Santa's Princess (Book 2 of Santa Series)

Chapter 10

Lanshin greeted me at the door, wagging his tail, and Cale and I breathed a sigh of relief. "You are here," he said. He lifted his two front paws off the ground and placed his paws on my right leg. "Are you ok?" The pup cocked his head and furrowed his brows, and I could tell that he was concerned for my well being. "We heard you screaming when you tried to get in."

I furrowed my brows and looked at Cale, confused. "I was screaming?" I asked both out loud and through the link that I shared with the animals that I had grown accustomed to taking care of.

Lanshin nodded. "Yes," he replied. He cocked his head and studied me with wide eyes. "Did you not know that you were screaming?"

I furrowed my brows further and tried to remember what had happened before I shook my head. I couldn't think of what had happened and wondered if something was blocking my memory or if I was too out of it to care. "No," I replied honestly. "Not out loud. I thought I had screamed silently, but..." I shrugged and cleared my throat. "Where's Jankin?" I asked, changing the subject away from me.

"Jindum placed him in the separate room," Lanshin replied. He sat down and looked at us. "Are you going to check up on him?" Worry filled his voice, and I could tell that this pup cared about the dog, even though the dog had tried to harm him.

"We both are," Cale said before I could get a word in. "We will make sure that he is safe and alive before he is allowed to join back with the group."

Lanshin furrowed his brows and cocked his head the other way while he looked solely at Cale. "Wait, you can hear us too?"

Cale nodded. "I can," he confirmed.

"How?"

"Magic," Cale replied. He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked nervous under Lanshin's gaze, and I had to bite back a smile because I was so amused that this grown male was afraid of a small dog that wasn't fully grown. "Can we..?" He cleared his throat again and gestured for me to lead the way to where Jankin would be.

An amused smile flickered on my lips, but I smiled and nodded before I started to walk over to the other room. "Bye, Lanshin," I said.

"Bye. Don't forget to talk to Jindum when you are done. I am watching you, Mister," Lanshin said before he barked and lunged towards the male.

Cale muttered a slew of curse words and dodged the young pup with the messed up leg. His eyes were wide, and a look of fear filled his eyes that I couldn't help but bust out laughing. "Not funny," he muttered, his cheeks turning red. "That dog scares me."

I didn't say a word and bit my lip to keep myself from continuing to laugh at his demise. I shook my head and walked into the room where Jankin would be with the muttering Cale behind me.

Please let my dog be safe. Please.

***

Jankin was in the back corner when we walked in. He snarled with his ears flat against his head, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.

The room was dark, which was not normal if the lights in the main room were on, and there was this... weight that fell on my shoulders and made it harder for me to breathe.

"Cale," I said, sounding just as breathless as I felt. I felt my dog brush up against me and grabbed my dog's fur.

"I know," Cale said, his voice sounding deeper than normal. He sounded to be in front of me, and I felt confused about how he had gotten in farther than me. "It is ok. Walk forward. Let your dog see for you."

I stayed rooted in my spot and set my jaw. My whole body grew tense, and I was confused as to what dark magic this was.

"Don't," the normal sounding Cale said from my shoulder. His presence was comforting and confusing, and it felt as if I was trapped in front of someone who could potentially kill me. "Don't take a step forward. It's a trap."

"Yes, the trap is right behind you, so come here, Mary. It is safer with me."

I stayed still and tried to see where the voice was coming from. I could tell that it was somewhere in the room with me, but I had no idea where it came from. I could hear my dog still growling, and I wanted to comfort him, but I didn't. I couldn't if I wanted to survive.

The other Cale hissed when I didn't move, and anger filled the air around us. "Tell me, why did he let you go in first if not to trap you?"

I pursed my lips and shifted but made sure not to leave my spot.

Why did he let me go in first? He should've known that this would happen that there would be a trap in which I found myself.

But what if Lanshin scared him more than he was letting on, and it slipped his mind?

"That Husky pup was scary, I must admit, even though he shouldn't be scary at all. This slipped my mind, and making sure that you were behind me instead of up front. I should've known this would happen when we entered. Please, Mary. Believe me; I wouldn't do anything to hurt you." He grabbed my jacket's sleeve and pulled, and I took a step back, leading the other Cale to hiss in warning. "I need you to close your eyes. Trust me."

I didn't reply and closed my eyes before something white flashed in front of my closed eyes, and I knew that it would have blinded me if I had kept my eyes wide open. I didn't even question how he knew my eyes were closed because I had a feeling that he used magic to check.

After that, everything just stopped, and the male behind fell to the ground with a resonating thud.