Chapter Seven #3
As they made their way across a tiny stream, carefully stepping on the smooth rocks jutting above the water’s surface, she glanced sideways at Bryon. “I think I should take another look at your foot.”
He nodded without saying a word. He was staring at the trees ahead, though she got the feeling he wasn’t really looking at anything in particular. For the past half hour or so, he’d been silent, except for a few grunts of pain as he walked.
They made it across the stream before coming to a stop. He made for the nearest tree, sitting down heavily at its base, and she dropped into a crouch next to him, pulling his leg close to her. Before them, the stream gleamed, the gentle trickle of water carrying into Miranda’s ears.
“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked as she unwrapped his injured foot.
Bryon frowned at her for a second before looking away. “I’m just starting to wonder whether I did the right thing, making the foal my top priority instead of getting out of the woods first, so you and I are safe.”
Something told Miranda he had a lot more than that on his mind, but she decided not to push him. “I’ve been wondering the same thing. For someone who claims to be a bridge between animals and humans, you seem to be leaning in favor of the former this time.”
The rest of the sash unwound itself from around his foot and fell into a heap on her thigh, most of it covered in blood and grime from all the walking.
She grimaced at his foot, which certainly looked worse than the last time she’d examined it.
The bleeding had ceased for the most part, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t an appalling sight to behold.
And if they didn’t get out of the woods in time, it would only get worse.
“You’re not wrong,” Bryon told her. “I’m not exactly the biggest fan of humans.”
He should, at least, try to give a damn about himself, even if he didn’t care for humans, she thought, scooping some water from the stream into her palm to clean his foot. “Present company excluded, I presume?”
His silence was all the response she needed.
“Right,” she said, rubbing the dirt and blood off his foot. “Message received.”
He winced as her fingers came into close contact with his injury, his foot twitching against her hand. “I just have less patience and trust when it comes to your kind.”
At this, she momentarily paused what she was doing and frowned at him.
“Care to explain why? Sounds like my kind did something really terrible to you.” She definitely understood not trusting men, especially after her relationship with Jerry.
But all humans? That was a new one. Just what had this man experienced?
She looked at him for a response, but his expression had turned guarded, his gaze shifting from her face toward the stream.
“I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it,” she said, nodding. “Okay, then. I guess we could talk about something else.”
Bryon said nothing. In the silence, she washed his other foot, then made to wash the sash in the river, trying to get rid of as much of the dirt and blood as she could.
She could feel his eyes on her as she worked, but she paid him little notice as she wrung the sash and began wrapping his foot again.
A damp sash wasn’t exactly ideal for dressing his injury, but they didn’t exactly have the time to sit and wait for it to dry.
A bit of blood stained the sash as she bandaged his foot, but otherwise it didn’t look so bad now. Good. She gently wrapped it with the sash, tightly enough that it wouldn’t slip off.
“What are you going to do once we make it out of here?” Bryon asked.
“Hmm?” She looked up to find him staring at her. Her heart skipped a few beats, and she tried to ignore the heat that immediately swept through her gut. She looked away, determined to focus on anything but his brown eyes. “Well...”
It had been a really tiring day between running from Jerry and trudging through the woods with this wolf shifter, but amidst all the madness, she’d definitely had time to reflect.
“I’m not entirely sure,” she said honestly. “But I do know that I’m not returning to Everland.”
Even the thought of going back home was enough to send shivers down her spine.
She’d made the mistake of remaining in place after Jerry’s threats, and look where it had landed her.
Miranda was determined not to make the same dumb mistake again.
Sure, she’d report Jerry to the police or at least get a restraining order, but that wasn’t enough.
Somehow, she suspected she’d wake up one morning with his hands at her throat.
Yeah, she had to move. Anywhere but Everland. It didn’t matter that most of her life was in that town. She might not have a life to enjoy if she remained there.
“Oh?” Bryon sat a little straighter.
She nodded. “I think I’ll have my things moved. Who knows? I just might move to Sylva. I heard it’s a nice town.”
“It is.” His voice was lower than before, his tone almost undecipherable. “It’s a really nice town. Peaceful, for the most part.”
“That’s good to know.” She finished wrapping his foot and patted it before rising. “We should get going. If I’m going to move, I’d like to make it out of here in one piece first.”