Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Lyra
Gage is taking stock of inventory as he checks over our supplies, ensuring that we have enough for our journey. I help tick things off the list as I cast my gaze over the map he laid out on the table.
My eyes bug when I spot the desert.
What does lie beyond that wasteland?
Paradise? Freedom?
A land with no corrupt kings? No Games and no Arena?
Perhaps we can all find Eden together as my heart thrums in excitement.
I still can’t believe I am finally leaving the kingdom. With a pack, no less. A pack of Alphas.
Funny, I swore I would never look at another Alpha again after I escaped, but here I am with Pack Storm.
I even bear two of their bond marks on my throat.
Malakai still hates me, and I wonder if he will ever want me. There’s one thing I do know; I do not want to come between the brothers.
I heard all three of them yesterday downstairs; Fidget and I were listening from the floorboards, of course.
Well, I was. Fidget was just happy to roll around on the ground with me.
He hardly stays in his pen now, and it appears the guys have finally given up on trying to coax him back inside. Now everything smells like him, and he has even started to dig a hole in the couch.
He sleeps curled up before the fireplace as he uses his bushy, white-tipped tail as a pillow, and sometimes I can’t tell if he reminds me more of a dog or a cat. Sometimes, he makes a sound that’s like a cross between a bark and a meow.
Fidget really is an odd creature.
When Wren enters the house next, the fox rouses, wagging his tail. The Alpha moves straight for him, reaching down to pet behind his ears. Fidget narrows his eyes as he makes an adorable squeaking sound, and again, he looks as if he’s smiling.
“Are you loving your newfound freedom, Fidget? Are you? No more pen for you.”
The fox answers with another chittering squeak.
“I thought so,” Wren laughs, rubbing behind his pointed ears again.
I giggle by the table, helping Gage with packing again.
Malakai is still a no-show. In the end, he decided he would come with us, although rather reluctantly.
I really do hope I haven’t created a rift in the pack.
Wren gazes over our inventory. “We still need to pack some herbs. Think you’re up to the task, little sparrow?”
He peers down at me.
I nod, wanting to help in any way I can. It’s the least I can do. They’re making this huge sacrifice for me.
“Sure. I’ll be back in a moment.”
The Alphas return to their tasks as I head out of the house toward Wren’s herb garden. I take a moment to take it all in.
I glimpse the purple chicken coop—the coop Wren and I painted together. Then I find his vegetable patch, and his healing hut where he takes care of injured critters.
They really did build something beautiful here. And now they are going to leave it all behind just for me.
I don’t deserve any of their thoughtfulness. I heard what Malakai said; he knows I am throwing up walls where my past is concerned.
But I just can’t.
If they knew what I was, what I have done... would they still look at me the same way? I am a trained killer. A player in the Games.
And that is not to be taken lightly.
On my way to collect some herbs, I spy a hunched figure. He sits on a tree stump at the edge of the yard.
My heart races at the sight of him.
I can’t see what he is doing, but from where I stand, it looks as if he is making weapons.
Arrow shafts, to be precise.
Old wounds awaken at the memory of being shot and chased in the woods. But I swallow it down, making up my mind.
I guess this can be my olive branch. Malakai is sacrificing as much as his brothers after all, and considering he hates me, that’s no easy feat.
I hardly make it two steps before he announces. “You breathe too loudly.”
My heart stops. He turns on his log, fixing me with a burning, gray stare. “Not very stealthy for a fugitive, are you?”
The barb stings, but I push aside my pride, approaching him further. I stop a few feet away, crossing my arms.
He’s trimming the feathers of an arrow with a small knife when he grumbles, “What do you want, menace?”
I take a deep breath. Then I just come out with it. “Malakai... I just wanted to come over and say… thank you. I know this wasn’t an easy decision for you… to leave your home in this way.”
The Alpha stops with his trimming, scowling at something I can’t quite see. Then he heaves a gritty sigh, returning to his mundane task. “Don’t mention it, little menace. Just know that I do this for my brothers. They care about you deeply. So... don’t hurt them, okay?”
Alarmed, my fingers find their healing bite marks. I run my fingers over the wound left by Wren’s teeth.
My throat is dry when I rasp, “I... I won’t.”
Malakai is silent again as he continues with his fletching. Seeing no point in sticking around, I begin to leave.
That’s when he calls over his shoulder, “You better be worth all the trouble, Lyra.”
Wow. I think that is the first time I have heard him use my name. By the time I’ve turned around, though, he has already resumed his task.
A sigh leaves me, and then I move back to the herb garden, picking a few stems of sage and rosemary. It’s a shame Wren has to leave them here, but I suppose we can always grow more.
I jump next when an arrow hisses past me, hitting the trunk of a tree to my right. Panicked, I turn to Malakai.
He’s oblivious, continuing to trim more feathers, preparing each arrow for maximum flight.
Just like the arrow that’s still juddering in the tree beside me.
So, who shot the arrow?
Looking back up at the arrow, I swallow when I spy the note attached.
Reaching up a shaking hand, I rip it from the arrow, skimming over the words.
The blood leaches from my veins. It looks like he found me.
How? He should be dead.
I... slit his throat...
Yet he’s alive, and I almost tear the note in my hands. Just when I thought I had rid this world of one more cruel Alpha.
But he only had to go and live. I suppose the Grim Reaper really does have a bad aim.
Now, I have no choice but to leave.
If I don’t do as he says, then the pack will be killed for treason.
I have no choice. No choice.
My decision is final.
Tonight. I leave... for good.
I just hope they all understand.
No more paradise.
It all really was too good to be true.