Chapter 14 #2
“This goes inside the green bag.” Luca tapped the proper pocket before offering me the pouch. “Not the one on the side.”
“How do you know that?” I took it from Luca and studied the calm expression on his face.
“You put it there every morning.” Luca picked up one of the smaller ground covers and began rolling it, keeping the edges lined up as though he’d been doing this professionally for years.
Of course he knew. He had done the same thing as a leopard.
Luca always seemed to know which side of the platform I kept the water on, where I put the first-aid kit, and what equipment needed to be moved before rain reached it.
If I put something in the same place twice, Gentleman apparently decided that was where it belonged forever.
Tavian hadn’t changed either. He still inspected things, stole things, brought me things I hadn’t asked for, and found some excuse to involve himself in whatever I was doing.
Malek still checked the trail and perimeter, took whatever looked heavy, and put himself between me and anything he thought deserved watching.
Seeing those same behaviors performed by three Alpha men rather than leopards made the pattern much harder to miss.
“You’ve been doing this for a while.” I zipped the dry bag and straightened, looking from Tavian to Luca and finally Malek.
“Doing what?” Tavian asked while spinning one of my empty carabiners around his finger, apparently pretending he had no idea what I meant.
“This.” I plucked the carabiner out of Tavian’s hand before it became his newest possession. “Food. Water. Gear. Checking trails. Carrying things I could carry myself.”
“Yes.” Malek answered from the edge of the platform as he swung one of the larger bags onto his shoulder without any sign he considered the behavior noteworthy.
“That was Alpha behavior.” I glanced toward Luca as several moments from the last few days rearranged themselves in my head.
“Some of it.” Luca tightened the strap around the rolled ground cover, his green-gold eyes briefly flicking toward Malek. “Some of it was just us wanting to help.”
“There’s a difference?” I clipped the rescued carabiner back where it belonged.
“Sometimes.” Luca’s mouth curved as he glanced toward Tavian. “With him, I’m less certain.”
“Rude.” Tavian pressed one hand against his chest, looking wounded for all of half a second.
“You stole her cleaning cloth.” Luca reminded Tavian while tucking the finished roll beside the bags.
“I returned it.” Tavian defended himself with a broad spread of his hands.
“After I chased you through mud.” I gave Tavian a long look while reaching for another bag.
“You looked like you were having fun.” Tavian’s amber eyes brightened at the memory.
“I was threatening you.” I reminded Tavian as my fingers closed around the strap.
“You can do both.” Tavian countered, catching the other end of the bag at the same moment I did.
Neither of us let go. For a second, it became less about the bag and more about the fact that Tavian was standing directly across from me in human form, one hand wrapped around the same strap as mine.
His forearm flexed when I pulled, and his scent strengthened with the movement—sun-warmed wood, citrus leaves, and that faint spicy undertone that registered much more strongly now that I knew what he was.
“I can carry it.” I reminded Tavian, tightening my grip while meeting his eyes across the bag.
“I know.” Tavian assured me as some of the teasing softened from his expression. “I still want to.” That took more of the argument out of me than it should have.
“Fine, but touch the lens case again and you lose equipment privileges.” I warned Tavian as I released the strap.
“I accept your terms.” Tavian swung the bag onto his shoulder, looking far too satisfied with the deal.
It wasn’t until I turned and found Malek carrying two of the heavier bags while Luca had somehow packed most of what remained that I realized I had been thoroughly outmaneuvered.
Worse, some instinctive part of me liked watching them take care of things without ever acting as though I was incapable of handling them myself.
That distinction mattered.
By the time the platform was almost clear, the morning light had strengthened enough to make the wet leaves beyond camp shine.
I made one final check before taking down the sleeping area, checking beneath the platform, around the posts, and along the edge of the clearing.
A bottle cap buried under damp leaves went back into my trash pouch.
I found one forgotten cable tie near the water container and a tiny strip of packaging stuck beneath the edge of the platform.
Everything else was clean. No scraps, forgotten batteries, food, or pieces of equipment remained. When I finished, the place looked nearly untouched apart from the darker patches where our weight had pressed moisture from the wood.
I checked my watch and reached for the radio.
