Page 19 of The Hunt

Jaxson groaned and headed toward her.

“It just ...exploded?”Calliope asked.

“Each element is a test, and they are going to attempt to push us both to the breaking point.”

“But that means the bear didn’t exist, right?”

“Yeah, it does.It’s all part of the magic of The Hunt.”

She looked down at Jaxson.“Then why are you bleeding?”

“They’re magical.We’re not.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re a werewolf, you’re a magical, mystical being.”

He laughed and started to remove his shirt.“Just not fast enough.”

“Don’t say stuff like that.You did what you had to do, and it was enough.”

“I didn’t save you.”

“I don’t have a single scar on me, and at least now we have a weapon.”Calliope looked behind her, only to find the weapon was gone.“Oh, come on, are you insane?This is not fair.I know I sound like a child, but to put it frankly, this is not fucking fair!”She let out a scream and stamped her foot.

“Are you okay?”he asked.

“No, no, fucking hell no, I am not okay!I’m not even close to being okay.”

Just then, Jaxson laughed.

“What?What are you finding so funny?”

“You cursed.It’s rare for you to do that, except when you’re scared or panicking, or you don’t know what to do.You curse.It’s cute.I’ve not heard you curse in a while.It’s nice.”

“You know this isn’t funny, right?”

“I know, but come on, it’s kind of funny.Now, stop being a pain in the ass and help fix me.Hopefully, they don’t have anything against werewolves receiving medical care.”

She went to their backpack, the one that hadn’t disappeared, and sure enough, there was a medical kit.“You’re in luck.”

****

The stinging of thecuts had long gone.Jaxson peeled back the bandage Calliope had applied and saw they were healing nicely.

“How are you doing?”she asked, moving toward him.

She hadn’t wanted to continue their journey, but he knew after the encounter with the bear, they were good.Rather than keep moving, they made camp.Calliope had even gone down to the small stream she found and gotten them some water.

More food had appeared in the backpack, and she was cooking it for them.She wouldn’t allow him to do a single thing.He was to sit back, relax, and try to heal.

“I’m doing good.”

She let out a little tut.

“What?You’re upset that I am healing?”

“No, I’m upset that we ended up here in the first place.You shouldn’t be getting hurt and we shouldn’t be dealing with this.”She let out an angry growl.“What would we have done if that bear had killed you?”

“You would have been able to leave here—”

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