Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
The Wilds was a different world in the daylight.
Warm light diffused through the thick canopy of green above, casting a soft golden glow over the lush carpet of green below.
A thin, wispy white layer of fog hung between the towering redwoods, illuminating the track of every sunbeam that managed to break through the gaps of the dense foliage.
Even the shadows managed to look magical.
Hugging tree trunks and gathering in rocky crags, they offered depth and contrast in this endless sea of browns and greens.
I’d only ever glimpsed the forest like this in Hannah’s photos. But those were just snapshots. They could only show so much.
And my dreams were just as limited. The only part of the landscape I ever saw clearly was the clearing where I waited for Kyre. Everything after that was just a vague verdant blur as I lost myself in his arms.
But this morning, walking along the faint path that led from Hannah and Tauren’s cabin to the village, I had plenty of time to soak in my surroundings.
Born and raised in LA, I was used to being in the shadow of giants. Towers of glass and steel lined nearly every street, all of them designed to make those of us passing by feel insignificant. Like ants at the mercy of those special few who were privileged enough to live at the top of the skyline.
But this felt different.
Even though it was impossible not to feel small while slipping between these soaring redwoods, I never once felt unimportant.
It was the opposite, actually.
For the first time, I felt profoundly connected to the world around me.
I was overwhelmed by the realization that the same life that flowed through the ferns and the trees, the flowers and the brambles, the birds and wolves, also ran through me.
I couldn’t help but wonder—if every living thing I saw was strong and magnificent, then was it possible that I might be too?
Without a watch or phone, it was almost impossible for me to gauge how long it took the four of us to make our way to the village.
All I knew was that I was the one slowing everyone down.
Any rough patch of ground or steep slope took me at least twice as long to navigate as everyone else—a fact that kept Tauren grumbling the whole way.
But at least this time, he was happy to direct his frustration at Kyre and not me.
“For Fate’s sake,” he groaned after everyone had to stop so I could scramble up a rocky incline on hands and knees. “Why don’t you do us all a favor, and just pick the damn kirre up and carry her?”
The muscles along Kyre’s jaw ticked in annoyance. “She’s doing fine on her own.”
Was I?
I had no idea how far we’d hiked, but it was far enough for me to tear the knees of my jeans and sweat through my T-shirt. That being said, I wasn’t really big on the idea of being draped over his shoulder again.
“At this pace, we won’t get to the village before midday,” Tauren continued, griping.
“You can take Hannah and go ahead if you want,” Kyre said. “No one’s stopping you.”
Tauren crossed his arms over his puffed-out chest. “I don’t want to leave you alone with the girl. You’ll never make it to the village.”
“You think I’ll go back on my word?” He sounded deeply offended. Hurt even.
Apparently, the ferus took their oaths very seriously.
“Never.” Tauren shook his head.
“Then what are you worried about?”
Tauren shot a pointed look my way as I bent over to dust my hands off on my tattered jeans. “Do you really need me to say it out loud?”
Kyre’s lips pressed together hard, the corners pulling down as he glowered at his friend. “Whatever you’re thinking, keep it to yourself. We’ll get to the village soon enough.”
Tauren shook his head, then turned and continued down the path.
“Sorry, I’m slowing everyone down,” I apologized to Hannah when she lagged behind to walk beside me.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Tauren’s just anxious to tell the Lykaon the news about Lash. He’s been trying to bring that son of a bitch to justice for months now.”
“Why? Is he really that bad?” Even though I’d seen the proof with my own eyes, I didn’t want to believe that Felicity was trapped with someone even other alphas thought was evil.
“He’s got one hell of a temper,” she said. “But more importantly, he left the pack to follow the woman who killed Tauren’s father.”
“Oh, shit.” My brows shot up. “That’s rough. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said with an understanding smile. “None of this is your fault.”
That was kind of her to say, but… “It kind of is.”
“What do you mean?”
“There were so many times I could have stopped Felicity’s plans,” I said.
“I could have refused to go to the gala. I could have said no to helping her with the podcast. I could have told Chuck to go to hell when he offered to smuggle us in so we could record near the Wall. I should have done all those things.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Hannah said, kicking the dirt. “No matter how it seems now, none of that would have worked.”
My brows pulled together as I glanced over at her.” What are you talking about?”