“Morning check-in?” Malek asked as he glanced toward the handset from near the trail, one of my bags hanging from each broad shoulder.
“Before I leave.” I confirmed for Malek while extending the antenna and checking the channel.
“I told Mara I would.” Tavian stopped rustling through the final supply sack, and Luca went quiet beside the folded tarp without needing to be told.
Even that had become part of their routine over the past few days—they knew when the radio mattered.
“Mara, this is Evie. Morning check-in.” I spoke into the handset while pressing the transmit button and listening to the static crackle through the speaker.
“Morning, Evie. Packed up?” Mara answered a few seconds later, her voice slightly rough with the early hour but already carrying its familiar practical edge.
“Almost.” I reported to Mara while glancing toward the final dry bag near my boots. “Everything’s good. I’m starting back shortly.”
“Copy. Same route?” Mara checked through another short wash of static.
“Same general route.” I confirmed for Mara as I shifted the radio against my palm. “I should be back this morning.”
“Good. Call if anything changes.” Mara reminded me, her tone sharpening slightly in the same way it always did when I was traveling between locations.
“I will. Evie clear.” I promised Mara before releasing the transmit button.
“Mara clear.” Mara signed off, her voice dissolving beneath the returning static. I clipped the radio back onto my belt and bent toward the final bag, only for another hand to close around the strap first.
“Now I can leave.” I announced to the three men as Malek lifted it before I could.
“What?” Malek asked after straightening with the third bag already across his chest, his expression suggesting I was somehow the unreasonable one.
“You already have two.” I pointed out to Malek while gesturing toward the gear hanging from his shoulders.
“They aren’t heavy.” Malek dismissed as he glanced down at them.
“They are literally the three heaviest bags I brought.” I reminded Malek, waiting for that information to produce even the slightest concern.
“Yes.” Malek agreed with a small nod.
That was apparently the entire conversation. I stared at him another second.
Nothing.
“Are all Head Alphas this irritating?” I asked Luca while tightening the strap of my camera bag across my body.
“That depends on the Head Alpha.” Luca answered carefully as he tucked the last folded tarp beneath one arm, his expression much too neutral to be trusted.
“That was diplomatic.” I complimented Luca as I stepped down from the platform and felt damp soil give slightly beneath my boots.
“I live with him.” Luca followed me onto the ground, amusement warming his voice. “Diplomacy is useful.”
“I can hear both of you.” Malek called from several steps ahead as he started down the trail without turning around.
“We know.” Luca assured Malek warmly as he fell into step beside me.
The exchange reminded me of something from yesterday.
Actually, several things.
I waited until the field camp disappeared behind us and the trees closed around the trail before bringing any of them up.
Morning moisture still clung to broad leaves on either side of the path, brushing cold against my forearms whenever the trail narrowed.
The ground was soft beneath my boots after the night’s damp, and rich wet-earth scent rose whenever someone stepped through a patch of dark soil.
Tavian wandered several yards ahead, occasionally moving off the trail to check something interesting before circling back.
Malek took his familiar position behind us, carrying my bags as easily as if they contained nothing heavier than clothing, while Luca remained beside me.
The same formation they’d used as leopards.
Only now I understood why it felt so deliberate.
“You said yesterday that you’ve been a pack for years.” I began as I stepped over a thick root and shifted my camera bag farther behind my hip. “How does that work when all three of you are Alphas?”
“Very carefully.” Tavian answered from several yards ahead, twisting around to walk backward with a grin spread across his face.
“Face forward.” Malek warned Tavian from behind me, his tone carrying more tired familiarity than actual concern.
“See? Very carefully.” Tavian called over one shoulder as he turned back around before he could walk into a tree. I laughed despite myself, while Luca shook his head beside me as though the exchange had happened several hundred times before.
“We chose each other.” Luca explained more seriously as he brushed a broad leaf away from his shoulder and moved around a muddy section of trail. “Packs don’t always start with mates. Sometimes it’s family or friends. Sometimes people just realize they want to build one together.”
“And that was you three.” I glanced ahead toward Tavian before looking back at Luca.
“Years ago.” Luca confirmed with a nod as he stepped carefully over a patch of exposed roots. “We were already living together before Malek became Head Alpha.”