“Her pack and bow are gone.”
Zeke tries to act like he’s not interested in where she could have gone or why, but in the end, his curiosity and distrust of Aurelia win him over. “Well, you’re a hunter, aren’t you? Sohunt. We can come back for this shit later.” He drops the waders, sheds his own, and then grabs his pack.
I do the same, and then we’re off, but we don’t make it more than a few feet before I stop and swear viciously.
“Problem?”
“Aurelia’s hidden her tracks.”
Zeke’s brows shoot up. “She can do that?”
“I’ve been teaching her,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, seems like a good idea.”
“Can you not be a dick about this for two seconds?”
“Maybe you should ask yourself why you don’t like being reminded that she could be playing you.”
I grab Zeke’s shirt and shove him against the nearest tree, keeping him pinned there with my forearm against his throat. “Because I don’t fucking appreciate another man trying to tell me aboutmygirl. Make this the last time I warn you, Ezekiel.”
“But she’s not just yours, is she? She’s Khalil’s too, and judging by the way she pines for me day and night, I’m guessing I could have her if I wanted. She’s mine too, Thorin. I bet that’s what’s really eating you. I don’t even have to want her and she’ll crawl for me.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I roar in his face.
Zeke shoves me off him, and it’s equal parts reflex and rage that makes me swing. My fist connects with his jaw, snapping his head to the side and sending spit and blood flying. Zeke recovers quickly and throws one of his own that barely grazes my chin before he tackles me to the ground. He punches my temple at the same time I throw a vicious jab into his ribs. We roll and then he’s on the bottom but the fucker bites me and then we’re rolling again, striking wherever we can as we roll and roll and roll.
I’m on top when I hear a throat clearing.
The sound stops me mid-punch, and I look up to see Aurelia standing ten feet away with her hands on her hips. “The game was for you both to find me, not fight over me.You’re playing it wrong.”
Zeke and I shove away from each other and stand. The genuinely ruffled look on Zeke’s face at being caught coming undone is a thousand times more satisfying than any punch I could throw.
He scoffs as if the notion is ridiculous. “We weren’t fighting over you.”
Aurelia gives him one of those slow withering looks that starts from his feet and ends when her gaze meets his. I don’t even try to hide my grin. “Looked like it. Sounded like it too.”
“What did you hear?”
Her now blank gaze remains on Zeke when she answers, “Enough.”
For a moment he actually looks like he wants to apologize, but his stubbornness gets the best of him and he closes his mouth at the last moment and looks away. It’s Aurelia’s turn to scoff, and when she takes a step forward, she winces. It’s the first time I notice she has a skinned knee.
“What happened? Where did you go?”
“Up there.” She points to a large tree with a thick trunk. None of the branches are low-hanging and are pretty far apart, meaning it would have taken incredible skill to get up there. It’s also the tree I shoved Zeke against before our fight.
“Impressive.”
“I know.”
“Come here, songbird. Let me look at that knee.” I direct her over to one of the fallen logs, and she takes a seat while I crouch in front of her and dig through my bag.
“Exactly how many pet names does one person need?” Zeke grumbles.
“Why do you ask?” Aurelia immediately retorts with a narrowed gaze. “Jealous you missed out on all the good ones or upset that you’re not man enough to use yours around your friends?”
“Shrew?”
