Page 19 of How to Hide Your Angel Kid

Fuck.

The line glowed bright green. A large net shot out at him, tangling with his arms and legs.

Galent tried to rip it off. But its weighted edges and stringiness made it near impossible, and it covered his entire body in a sticky, liquid mess.

In his distraction, his leg snagged on a tree root. Galent lurched forward and thumped his head against a tree. “Fuck!”

He heard heartbeats now. Four different ones, closing in rapidly. With a snarl, Galent released a plume of his hottest blue flames, hitting one of them so his clothes caught on fire. But the other three yanked on his net from a distance, forcing him to fall and hit the ground hard.

Galent finally tore off the net, only to have someone fling a whistling spear that he barely dodged.

The wrong-sounding laughter rang out, so loud that Galent’s hair stood on end.

Three minions plus thething.He couldn’t hit them all with a single plume of fire; they were too far apart. And they were closing in, weapons at the ready.

Maybe Pinks had been right. Maybe Galent needed a plan, instead of running into the forest with just his raw strength.

And maybe it was too late for regrets.

He braced himself for an attack, searching out the shadowy figure hidden behind the trees.

A howl rang through the forest. Then other howls echoed behind it, much softer, further away.

Galent glanced up. Pinks?

A lone gray wolf darted between the trees, holding a white, rectangular bag in his mouth. One of Galent’s attackers aimed a gun at the wolf; Galent stopped breathing.

He lunged forward and tackled the man to the ground just as the gun went off. There wasn’t time to check if the wolf was hurt; Galent snapped the man’s neck and went for the next assailant, plunging his clawed fingers through the man’s throat.

The third attacker aimed a dagger at the wolf. The wolf darted away and leaped around to Galent’s other side, waiting as Galent breathed fire on the threat.

Only then did Galent recognize what the wolf carried in his mouth—a bag of flour.

Before he could ask why, the wolf ripped into the paper package with his teeth. He flung it at Galent and shifted into a naked pink-haired man. Pinks pointed at the shadowy figure. “Throw it!”

Galent drew his hand back and flung the bag as hard as he could. Flour poured out through the rips in the packaging, heading straight for thething.

He didn’t wait for Pinks’ next instruction. He grabbed Pinks around the waist and hurled a fireball through the flour cloud, sprinting away as it exploded behind them.

He didn’t stop running until they were back in the safehouse, the door shut and locked behind them. Both of them panted.

“Why’re you panting?” Galent asked. “You didn’t even run.”

Pinks folded his arms and glowered. “Because that was a high pressure situation! You could’ve thanked me first, you jerk.”

Galent blew out a breath. “Thanks.”

Pinks sniffed disdainfully. “After what I risked, you owe me. You already owed me because your massage wasn’t two hours like you promised.”

Galent raised an eyebrow. “I made you come. Twice.”

“Still wasn’t two hours!”

“Fine,” Galent said, his mouth twitching. Then he sobered. “I didn’t mean for you to follow me into the forest.”

Pinks rolled his eyes. “I heard them. You were outnumbered, and they got you.”

“You were right. I shouldn’t have gone out there without a plan.”

---