Page 35 of Entangled in the Woods
“He’ll never die.” Kleio sighed, abruptly cutting off her breath as she sat down. “He’s one of those Lycans that live forever, tormenting everyone because he’s bored from living so long.”
“Let’s wait until Everett wakes up to see how he wants to deal with his father,” Kostas said.
Mumbles of agreement filled the tent. I heard footsteps come dangerously close to where I was crouched down by the tent. I stood, rushing back to my tent, hoping no one noticed I had been listening.
Ducking under the flaps of my tent, I let out a breath. It was just how I left it last weekend, and I was grateful for the bed. Moving my backpack to the end of the bed, I climbed onto the mattress and under the sheets. I couldn’t imagine what the True Alpha wanted with me. I was just some human stuck in his tournament wards. But from what I had heard, it seemed like there was a lot of bad blood between Everett and his father. Being stuck between two alpha Lycans was not where I wanted to be.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Camp was already chatteringwhen I woke. I could hear people up and moving around. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stood up and stretched my body. My wrists were a little sore from where Elijah had held them, but other than that, I felt good and rested. I dug through my backpack, thankful for the deodorant I had put in there “just in case.”
Stepping outside, I made my way to the main tent, hoping Kostas was cooking something for breakfast. My stomach ached when I walked in and found muffins and eggs on the table. Beyond the table, the couch Everett had slept on was empty.
“It’s a miracle,” Jack said, seeming to have noticed where I was looking. “His arm looks way better than I thought it would. He woke up early this morning and was ready to hunt. You must really know your stuff.”
I sat down and dished up my plate with food. I’d expected that Everett’s arm would be better than last night, but I hadn’t thought it would have healed enough for him to hunt today. Maybe Lycans healed faster than humans.
I relayed my thoughts to Jack.
“We do,” he said, “but not to the capacity that Everett healed. I thought he would be out of the hunt for the weekend.” Jack patted my back in appreciation as he dished up his own plate.
That was surprising to me. Yarrow had healing properties, but it wasn’t anything magical.
After breakfast, Kleio approached me giddily, bouncing up and down. “We have most of the day to ourselves. Let’s go on a scavenger hunt again—this time without the babysitter.” Her eyes were alight with anticipation.
I nodded, ready to be back in the woods. Maybe we would get lucky again like last weekend.
We stopped at my tent to grab my backpack, my supplies ready to go from when I’d packed them on Friday. I slung my pack over my shoulder and followed Kleio across the field.
Snarls and growls broke up the quiet as we neared the edge of the forest. The cages holding the rogues were more crowded than last weekend. I could tell the difference between the rogues that had been in the cage since last weekend and the ones that had been freshly caught. The ones who’d been here longer were thinner and more aggressive. They looked dirtier and more ragged.
Looking up to the banners above the cages, I smiled, seeing that the Cedar Moon Pack was in the lead with fifteen rogues. The rest of the cages had fewer captives, although Kip and Elijah’s cage with the Juniper Pack banner above it had about ten rogues. It was surprising they could continue to hunt after Everett had injured Kip so badly.
Quickly, the smile left my face as I felt overcome with bittersweet feelings. Yes, the Cedar Moon Pack was winning, but what were they winning at? Catching the obviously sick rogue wolves? It didn’t seem fair that they should have to be locked up for a month in misery. And while my situation was certainly different than theirs, I knew a thing or two about being trappedhere. Was there something that could be done to help the rogues who had been captured?
Before I could think more on it, Kleio pulled me past the cages and into the forest, the cool air from the shade of the trees blowing over us. I was coming to enjoy the quiet moments with Kleio. She was always insightful and willing to answer my questions. The yarrow was plentiful out here, and occasionally I would lean over and pick some, placing it gently in my pocket. Never knew when you’d need some around these shifters. The path in the woods widened, allowing Kleio and me to walk side by side.
“So, I saw you and Everett on the couch last night.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively.
Not her too,I thought. At least she wasn’t as overbearing as Jenny. She seemed to be genuinely interested in whatever was going on between Everett and me and not about to tell me how to navigate the situation.
A tree to my left caught my eye. It was growing almost sideways, parallel to the ground. I rubbed a leaf between my fingers. Nothing rare, just an oak tree growing oddly.
“I don’t know what it is.” I decided to be honest. “One minute he’s all authoritative and bossy, and the next minute he’s being sweet.”
We continued walking on the trail. I scanned the forest in a back and forth motion, not willing to miss anything of interest.
“Male Lycans are known for being dominant and protective,” Kleio said. “Jack used to drive me crazy with his domineering attitude. I put him in check real quick. It has gotten better, but you need to understand that they can’t fight their instincts.”
“Instincts to do what?”
“Protect, silly.”
“If it’s every Lycan’s instinct to protect, then Kip and Elijah never would have attacked me,” I said.
“Well, it’s not about protecting everyone. It’s their instinct to protect those who are…important to them.” Kleio said, looking at me like I should know what she was talking about.
“How am I important to Everett? He’s hardly talked to me, kissed me once, and spent the rest of the time ignoring me.”
