Chapter 8 Bonnie
Bonnie
Meg walks down the path to the river, just ahead of me. I resist growling after she looks back for the seventh time.
“Spit it out already.”
“Those alphas are pretty good looking.” Her teasing, lilting comment sends a spike of irritation through me, but I don’t let her see it.
I snort. “If you say so.”
“Cyn tried to rescue you. Does that get points?”
“For underestimating me? No, he loses points.” I’m not the most friendly camper in the morning.
I need coffee and, unfortunately for us, Greg managed to contaminate the pot.
I shudder just thinking about how far that spew went.
Laina Trueman, who is quiet as a mouse, didn’t realise she was walking around with a chunk on her cheek.
There was a chunk. Of. Carrot. On. Her. Cheek.
I saw that chunk in my nightmares.
Thank God I had that job to do for Dad. Hell, anything that got me away from disaster that was a godsend.
“Aw, you are so hard to please.”
I scowl at her back. “Not really. Respect, acknowledgment, don’t fuck every person who bends over. I don’t think those are high on the list.”
Meg laughs. “They haven’t fucked a single person-"
“In less than twenty-four hours?” I slow clap. “Let's at least wait for the diseases to incubate before we start counting how impressive their feats of self-control are.”
“Are you slut shaming?”
“Anyone else on the planet? No, but them, yes. A hundred percent. I am the bitterest rejected omega that ever walked, and their dicks becoming limp, useless, and falling off would make all the pain go away.”
“Aw bestie, you are so cute when you are pining for coffee and amputated body parts.”
“Just get the water and give me the drugs!” I snap.
She just laughs harder, swinging her arms and looking like a million dollars.
“It’s diabolical how cheerful you are first thing in the morning.”
“I got laid last night,” Meg says joyously.
“How?”
“Well, I mean, I pulled down my pants and leaned up against a tree, he pulled out his cock and jabbed it in.”
Ew. I gag.
“Jabbed? Sounds like a vaccine.”
“Of love.”
If I wasn’t so tired and grumpy, I probably would have spewed in my mouth.
“Ew. I meant how when you were supposed to be watching the camp?” I growl in warning.
“Oh, well, everyone was asleep!”
“MEG!”
“Oh, chill out, everything is fine. We did head counts, after he did my head count.”
“Enough. I don’t want to hear about Desi and you in bed. I have enough nightmares. And it’s far too early for this nonsense.”
We reach the river, and I swing down and fill up the containers.
I pause when I see something on the other side of the bank. “What is that?”
Meg frowns, peering through the trees. “Looks like a sleeping bag.”
I stand in a rush. “Did you do a head count this morning?”
“YES! I mean…” she pauses, her face going white. “I checked the tents. Everyone seemed okay.”
“Meg!”
“I’m sorry,” she whimpers.
I stare at the sleeping bag. It could have a person in it. The angle that it’s on, I really can’t say for sure.
“Shit.”
I get up and start pulling my clothes off.
“What are you doing?”
“I have to go check. We need to know.”
“No, the water is too fast.”
“It’s not. I’ve done this a thousand times with Dad. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just stay here.”
I wade out into the water. It’s moving quickly, but if I stay on one particular path, I should be able to get across without submerging myself completely.
I go quickly, and immediately, the current tugs, pushing and trying to pull me off my feet.
It’s icy cold, but I focus on breathing and keeping one foot in front of the other.
When I feel the current snatch me up, I abandon my plan and dive into a freestyle, kicking my legs as fast and as hard as I can.
I cut across the water and bounce off the sandy bottom before I manage to get my feet under me and propel myself to the shore.
I stagger to my feet, water pouring off me. Now I’m here, I don’t want to check the sleeping bag. It’s not the first body I’ve seen, but it would be the first one that’s my responsibility on one of these trips. And I just really don’t want it to be one of mine.
I creep around until I find the opening. I peel it back and stare impassionately at the corpse.
He’s an older male and an older death. He’s got almost no skin left, and his eye sockets are empty. His mouth gapes grotesquely. Clearly, he’s been dead for a long time. Possibly all winter.
I rub my chin and stand up, turning to face Meg, who is on the other side of the roaring river.
“Call it in. Not one of ours.”
