Page 101 of Sawyer

“So he didn’t know what triggers a gamma’s cycle?”

“No. I usually keep tampons packed, just in case.” The last time I had it, I swear it was last year. “No one wants to let a mage, let alone a beta scientist, examine an omega or a gamma.”

“We should go,” Rumor says before looking at me. “Are you up to this, baby girl?”

Cramps make my thighs ache, but I nod. “I’ll be good.”

“Stubborn girl.” Bryn shakes his head.

Sin has been quiet this entire time, which is really suspicious of him. He finally stands with an odd look on his face. “During this time” —he talks with his hands— “is there anything you like or prefer?”

I tilt my head to the side, and the smile that stretches across my face surprises me. “Chocolate and wine.”

“Noted.”

Rumor walks, and I fall into step behind him. Each step is like a blow to my gut, and I only hope this doesn’t last too long. Sometimes my cycles are longer, sometimes shorter, and some are heavier, while others are lighter. Really, most days, I do not know.

Some healers say the best they can offer is just listening to your body, but that’s hard to do, especially when biology plays a huge role in our designations. Hell, in our entire species. I wish it was easy and uncomplicated.

Most female mammals go into heat cycles, and they don’t have designations.

I almost trip over a rock, and Sin steadies me from behind. Focus, Sawyer.

I turn my camera back on, having turned it off while Rumor rested. The path becomes a little narrower, and Rumor pauses. I’m starting to understand what he’s looking for. Overhead, there is a tree that can hide us from above, and if we stay close to the side, no one will see us from below.

Anyone can see us from the other side of the ravine, and I’m guessing that makes Rumor frown. I scan the length of the tree line, but I don’t see anyone. That doesn’t mean they aren’t there though.

“We will have to chance it,” Rumor says. “I don’t see, hear, or smell anyone other than us, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

“I’m not getting anything either,” Bryn states.

We all turn to Sin, who grabs my pack and pulls me into the bush. Rumor and Bryn follow carefully, making sure the bushes in front of us keep us hidden as we all crouch.

“Three are hidden behind the tree, twelve o’clock,” Sin whispers so quietly I almost miss it, but the others pick up his words immediately.

“How did I miss them?” Rumor squints through the bush before grumbling and pulling out his binoculars.

“It was a slight movement that caught my eye,” Sin whispers.

In the end, Bryn is already piecing his sniper rifle together and setting it up. It should concern me just how quickly he can set it up and tear it down, but that’s a past he’ll have to tell me on his own.

I remain quiet and look through the bushes, until a thought strikes me. “Did they see us?”

“Unlikely,” Sin answers. “The bush is thick, and we’ve stayed behind it. It ends in ten feet where we’d have to press against the wall.”

“What are they doing?” I wonder out loud, earning a scowl from Rumor.

Right, it’s quiet time.

“Yo! Did you report to base camp?” A voice breaks the silence, echoing across the ravine. These guys must have been coming from the other direction.

“Yeah, I got nothing.”

“It’s unlikely they crossed here. That bridge wouldn’t hold a bird.” He chuckles.

“Let’s go. That ravine keeps them over here.”

Them. Who is them?

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