Chapter 9 – D E N V E R
Camden’slanky body is curled up on the cold, hard ground. He didn’t even take his sleeping bag out with him. No, he left that inside the tent for his Omega to snuggle up in. Last night, he insisted that Brooklyn take his tent to sleep. Then he lay down right outside the zippered door. Like her own, personal guard dog.
I would find it pathetic if I wasn’t a little jealous. His sleeping bag—hell, his whole goddamn tent—will smell like her. He’ll get to sleep surrounded by her sweet, wildflower and amber scent. Worse, Brooklyn agreed to it almost immediately. She trusts Memphis and I about as far as she could throw us with her wiry little arms. But Cam, she lets lie down three feet away while she’s vulnerable, asleep. He’s just one thin nylon layer away from her.
Fine. I’m more than a little jealous. But it’s not my fault. It’s just biology. Any Alpha would feel the same urge to take care of an Omega in need. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing that she brought my jacket in with her.
I’m still a little salty about it, so I don’t bother being quiet while I start up the fire. I clang the dishes together while I search for the pot, then set water boiling for instant coffee. If Camden didn’t want to get up early, he shouldn’t have slept outside.
Despite the noise, Cam stays perfectly still. The perfect little guard against nobody.
As if I would do anything to hurt Brooklyn. Fine, I can admit that I was a little gruff with her yesterday. I’m not the best at being sweet and gentle. My years in the military didn’t exactly cultivate my tender side.
Still, I’m not a threat. Even if Brooklyn smells good—delicious, really, better than any Omega I’ve ever smelled—I’m stronger than that. My discipline runs bone-deep, and I’ve promised to keep my hands off her. Brooklyn doesn’t need Camden to keep me away.
Memphis, on the other hand…
I pour extra instant coffee granules in my mug. The bitter taste lies thick on my tongue. My mind wakes up as I feel the caffeine hit my bloodstream. Today, I need to be completely alert.
Because I can admit, Memphis has me worried. Since I met him, he’s been stoic to the point of complete emotional detachment. He’s a trooper. No complaints while we trekked through the pouring rain or set off from camp at sunrise. His willpower so far has rivaled mine.
Until last night at the fire. Camden shouldn’t have washed the mud off Brooklyn’s body. It was the only thing keeping her scent from getting fucking everywhere. Even the herbs we rubbed under our noses couldn’t keep it out. Cam and I managed to pretend that nothing was happening, but Memphis couldn’t tolerate it. He marched out into the woods with barely a word.
I could see it written across his face—he was tempted. He left because he wasn’t sure if he could control himself. He didn’t come back to camp until Brooklyn was tucked safely in Camden’s tent. He didn’t look like the same quiet, confident hunter. Memphis was rattled.
I’m going to have to keep an eye on him. Memphis doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would force himself on a girl. He’s been nothing but decent and respectful this whole trip. But our biological instincts can still get the best of us. It only takes a split second to let your self-control slip through your fingers. Hell, I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes, more times than I care to admit.
In the U.S., talking heads on TV complain that Omegas don’t have rights. They say the laws requiring they be escorted around in public are too strict and take away their freedom. I’m not convinced. Work has taken me all over the world, and I’ve seen Alphas jumping women in the street with nobody batting an eye. Their screams and tears are nothing to the indifferent crowd around them. Even though it killed me, I couldn’t stop them—it would mean risking the life of my team and cause an international mess.
It sickens me to think about the Omegas I’ve seen, forced to bond to Alphas who took them without asking. Like they’re animals, not human beings.
Memphis might regret it right after, but biology is a beast. Fighting it is fucking hard.
I hear the zipper on Memphis’s tent. Once he crawls out, he’s got circles under his brown eyes. Maybe he just had a shitty night’s sleep. But I recognize his expression from my fellow soldiers after a rough mission. I’m pretty sure Memphis spent the night fighting with his inner demons.
“Coffee?” I offer, gesturing to the pot.
Memphis just grunts and prepares himself a cup. He perches on a stump and throws half of it back in a long gulp.
