Do you even know how to get there?”
“That’s why I have you.”
The fans gathered in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite stars had been restricted to the front of the hotel. If he and Storm stayed quiet and kept to the trees, it would probably be okay.
Of course, he hadn’t accounted for his mate’s current condition, or his unpredictable behavior. As soon as they stepped through the door that opened onto the south lawn, Storm started whooping like he’d just scored the winning touchdown at the homecoming game.
“You didn’t tell me there was a lake here.”
“No. We can’t—Storm!”
But it was too late. The shifter took off, sprinting across the lawn and down the grassy slope to the lake at the bottom of the hill.
Objectively, King had to admit the lake was beautiful. Surrounded by a grove of trees, the sandy banks led to crystalline waters that rippled gently in the wind. The late morning sun glittered over the surface, turning something already extraordinary into absolute magic.
It was the last place they should be, though.
Resisting the urge to call for his mate, he chased after him, but Storm was bigger, faster, and he had a head start. So, by the time King reached the edge of the lake, the shifter had already stripped to his bare skin and was wading into the water.
“Storm, get out of there!” he hissed. “And put your damn clothes back on.”
Of course, the asshole ignored him. “Come swim with me. The water feels amazing.”
“This is not—”
An ear-piercing, feminine squeal rent the air, followed by several shouts of Storm’s name. All King could do was watch as the horde of screaming fans thundered down the hillside, phones in hand. Some of them were already recording.
Fuck, he was so getting fired for this.
Well, if Priya didn’t kill him first.
Chapter ten