HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

The kitchen was cozy.

You wouldn't really think so since the window above the stove and sink counter had been blown in, but it had a casual sort of charm to it, unlike the rest of Sebastian's obnoxiously extravagant mansion. I sat at the table in clean clothes with my chin on the wood, arms hanging limply, taking in the smell of baking pizza rolls and a variety of other foods. 

I let out a snort when my stomach growled, fluttering my ears in agitation.

Leo and Kyle watched me carefully from across the table, but I didn't care. The kitchen was full of people since Diana, Cassidy, Louise, and Buck were cooking dinner for everyone--including the mob of supernaturals camping out in the private gymnasium downstairs. There were a total of sixty seven creatures, from what I'd heard.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Diana snapped, swatting Buck's pudgy fingers away from the sauce bowl. "No dipping your stubs, pal!"

"Aw, c'mon, just a taste?" he chuckled, but she, Louise, and Cassidy all glared at him amidst the upheaval of snickers from the guys sitting around me. I cast a look at Jun, who was sitting on the floor in the corner reading a book, then glanced at Max, who was fiddling with his dreadlocks.

Tiffany, Kat, and the kids were down in the gym with the supernaturals. Aerin, Bash, Echo, and the unnamed vampire who was also injured would be en-route to the manse with Feng-Feng and Anurak's help sometime soon. Jiao, Shen, and Fucang were out scouting the damage from the sky, and Richard, Woody, my dad, and all of our pack mates were out and about combing the nearby towns to check out the damage and to see if anyone was trapped. 

From what I'd heard thanks to everyone here in the kitchen, there were rescue teams and firetrucks and police officers doing the same all over the place. There were also newscasters and reporters everywhere near Wilmington since the insane aftermath of Hurricane Olga was making national media coverage. I didn't really care, to be honest. I just wanted to eat something and go crawl in a corner until Aerin and my dad came back. 

"You okay?" Kyle asked, pushing his ginger hair out of his concerned amber eyes; they flickered like molten embers as he studied me. 

"Could be better," I admitted, shrugging, forcing a smile. "You heard everything that happened earlier so I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that, though, yeah?"

Kyle bit his lip and over in the corner, Jun raised his eyes and peered at me through his hair.

"Be that as it may, asking is a way for him to let you know he cares," the Korean man said, casually returning to what he was doing. "Kyle, much like Aerin, is an awkward sandwich who doesn't have any tact so he charges right in and says what he's thinking or feeling."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I sighed, closing my eyes and lazily turning my head so I could rest my cheek against the cold wooden table. "I'm being bitter and mean. I'm sorry."

"We forgive you," Jun said simply, and I scowled at him when he turned the page. I had half a mind to get up and walk out but before I could decide, Jiao Wu Tao floated into the kitchen like a human-shaped wheel, hands resting on his legs, which were folded Indian-style mid-air.

"Ohaaaai!" he yodeled, throwing his arms up and stopping upside down, giving us all a huge fanged grin. "We're baaaaack!"

"Hello, Jiao," Diana greeted, walking around his floating body like it was nothing out of the ordinary and setting a pan full of pizza rolls on the counter. "Sorry, but we've got our hands a bit full at the moment so I'm afraid we don't have time for fun and games. It's good to see you, though!"