She nods, leaves the water containers, and races back up the track to my pack and the phone I’ve got stashed.
I don’t touch the body at all, but I wander around it, checking the area to see if there is anything else.
There are no tracks and nothing else that belongs to a human.
The river dumped him here, and that’s all the clues we’re going to find.
I hear a splash, and when I look up, Rory and Dakota are wading their way towards me, while Vale and Cyn grab the water and carry them back up the trail. I frown and watch them, definitely not looking at how their clothes cling to their bodies.
“So, dead guy?” Dakota asks with a damn charming smile.
It seems so out of place and strange that I don’t answer him.
Rory crouches where he can see the body. “Hmm.”
“Hmm?” What is he, a mortician?
“He’s not from the camp.”
“I know!” I snap, irritated by his inane comment.
Dakota sidles up, putting me on edge. I try desperately to ignore that I’m standing here in a bra and exercise shorts. I feel practically naked, and the way he looks at me intensifies that feeling to uncomfortable levels.
Green, limp dicks. They all have green, limp dicks.
“You, back up,” I bark out.
He pulls out a flask and holds it out. “Meg sent an IV.”
I snatch it and sip warily, expecting coffee. It’s not coffee. I choke at the burn and pull away, screwing the lid on and passing it back with a shudder that I feel to my toes.
“You should not have that!” I snarl, flustered. “She should know better!”
Dakota flutters his thick lashes and shrugs his shoulders. He’s too damn pretty for this early in the morning.
I groan and turn away, only to come face-to-face with Rory, who is standing right behind me.
His piercing green eyes search mine for a moment.
I’m not sure what he sees, but it seems to satisfy him.
I try to ignore the way his eyes dip down my body and bounce slowly back up.
It’s like he’s stroked me from chest to toe.
With a seething look, I step around him and sit down on a rock where I can work on manifesting them gone.
The forest is thick on this side of the river and leads to some really pretty places, but it’s somewhere that’s special for Dad and I.
None of our camps have guided them into those areas. It’s too wild, too dangerous.
It’s where Dad brought me after that fateful couple of months when I felt my life implode. He taught me how to survive off the land, how to find my balance, how to be me without them. He taught me how to find my potential and become a creature that survives off my own pain.
How ironic is it that I’m standing here at the edge of it with them?
I take a moment and let the strength of the land infuse me, and when I turn back, Vale and Cyn are wading across with my pack.
As soon as he gets onto dry land, I grab my bag and pull out a jacket.
Dakota leans down and kisses my head before I can even register that he’s that close. What. The. Hell?
“Hey!” I snarl.
“You are so cute when you’re mad.”
If looks could kill, he’d be as dead as the guy in the sleeping bag.
My tense, stony silence keeps the four of them at bay until Meg and Desi, with the rest of the group, appear on the other side of the river.
“We have a problem, Boss!” Desi shouts.
“What now?” I grumble.
Vale, Dakota, Rory, and Cyn follow me as I cross back to our side of the river, leaving my clothes on this side. I wait for Meg to speak, but she’s glowering around me in a very un-Meg like way. Something bad must have happened.
“Listen, a whole lot of people don’t want to continue,” Desi spits out as fast as he can.
I stand up straight. “What?”
“They want to go home. A couple of things have gone wrong so far, and they are feeling…unsettled, add to it the dead body, and it’s a bit much,” Meg says under her breath.
“Okay,” I say and rapidly go through the options.
“They are adamant that they want to go home,” she reiterates.
“Well, we want to go on!” Vale says suddenly.
I spit several vile curses into my mind as I turn to him with a fake smile and usher him back. He doesn’t move.
“All right, fine,” I mutter, glaring up at the stubborn tilt of Vale’s jaw. “Okay, listen up. How many people want to go home?”
The four alphas, plus Rojer Wayne, Nathan Haze, Kevin Young, Quincy Leahman, Justin Smith, and, to my utter surprise, Kendall Roe, leave their hands down.
I’ve got ten, but there are six that want to go home.
I turn back to Meg.
“Desi can take them back,” she blurts out.
“No, I can’t. We should all go back,” Desi protests.
