Page 50 of The Wolf's Kidnapped Mate

I sniffed at it. “I’m glad that’s hot at least.”

“Hey, I’m hot.”

I glared up at him, surprised by the flirty grin he wore.

Anger swelled in my chest. “Are you seriously trying to hit on me right now?”

His smile faded. “Good morning to you too.”

“Yeah, good morning.”

“We have another day of running, so get in the mood for it, I guess.”

I slumped toward the plate while lifting the mug of coffee. Once again, I was impressed with the flavor of the coffee despite us not having access to much food. Remnants of the brown sugar lingered on my tongue along with a dash of coconut milk. Guilt crashed into me as I nibbled on a rabbit leg.

Fred sat down on the couch across from me, dust shooting up from the cushions. He pulled the GPS and Nokia out of his bag.

He frowned. “Dead battery.”

A little more digging procured the extra batteries. He replaced them in each device and powered them on—or at least he tried to do that. He grumbled under his breath.

Panic made my stomach turn. “Is everything okay?”

“They’re just not—” He dropped them both into the bag. “The cold must have drained the charge or something.”

“Or something?”

His gaze snapped angrily in my direction, furious green burning through me like Greek fire. “Yeah,or something.”

Hurt flooded me along with indignant anger. “You don’t get to talk to me like that just because you’re upset.”

“Same applies to you, princess.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Tension cracked his usually calm demeanor. The crease along his brow deepened with his frown. “Then stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

“You’re supposed to be protecting me, not mocking me.”

“Load of good that’s doing. Our plan keeps going to fuckingshit.” He kicked the bag aside, sending it skittering toward the fireplace that was now full of ashes. “Piece of shit,damn it.”

He stomped off to the bedroom behind me where I heard the door to the bathroom thud shut. The lock didn’t really work, but he didn’t know that because I listened to him fumble with it for a few minutes before giving up. The shower ran next. He hissed when he felt the tepid water.

Yep, that was just Fred.

I gazed forlornly into my coffee, rubbing the ceramic handle with my thumb.Just Fred. He’d been like that back in that compact shed. What had happened in the past three days that had driven us apart?

Or was it just the fact that things were ending?

No, that was just stupid. Things had never started enough for them to end. We were running on barely any sleep, low rations, and high levels of cortisol. No matter how many times it felt like I was just camping with Fred, I couldn’t forget that we were on a mission.

Hewas on a mission. To get to me to safety in another state.

That was it. Why was I making it out to be something else?

I turned to face the empty fireplace. “I wish I could talk to Faye.”

Hearing myself whisper those words to the empty walls made me feel defeated. More tears came then, a whole stream of them that slicked my cheeks and soaked my shirt. I hugged my knees to my chest while trying to keep my sobs quiet, knowing that Fred would probably hear me over the showerhead spouting water.

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