There’s a thread of unease in the air, and the longer it goes on, the more enraged I get. That hint of an omega in distress is calling to all my instincts, making them scream.
I want to go over there, grab her wrist, and watch her drop to her knees. I want her fear and anger, all the emotions that pour into her eyes, for me.
There is no sharing her outside the pack. I don’t want to hurt her. I want…My gaze zeros in on Rojer, who is watching her with a twist of his lips.
My hackles rise, and I glance sideways at the pack, feeling them focus in with the same predatory rage I’m feeling.
And maybe she can feel it, too, maybe she senses it, because Bonnie looks up and smiles, laughing as she points out a bird. I don’t look away from her face as she puts herself in the space near the betas.
It soothes the frayed edges. I’m able to take a breath and back away from the murderous rage that’s enveloped me.
“We’re going to have to do something about them, and soon,” Vale whispers.
The three of them glance at her again before sitting down. I don’t like the way they watch her; I don’t like the way they feel when they watch her.
My hackles rise, and I slip into the bush.
I circle the group, staying well out of sight and their ability to hear me, searching for more opportunities and chances to eradicate these assholes once and for all.
I slip up close behind them and go through their packs. There’s an envelope that I pocket. Then a skulk back into the forest and circle around to the other side. I go to open the envelope, but I hear Cyn’s whistle, telling me to return.
I come back, zipping up my fly and humming a tune.
Vale presses up against me, kissing me hard, and takes the package I slip to him.
“Bonnie, what did I miss?”
“She was teaching us how to make a compass out of just sunlight, shadows, a stick, and two rocks,” Quincy says.
“Fascinating.”
“If you put a rock down where the shadow from the stick is, wait an hour, and then put another rock down, you have your east-west line.”
I know all of this, but Bonnie has spent every single day quietly talking, teaching. How to build a gypsy well. What plants are edible. Last night, she showed everyone how to make a really smoky fire to signal to people. She points out threats like bugs, dangerous terrain, and what to do if you get injured.
Nowhere on the brochure did it say she would teach people how to survive, but she’s doing it in a responsible, nonthreatening way that allows people to choose if they want to hear it.
It’s impressive.
“You missed out, Dakota,” Quincy says happily.
“Ah, I’ll have to sign up to come back out on the next trip and pay extra careful attention to all the lessons,” I purr.
Bonnie’s head jerks up, her eyes narrowing as she glares at me, but she refuses to take the bait. More’s the pity. “All right everyone, let’s get going. We’ve got a couple of hours, and then we’ll reach our camp for the night.”
“I had no idea there would be so much walking involved,” Kendall says.
Justin lifts his head but doesn’t say anything. After a long moment, he rolls his eyes and walks past Kendall. It’s the most reaction we’ve had out of him in days.
“Did you think we were going to fly?” I ask curiously.
Kendall goes red. “Walking is good for your health, but the more fatigued we get, the more chance for trips, falls, blisters, which can form into infections, and out here, it would be easy to end up with gangrene, and then you’d have to have your foot cut off, or leg if it spreads, and maybe even die.”
He stops, taking a deep breath that just comes wheezing out as his eyes search frantically for the danger.
I lean in. “And all from one little blister? I think you are forgetting the biggest danger here,” I murmur. “What if someone in the camp is hiding something?”
Kendall snaps upright, shooting terrified looks at Quincy, who smiles at him. Kendall lets out a tiny little peep of sound. It’s like gasoline, how can I not throw a match?