“Your dad needs this trip, hun. You know it, and I know it. Business is slow these days,” Meg says. “We can do this. Together.”
I grunt and turn back, thinking of all the ways we can do this. There is only one solution. Can I do it? I’ve got faith in myself.
“Desi will go with you-” I say. “You’ll both go back.”
“No, Desi can go back,” Meg protests.
“Absolutely not. You’re due to go into heat soon,” Desi hisses. “You can’t go anywhere without me. It’s too dangerous for you with all these alphas,” he says with a nod to me.
It won’t work. Whatever they are thinking, it’s not going to work.
“We’ll be back before my heat,” she whispers, making sure no one is listening.
“No, I’m not risking it.” I huff. “All right, here’s what’s going to happen. Those who want to leave will be escorted by Meg and Desi back to base. Those who want to continue will come with me.”
“Bonnie!” Meg hisses.
I cup her cheeks. “You can’t be without him for that long. Go back, tell Dad. I will be fine. I’ve handled worse.”
She stares at me for a long moment. “Fine, but if you get hurt, I’m kicking your ass.”
“Are you sure that’s safe?” Desi asks. “And what about the rock wall?”
“We’ll bypass the rock wall. You know there are other ways up there.”
I shrug my shoulders, trying to feel the nonchalance I am suddenly not feeling. I walk away from the group and radio Dad.
“What’s wrong?” he asks in alarm.
“Found a body. Six campers have pulled out. I’m sending Desi and Meg back.”
“Bonnie, no. You come home.”
“Nope, I have ten, and we’re going to continue.”
“Bonnie!” he barks.
“I can do this!” I assure him. “I want to do this.”
He’s silent for a long moment. I bite my bottom lip, waiting for him. Please trust me. I can do this.
“I’ll send the rangers. Where are you? The river?”
“Yes.”
“You stay safe. Do not make me regret this decision.”
“Love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too. Your mother is going to kill us both, though.”
I laugh and get off the phone, switching it off to save the battery. I take a breath and let it out.
“The people who stay will hang here and wait for the rangers to come down. The rest of us will continue on. Let’s get going.”
I can see the indecision on some people’s faces, but after last night’s fiasco, I’m not surprised. The taste of the wild isn’t for the unwary.
I’m curious about why the ten coming with me are coming, but I guess I will find that out later. I dive across the river, get my gear, and make my way back to this side. Once I’m over, I pull on my clothes and hoist my pack up and over my shoulders.
I lead the group up the river and cut back inland, meeting up with the trail we were supposed to be on. It feels weird not having Meg and Desi. The responsibility feels heavier, and I miss them already, but I feel more free, too, which is strange.
“Well, this was an exciting way to start the morning,” Cyn tries to smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. His hair catches the light, turning gold around him, and I remember how he looked on the red carpet all those years ago. Uneasy longing returns, a ghostly memory.
“It never gets boring out here.” I peer at him closely. “What’s wrong? Blisters? Pulled muscle?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I was just…do you think it’s wise coming out here with all these alphas?”
Oh, my god…really?
I narrow my eyes at him as he tries to smile, but the dimple that flashes up vanishes under the weight of my wrath. He brushes his hair back, and, for a moment, I forget everything. Just one moment.
“You don’t get to ask questions like that. First of all, you four are the only ones who know my designation,” I whisper. “Second, this is my job, and I am a professional. Third…no one gets to question my decisions, not anymore.”
He flinches. “Okay, sure, but you don’t know us.”
“Exactly, Alpha, so keep your opinions to yourself.”
He sighs. I reach out and grab his shoulder, pulling him towards me.
He stumbles up against me, and his eyes get big and round.
My heart slams against my rib cage. I catch the faintest hint of rum and something sweet and dark, but the smell is maddeningly elusive and disappears before I can really grab it.
“Watch where you are walking, Alpha,” I say in an even tone.
I let him go and point to the massive spiderweb he almost walked into.
Two seconds later, Quincy walks into it and starts screaming as he whirls in circles, trying to get it off.
I sigh heavily and try to save him, but it still takes us another twenty minutes before we can get walking.
So, now I have a very quiet group of hostile alphas and betas, and one who is almost crimson with embarrassment.
Maybe I should have just cut our losses and gone home.