“Well, what is it then? I don’t feel different, but the runes have to do something, don’t they?”
“Maybe not in this case,” Ryker offers. “Maybe they’re more a mate mark than an ability enhancer.”
I deflate a little. Siah wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his side. “You really wanted fangs, didn’t you?” he teases me quietly. I chuckle and wrap my arm around his waist.
“Fuck yeah, I did, who doesn’t want to induce orgasms with their bite?”
Siah cracks up and then gives me a quick peck. I lean into him wanting more. “Don’t worry, mate, we can get into a bite war later, really test our limits this time.”
My smile goes from hungry to beaming to predatory. Siah laughs even harder.
“TGV strikes again,” Torrez teases.
I chuckle. “You know it, Wolf.”
I release the magic in the runes Siah’s bite gave me and shoo away the letdown I feel over the fact that they don’t seem to do anything.
“Should we try the new rune on all of our palms?” Ryker asks, and a new surge of excitement rushes through me.
“Let’s stop here for tonight,” Sorik announces as he comes to a stop and takes off his pack. “I think a storm is moving in, and I want to track ahead and see if there’s a faster way to the mountain than the way I went last time.”
I look past Sorik at the mountain in the distance he must be talking about.
“Siah, Nash, Teo, and Enoch, you’re with me. Teo, can you shift into your wolf? We’re getting close, and I just want to be sure we’re not going to cross paths with something we’re not expecting,” Sorik orders.
Torrez nods and starts stripping down. This results in my immediate drooling from all lips, and some of the guys groaning in playful disapproval.
“The rest of you put up tents and build a big fire. It’s going to get very cold tonight.”
“On it,” Bastien and Valen say at the same time.
“Vinna, I’m going to leave Vaughn with you, okay?” I nod and step up to my dad’s side. I’ve been in charge of him a couple times so far on this trip, so I shouldn’t feel awkward doing this, and yet for some reason, I still do.
Everyone sets their packs down, and the group going with Sorik moves out. The others quickly fall into a familiar rhythm of getting tents and camp set up. I spot some large boulders off to the right and decide it’s a good place for Vaughn and me to take a load off and stay out of the way of the guys as they set things up.
“Vaughn, walk with me,” I instruct, and we both make our way toward the rocks. I dismiss my uneasiness over his dead eyes and his ability to do as he’s told. It’s weird that I’m not bothered by it when Sorik is in command of my father. But when I am the one who has to direct him, reality sucker punches me every time, without fail.
“Vaughn, sit here on this rock,” I tell him, pointing to exactly where I want him to be.
He sits, and I take a seat on the rock next to him. I’m quiet for a while as I watch the guys work. They move like well-oiled camping machines these days, and it’s captivating to watch.
“So how was today?” I ask Vaughn.
Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t answer.
“Sorik says we’re getting close, which is awesome and equally fucking terrifying,” I admit. “Any of this look familiar to you? I know my mom talked to Sorik about this place, so you probably knew about it too. I wonder what landmarks she used to explain how to get here?”
I look around at the surrounding trees. The landscape has seemed the same for the past week or so. No major signs that we’re headed anywhere other than a wandering trek out in the middle of nowhere, but Sorik says this is the way. I probably look like an idiot out here, talking to a man who we don’t even know if he’s in there anymore. Maybe the Sentinels will have some way to help him.
It’s a hope I try not to look at too closely, but an ember of it glows in the center of my chest, nonetheless. But just in case that never happens, and this version of my dad is all I will ever have, I’m trying to get to know him and help him to get to know me. I figure if the roles were reversed, I’d want someone to be tender and kind to me that way.
I slip off my rock and kneel at Vaughn’s feet. “Dad, lift your left leg and set your foot in my lap.” He does as he’s told, and I begin to unlace his hiking boot and pull it off. His thick sock is next, and then I check his feet for blisters or areas that look like they could break down soon because of rubbing. Sorik showed me how to do this our first night camping. I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that if Vaughn were hurting from a blister or pressure sore from his pack, he wouldn’t be able to tell us, so a nightly routine of checking him over started.
I rub the bottom of his foot for a minute and then send some Healing magic to fix a spot on his heel that’s a little too red from today’s walk.
“So where did we leave off?” I ask and tilt my head in thought. “Oh that’s right, Beth had just decided it was time to leave New Mexico. Laiken and I didn’t know that Beth had already decided that Nevada was our next stop, so we would take turns spinning this ratty old globe that she had found at a garage sale. I mean, the thing was barely hanging on, but that didn’t stop us from giving it a spin, closing our eyes, and sticking our finger on a spot. Wherever our finger landed was where we decided we were moving next. The rule was that the chooser had to tell the other person a story about how life would be in our new home.”
I put my dad’s sock and shoe back on and switch to his other foot.