“Just that no matter what you did or said, the Fates would have found a way to bring you here.”
“Please tell me you don’t believe that stuff, too.” It was hard to imagine someone as strong and brave as Hannah Carter drinking the cult juice.
“Trust me, I know how crazy it sounds,” she said with a laugh. “I was in your shoes just a few months ago. I thought it was nuts too.”
“So what changed?”
Her gaze focused a few dozen yards up the trail, on Tauren’s back.
“Everything,” she said. “Not only did I realize that everything I’d been dreaming about was real, but I also discovered why I was having them.”
“So you could hook up with an alpha?” If I sounded skeptical, it’s because I was. Even if the Fates were floating up in the heavens, I could only hope they were using their powers on something more important than playing matchmaker between the two branches of man.
But Hannah just laughed and shook her head.
“No, that was just a delightful byproduct,” she said. “The Fates sent me those dreams so I could save my life. So I could learn to fight back against those who believe I’m worthless.”
Well, no doubt that was lovely…for her. But there was no way that my dreams could be teaching me anything other than the fact that I was far too horny for a seven-foot-tall beast.
“If it’s really that dangerous for you here, you’re always welcome to come back to the real world with me,” I whispered, dropping my voice low so the alphas couldn’t hear.
“I’m not sure how worried you are about getting in trouble with the government, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too bad.
You’re about be massively famous after all, and those kinds of people always get off easy. ”
Hannah graced me with a gentle smile, but shook her head.
“You’re sweet to worry about me,” she said. “But I’m not going anywhere. This place is my home now. My real home.”
“You can’t mean that,” I tried. “I mean, it’s gorgeous here, sure, but we’re civilized people. Our kind doesn’t belong here.”
“Your kind,” she corrected me.
“Excuse me?
“I’m not kirre anymore. Not really.”
I couldn’t help the side eye I slid her way. What the hell was she talking about? “Are you saying you’ve developed claws?”
“No, though that would be kind of awesome,” she laughed. “I didn’t wake up ferus one morning after taking Tauren as my mate. But I’m no longer kirre either.”
I wasn’t following. “Then what are you?”
“Something in-between,” she said. “No one’s exactly sure what it is yet, but the Lykaon has taken to calling me an ‘omega,’ and I kind of like it.”
“But what does that mean?” I asked. “How have you changed?”
“In lots of ways,” she said. “For starters, I heal much faster than I used to. I’m faster and stronger, too. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I don’t have much trouble navigating this terrain.”
“I did notice, actually.” But I’d just figured that she was unusually fit. For all I knew, she might have been a professional rock climber before she’d come to the Wilds.
“And then there’s the other stuff,” she hinted at with a wink.
Yeah, I really did not want to know what she was getting at, I told myself.
But of course, that was a lie.
“What other stuff?”
“The changes that make it possible to be the mate of someone as large as an alpha.”
Yeah, that’s what I’d thought. But no matter how desperately curious I was, I wasn’t about to press for details.
Surely, I already knew everything anyway.
After all, I’d been having dirty dreams about Kyre for a while now.
I knew all about the ridiculous gushing of wetness that was necessary to ease his entry and the softening of my internal muscles that made hard thrusting possible.
But certainly a little extra lubrication and excitement didn’t qualify as a change in nature.
“Luckily, I don’t need to know anything about that,” I said quickly.
“You sure about that?”
I could see Hannah’s skeptical glance out of the corner of my eye.
“Of course.” I kept my gaze straight ahead and refused to take the bait. “Whatever it is that you think is happening between Kyre and me, you’re wrong.”
“Are you saying you haven’t been dreaming about him?” she asked flatly.
“My dreams are no one’s business but my own,” I told her.
There was nothing mocking about Hannah’s chuckle. It was bright enough to lighten the mood of this seemingly endless trudge through the wilderness. But at the same time, it was clear she didn’t believe me.
“I used to think so too,” she said. “And then I came to the Wilds.”
“We’re here,” Kyre’s voice called out from several steps ahead. Stopping in the middle of the path, he waited for me to catch up, then clasped his hand around my wrist. “Once we’re in the village, don’t leave my side. Not even for a second.”
I looked to Hannah, hoping for clarification, but she was already rushing off toward her alpha.