“You doing okay?” I ask.
He raises a brow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Look, I’m not trying to get you to spill your guts here. But we all saw you leave last night. If being around the Omega is too much, I need to know.”
“I can handle it,” he says roughly.
My eyes narrow as I stare him down. “You sure?”
Memphis meets my eyes. His teeth are clenched, and I can tell he’s probably pissed at me. “Yeah,” he says. “I’m sure.”
While we drink our coffee, I feel the temperature drop. The branches over us are too thick to get a good look at the sky, so I take my coffee and stroll until I get to a good gap. Sure enough, thick, dark gray clouds are rolling in.
We had one day of sunshine. Now, a storm’s on its way.
I jog back to camp, where Camden’s still asleep outside his tent. I shake him by the shoulder.
“Wake up, Cam. We gotta go. There’s a storm brewing.”
Camden squints back up at me. “You mean right now?”
“Right now, assuming you want to get out of these trees before the lightning starts. You know lightning hits tall trees, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He rubs his eyes and works his way to his feet.
“Wake the princess up,” I order, headed to take my tent down. “We’re going as soon as we take down the camp.”
Memphis is already banking the fire, and I nod my appreciation. But our work is quickly interrupted by a long, frustrated yell.
“Fuck.”
Memphis and I are at the door of Camden’s tent in seconds. Brooklyn’s not in it. Neither is Cam’s sleeping bag or his pack. And to add insult to injury to the guy, she’s carved a nice big hole in the nylon back of the tent.
“Some guard dog you are, Camden,” I tell him, clapping a hand on his back. “Did she even wait for you to fall asleep before she snuck off?”
“She was fine last night.” Camden’s face is pale, his mouth hanging open with disbelief. “She went right to bed, no complaints. It seemed like she trusted me.”
Memphis huffs out a laugh. “Hey, at least she left your shoes.”
I nudge his worn-in hiking boots with my foot. “Jesus, these are big. You didn’t tell us you were part sasquatch.”
“Be nice. You try finding decent hiking boots in size 13,” Camden says. “Did she take anything else?”
“My jacket,” I say. “Memphis, did you leave your pack outside?”
He groans. He knows that means she probably cleaned him out, too.
“Guess you’ll have to track her, then.”
“We better move fast,” Memphis growls. “If the rain starts, picking up her scent or any markers will get ten times harder.”
The three of us pack up camp fast. I want to leave Cam’s ruined tent, since it’s just useless weight now, but he and Memphis both hate the idea of littering.
Memphis leads the way through the woods. She headed southeast, he tells us. He keeps pointing out footprints and markers that look practically invisible to me. Even though I’ll still be watching him around Brooklyn, I’m grateful we’ve got him on our team. Camden and I would have to rely on our sense of scent alone, which would take way longer.
Once we’re making decent time, Camden throws out the question we’ve all been wondering. “Why did she leave? It seemed like she understood that we wanted to help her. At least, she acted like she trusted me.”
“Maybe she was scared,” I offer, shrugging. “She’s been out here a long time. Maybe she’s not totally with it. Isolation can do that to you.”
“No,” Memphis says firmly. “She’s smart. She knows exactly what she’s doing.”
He can’t see me rolling my eyes. He’s spent all of twenty minutes with the Omega and he’s already defending her like she’s his girlfriend. More proof that his biology is working overtime.
“I’m not saying she’s dumb,” I tell him. “Just that she might not understand that we came here to rescue her. It’s been a while since she actually talked to a person, and we might not have done the best job explaining. Plus, she’s an unbonded Omega. She might not trust unfamiliar Alphas.”
“So we show her we don’t mean her any harm,” Camden says thoughtfully. “Make sure she gets that we just want to bring her home. Then she’ll stop running.”
I hope he’s right. Cam’s better at communicating with her than Memphis and me. If he explains it, hopefully he can get through to her.
It’s got to be a misunderstanding. Otherwise, why would she run away right when we rescued her?
Unless…she doesn’t want to go home.