16. Marcus

We fall into a comfortable silence as we work our way between the trees on a path we're creating about twenty feet off the main route.

He's smart. I"ll give him that.

It took all of my strength to back down from his challenge. My wolf was still reeling from taking out the other cadet. He wanted blood. He wanted to be released. Whatever cocktail they gave us only made him more persistent, and now, here we are, mindlessly following a guy we don't know.

Trust him?

I don't even know his name. How the fuck am I supposed to trust him?

There's no way. What I will do is use him to get what I need. Get to the marked location, and then start figuring out what game this is they are playing. They pit us against each other but then expect us to work in teams, too. How does this make me a better Alpha?

My partner stops abruptly, shifting his body behind a large spruce tree. His eyes meet mine in a silent conversation, which has me moving without noise behind the closest trunk. I lean into my wolf"s enhanced hearing, hoping to catch some indication as to why we hid.

It takes no time for me to hear the conversation of what appears to be two cadets arguing while loudly storming up the main path. They don't appear to be even trying to keep their location hidden. City wolves. They have no idea.

"We're supposed to be moving North. You're taking us in the wrong direction," one growls at the other.

"Don't pretend you know how to read a map, Rico. We're headed toward the peak on the map. There's the peak."

Their voices get louder as they get closer to my partner and me. My eyes slide over to him, questioning our next move as my wolf stands ready for another fight.

Fight them.

His head shakes almost imperceptibly, and we stay hidden until their bickering is out of earshot before he moves.

"That was Sean and Rico. Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Rico is a loose cannon, and we don't get along. Better to stay off their radar, especially since they are headed in the wrong direction." He shrugs, adjusting his pack and moving back in the direction we were headed.

Are they moving in the wrong direction?

"Let me ask you a question, ‘mystery partner with no name,'" I start, sarcasm dripping from my tone. "Everyone I've run into was heading in exactly the opposite direction as we are going. What makes you so sure you aren't wrong?" I stop, squaring my shoulders and crossing my arms across my chest to keep my hands from shifting.

He turns back, his face evaluating mine. I can almost see the moment he decides his answer.

"I spent years preparing for this. Months memorizing terrain. Weeks training for every unknown. I know everything I can about where we are, where we're going, and what will happen there. You've known you were coming to this for what, three weeks? Tops. I don't know you, or your end game, but based on your desire to stay alive and get where we're going, I'm going to go out on a limb and say we are on the same page here. This camp is my only shot at having the future I want. One away from all of this stupid Alpha power-hungry bullshit. If you want to take over Vegas and rule that pack, have fun. I don't want any part of it, but if I have a chance of another Alpha allowing me into their territory when I'm stronger than they are, I need this retreat to make alliances."

By the end of his speech, he's breathing heavily, and I see his anger rolling off him, his wolf just beneath the surface. His eyes reveal more than I'm sure he wants, but I can see he isn't done, so I stand there, letting him get his wolf in check before he continues.

"You don't have to trust me, but trust this: No one is going to get between me and finishing this. I will survive this retreat. I will find an Alpha willing to allow me into their territory. I will live out the rest of my life with the woman I love in the middle of fucking nowhere, far from all of this. Trust that."

He's inches from my face by the time he ends his speech, but I don't shrink away. I stand my ground, refusing to let him intimidate me. There's something in his gaze that makes me believe him. I'm not sure if it's the intention behind his words or the raw emotion he tried to hide behind his determination, but I believe every word.

Sighing, he turns and continues his way on the path we're taking. For the first time since I met this guy, I realize we aren't that different. So I place one foot in front of the other and place my faith in a guy I just met, who still hasn't fucking told me his name.

Mother fucker.

I smile. It almost feels like a challenge.

Challenge accepted.