Bonnie just stares at me.
“What?”
“You can hunt fish?”
I lean back, smirking at her. “Bonnie, I can do a lot of things.”
She huffs and goes to walk off, only to stop. “Can you clean them?”
I dip my chin.
“Good.”
I wait until she’s out of earshot before I turn to Rory. “I would be offended, but did you catch the scent wafting off her?”
Rory lets out a growl and looks at the fish. “I’m gutting them.”
“Suits me, I’ve got a job to do.”
I leave him by the river with our catch and head back to the camp, waiting for the perfect moment. It comes about twenty minutes later, and I deposit my surprise in the tent with no one else the wiser.
Bonnie, Vale, and Kota have the fire going, and everyone sits down. The wind is picking up, but thanks to the massive rock, we’ve got some protection. The fish is so delicious that I don’t even care that much that the other alphas are eating it.
“Have you been caught up here in bad weather before?”
Bonnie wraps her hands around her cup of fish broth and nods. She’s got a faraway look in her eyes. “Yeah. There was a year Dad and I were out here alone. It was the middle of winter. It rained the whole time, and we got cut off from crossing the river, and Dad hurt his leg. We were out here with no supplies for a week before we could safely get across and get back.”
She pauses, staring at the fire.
“My mum came into the park; she never does that. But she brought Meg and Desi, and they met us at the river. We didn’t check in, so she came and got us. Brought everyone. Medics, ambos, search and rescue.”
She purses her lips and then drinks the rest of her soup.
“But the weather can get scary up here. So, our plan is to hunker down, stay in the tents. Try to avoid getting wet, stay warm, and ride it out. Hopefully, it should pass over us quickly.”
“And if it doesn’t, if it’s here for days?” Rojer growls.
“Then we make do with what we have, and we wait. Can’t fight Mother Nature. You won’t win. I’ll be back soon.”
With that, Bonnie gets up, grabs the drinking container, and goes and gets more water.
Rory shadows her while I watch these three alphas who have been growing ever more hostile.
“Where’s she sleeping?” Quincy asks hesitantly.
“She can sleep with us,” Rojer says with a smirk.
Air hisses between my teeth. “No, our tent is bigger. She can stay with us.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s very safe-”
“I’m not asking; this isn’t up for debate. The beta’s tent is too small. She is not going in with you three and your hostile attitudes.”
“Watch yourself, Jennings.”
“Don’t last name me, Rojer,” I growl.
The tension around the fire goes up and gets vicious, but then Nathan leans in and whispers. Rojer listens and slowly relaxes.
