Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The forest soon cleared away and opened to the field where I had watched the two wolves play last weekend. A familiar city of tents loomed ahead of us, small orange campfires sprinkled throughout. Wilder and I turned around when we heard a loud thump behind us.

“Oh, shit,” Wilder said.

Everett’s body was collapsed on the ground, and he was unconscious again, having used all his strength to make it through the forest.

Wilder muscled Everett over onto his back. “You grab Kostas and Gavrill. We’re gonna have to carry him the rest of the way.”

I took off, trying to remember which tent was Cedar Moon Pack’s. As I got closer, I spied Kleio absently poking the fire with a stick, looking bored. She glanced up as she heard footsteps approaching, and a surprised look crossed her face. “Elise? How did you get here? Why are you here?”

Between breaths, I told her to grab the guys because Everett was hurt. I stayed by the fire as she ran into the tent and was quickly followed back out by the hulking frames of Kostas and Gavrill. Following my pointing finger, they ran out to the field to gather up their alpha.

I’d been right—it took three men to carry Everett’s dead weight back to the tent. Gavrill and Kostas each took a shoulder, and Wilder carried his legs. I followed them into the tent and watched as they laid him down on the couch, setting my backpack off to the side.

Kleio entered the tent, pulling Jack behind her. He carried a canvas bag that he set down on the floor next to Everett. Everyone got out of his way as he began his assessment.

“Who did this?” Jack looked at Wilder and me, pointing to the leaf-and-grass bandage I had concocted in the woods.

“Me.” I barely squeaked out the words. I couldn’t tell if Jack was pleased or appalled by my fieldwork.

“Genius.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yarrow, right?” I nodded. “Probably saved his life.”

Everyone looked at me while I pretended to be interested in my shoes. Jack took out supplies from his bag and cleaned up the skin around the gash. He replaced my leaf bandages with real ones and set to work cleaning the other minor cuts that littered Everett’s skin.

Noticing my interest, he turned around to look at me. “They don’t just keep me around because I’m pretty.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled at me. “He’ll be fine. He lost a lot of blood and needs some rest.”

After he finished, Jack stood up and linked his arm around Kleio’s shoulders. Gavrill walked over and handed me a quilt, motioning for me to cover Everett with it. I almost laughed out loud because I had forgotten that he was still naked. The quilt was probably for my benefit.

I unfolded the quilt and draped it over Everett’s body, careful not to take another peek below his waist. As I tucked it under his shoulders, a warm hand grabbed my forearm and pulled. I ended up face to face with Everett.

“Thank you, Elise.” His murmured words were soft and kind. They seemed genuine.

I could feel warmth spread from my forearm to my chest, where my heart was pumping rapidly. His eyes met mine, and the thread pulling us together was once again taut. I had never met someone who’d had such a hold on me. I was both annoyed and attracted to him at the same time.

His hand encapsulated my arm. I had thought Thursday night at the bar had just been a fluke, but I felt the same electricity pulsing through me. Tingling pin pricks made their way across my chest and into the bottom of my stomach. Everett’s nostrils expanded as if he could smell my feelings.

I broke the thread of connection this time, looking at the audience that surrounded us. Everyone was suddenly busy doing nothing. I felt my face heat, knowing that everyone had just witnessed that moment between us.

Kleio broke the tension. “Elise, help me set the table?” I was all too eager to escape the situation, and I pushed away from Everett to help her. Glancing back, I saw his eyes closing, giving in to the rest his body needed.

Kleio was easy to talk to, and we fell easily into conversation. I could smell Gavrill’s cooking waft through the tent, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since the apple I’d had for breakfast. I snuck glances at Everett and felt comforted by the fact he was sleeping peacefully on the couch. He needed to rest since he still had two days of hunting ahead of him.

Dinner was pleasant, and once again I enjoyed everyone’s company. I reached for seconds of the grilled chicken and almost moaned out loud at how delicious it was. Gavrill knew his way around the grill.

“You act like you won’t get another meal for days!” Jack teased as he pulled Kleio in for a kiss on the cheek.

“I haven’t eaten since breakfast. This chicken is delicious,” I said, my mouth full of food.

Jack laughed. “Well, slow down. You’re stuck with us for the weekend for a second time. You know you won’t go hungry.”

He was right. Since I had arrived at the cabin, the wolves had frequently been the only ones to feed me actual meals. As we ate our dinner, I settled into my seat to listen to Gavrill and Kostas debate with one another. It was comical to see the two hard-headed men get so worked up over trivial things.

Kleio and I were laughing and enjoying the show, and I realized I was comfortable here. Everyone was so inclusive and inviting. There weren’t any expectations of me here. I could just be…me. Not someone who needed to complete her thesis with efficiency or take all the responsibility of caring for her parents or accommodate to everyone around her. I could slow down and remove myself from real life while I was at Camp. I’d come to the woods to escape and found a different freedom I’d never expected.

The tent flaps whipped open, and a huge male entered the tent. I immediately recognized him from last weekend as the True Alpha. Time seemed to stop, only beginning again when Kleio dropped her fork. The clanging of the metal hitting the porcelain dish shook everyone out of their stupor. Slowly, everyone stood from their chairs and bent down on one knee in submission. They all tilted their heads, showing the sides of their necks as Wilder had done to Everett earlier in the woods. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just followed what everyone else was doing and got down on one knee myself.

Gavrill was the first to speak. He walked over to the entrance of the tent where the True Alpha was standing. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?” Gavrill spoke so formally, it made me even more uneasy.

