Page 36 of What the Hex

Storm sat in the passenger seat of King’s SUV with his hands clasped between his knees and his head bowed. He really didn’t see what the big deal was, but his mate had been pissed at him for the past three days.

He wasn’t the only one, either. A lot of people he didn’t know had ranted and raved about his “performance” down at the lake. Priya had been particularly irate. Some guy he’d been told was a film director had just about shit kittens over it.

Damien, however, had found the entire ordeal hilarious. He still couldn’t remember the guy, but he was beginning to see why they were friends.

“Don’t do anything weird tonight,” King bit out from the behind the wheel.

Was that meant to be offensive? Should he be offended? “Weird how?”

“For starters, try to keep your clothes on.”

Ah, so they were back to that.

He wasn’t claiming King didn’t have justification for his anger. The poor guy had endured his share of the ass-chewings being dished out. He’d also been stressing about the possibility of being fired from his position at the hotel, although nothing had come of that. Not even a reprimand from his boss.

Still, Storm wasn’t oblivious to the havoc he’d caused. He just didn’t understand why everyone was getting so bent out of shape over it. So what if a bunch of strangers had seen him naked? It wouldn’t be the first time. He was a shifter for fuck’s sake.

Apparently, pictures and videos of him at the lake had ended up on some kind of clock website. He wasn’t clear on the details, but that was what he’d gathered from Priya’s screeching.

“You’re all over TikTok!”

A bunch of timekeeping enthusiasts posting pictures of him didn’t make a hell of a lot of sense, but everyone had been pretty upset about it. The word “scandal” had even been tossed around, which sounded like a bit of a stretch.

“Can you please just talk to me, darlin’? I honestly don’t know what I did wrong to piss you off.”

King gripped the wheel tighter and sighed. “I know you don’t, and I’m not mad at you. I’m angry with myself.” Slowing, he turned on his indicator light as he merged onto the highway that would take them into Colorado Springs. “It’s not so much about what you did. It’s more about who you are.”

“You said I’m famous.” An actor with legions of devoted fans.

Since Storm’s earliest memories were only a few days old, he was forced to take the guy’s word for it. Still, his journey from a farm kid in the Texas panhandle to the glitz and glamor of the silver screen sounded unbelievable.

According to more than one person, his introduction to films had happened during an open casting call during college. He and some of his friends had decided to audition as a joke, and the rest, apparently, was history.

Of course, Storm couldn’t remember who he’d been or why he’d made the choices he had. All he had to go on was the person he was now. For that person, the joke part of the story resonated, but he couldn’t reconcile his decision to continue in the industry. Especially when he had no desire for fame.

“Exactly,” King confirmed. “Until things go back to normal, I just don’t want you to do something you might regret once you have your memory back.”

That was fair, and Storm appreciated that it came from a place of caring. His mate was essentially trying to protect him from himself, or at the very least, protect a potential future in case Storm decided to continue down that path.

It was all quite confusing, and frankly, he didn’t want to think about it anymore. Time to change the subject.

“Tell me about your family.”

“What do want to know?” King’s fingers tightened around the wheel again, and the muscles in his shoulders tensed.

“Let’s start with their names.”

“Well, my parents are Tim and Daniella Mathers.”

“What do they do?”

“My dad is a cosmetic surgeon. My mom—” King shook his head. “—doesn’t work. She supports a lot of causes, though. Mostly to do with animals.”

Both respectable uses of time, so he didn’t understand why his mate sounded so apprehensive. “You said you have siblings?”

“Yeah, Reina is the oldest. She’ll take over dad’s clinic when he retires. Rhiannon is a district judge. She prefers to go by Rhia.” He licked his bottom lip and took a deep breath before continuing. “Royal is a robotics engineer, but don’t ask me to explain what he does. I don’t understand half of what he says.”

Storm chuckled in solidarity, but he wasn’t concerned. Even if he didn’t understand their jobs, he figured they could always find something else to talk about.