“I received news that my son was injured. I came to see about his condition.” The True Alpha’s words vibrated down my spine. Son? Everett was the True Alpha’s son? “But now I see there are more pressing matters in the Cedar Moon tent.”

His eyes shifted to me, where I was still kneeling. “Stand, human.”

I stood up slowly as the True Alpha walked over to me. He leaned his head close to my chest and took a long inhale through his nose, smelling me. I tried my best to stand my ground, but I was trembling.

The True Alpha straightened. “Interesting.”

Everyone in the tent, still kneeling, seemed to exhale as he turned away from me and went to inspect his son. Everett was still sleeping peacefully on the couch, unaware of his father’s presence. Gavrill followed him over to Everett’s body and explained what had happened in the woods.

The True Alpha seemed satisfied with Everett’s care and pulled Gavrill toward the entrance of the tent, speaking in harsh whispers that I couldn’t hear. They both looked at me before the True Alpha ducked under the tent flaps and disappeared into the night.

Everyone else slowly got up from their knees, groaning, and returned to their chairs, dinner forgotten. Gavrill sat down as well, looking pensive.

“What did he say over there?” Kleio asked anxiously.

“He wants a meeting with Elise,” Gavrill said. My heart skipped a beat in my chest.

“Everett is gonna be pissed. There’s no way we can let the True Alpha speak alone with Elise. He’s so unpredictable,” Kleio said. She took my hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

Jack tried to ease my anxiety. “Everett won’t let that happen. I’m sure the True Alpha is just curious why his son’s pack has a human.”

I gave him a thankful look. The pack had enough going on at the tournament without me attracting the True Alpha’s attention. It wasn’t like I wanted to be here, but nevertheless it seemed I was becoming a dangerous distraction.

“I wonder what he smelled on her. Have you gotten anything interesting, Gavrill?” Kostas asked. He walked over to the back of my chair and motioned, asking me if he could take a whiff.

I obliged. “Go right ahead. I’m full of dirt, sweat, and blood. I’m sure I smell wonderful.”

Kostas took a deep smell, careful not to get too close to me. “I smell human, earth, and Everett’s blood.” He looked satisfied with my smell, but I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

Gavrill took a turn and nodded. “Same here. I don’t catch anything out of the ordinary.”

I felt like a scented candle, and not a good one.

Jack came forward to take a whiff. “But remember, the True Alpha is a tracker. He probably smells something we can’t.”

I backed away. “Okay, enough smelling me. Why didn’t anyone tell me that Everett is the True Alpha’s son?” I would’ve thought that at least Kleio would’ve told me. Maybe we weren’t as close as I’d thought we were. I glanced between the three shifters, willing someone to tell me what was going on. “Is it some kind of secret?”

“I think you should go to your tent for the rest of the night.” Kleio rubbed my arm, guiding me ever so slightly to the back flaps of the tent and picking up my backpack along the way.

Now they were putting me to bed like a child? I deserved some information. The True Alpha had noticed me, had smelled me. Maybe they couldn’t tell me everything, but I needed to know what any of it had to do with me.

“Tell me what is going on, Kleio,” I pleaded, feeling desperate.

“Let us handle it. You have nothing to worry about,” she said. “Everett won’t let anything happen to you.”

I turned to look at him, still unconscious on the couch. What did he have to do with any of this? What were they hiding?

Kleio didn’t let me say anything else before she pushed me out into the dark night, walking me back to my tent, which I was surprised to see was still set up. Campfires glowed orange, lighting our way. The air was brisk, having lost the warmth of the sun.

Frustrated, I dumped my backpack and paced inside my tent. Lack of information always made me uneasy. As a researcher, missing just one piece of data could change the entire result of your research.

With my mind made up, I slipped outside and snuck back to the main tent, careful that they wouldn’t hear my footsteps approaching. Next to the back flaps, I crouched down, trying to look casual to those around their campfires enjoying the evening. Muffled voices from the tent became clearer as I focused.

“Everett won’t be happy when he wakes up.” It was a low male voice, probably Gavrill or Kostas.

“Was it too much that I sent her to her tent for the night?” Kleio’s voice was easier to detect.

“No, Elise doesn’t need to know about Everett’s relationship with his father.” That was Gavrill or Kostas. I couldn’t tell the difference.

“What relationship, Kostas? We left his father’s pack when we were eighteen. He only sees his father every ten years at the Deca Tournament.” That was Gavrill.

“But now that the True Alpha has taken an interest in Elise, we’re going to have to deal with him. Everett won’t want her anywhere near his father, and his father won’t forget requesting the meeting with her,” Kostas said.

“It was odd that he came to check on Everett. He never does that,” Kleio said. I could tell they were walking around the tent as they talked.

“Everett is his only heir,” Gavrill said. “Of course he came to check on him. His pack depends on Everett’s leadership should he die.”

“He’ll never die.” Kleio sighed, abruptly cutting off her breath as she sat down. “He’s one of those Lycans that live forever, tormenting everyone because he’s bored from living so long.”

“Let’s wait until Everett wakes up to see how he wants to deal with his father,” Kostas said.

Mumbles of agreement filled the tent. I heard footsteps come dangerously close to where I was crouched down by the tent. I stood, rushing back to my tent, hoping no one noticed I had been listening.

Ducking under the flaps of my tent, I let out a breath. It was just how I left it last weekend, and I was grateful for the bed. Moving my backpack to the end of the bed, I climbed onto the mattress and under the sheets. I couldn’t imagine what the True Alpha wanted with me. I was just some human stuck in his tournament wards. But from what I had heard, it seemed like there was a lot of bad blood between Everett and his father. Being stuck between two alpha Lycans was not where I wanted to be.