68. Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Trick
Xane takes the tents out of the jet while I grab a sandwich out of the cooler.
I take a can of soda out of the cabin’s minifridge, too.
It’s lukewarm now since the fridge is only on when the jet is running, but it’ll do.
I want to get back to the fire, back to Scarlett, but I know once I do, my hunger will wane, and I won’t care about the sandwich one little bit.
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll come help,” I call out to Xane.
Eating is one of those important things that gets shoved to the back of my mind when I’m fully focused on something I’m more interested in. It’s always been that way.
“Take your time,” Xane yells back.
I move two backpacks to sit down in my usual seat.
I should probably find a shirt now that it’s a little cooler outside, but the thought of getting more grief from Riley, this time when he’s wasted, makes me reconsider that idea.
The food will warm me up. I won’t need a shirt when I’m done eating.
I crack open the can of cola, and I take a sip.
Yep, lukewarm.
Kinda weird, but I don’t hate it.
The sandwich is gone in a couple of minutes. The instant I take a bite, I realize how hungry I actually am, and I still feel like I could eat when I’m done. The soda helps, for sure.
Sighing, I polish off the can and put it in the bathroom trash-can before I exit the jet.
It’s definitely cooler than it was this afternoon, but it’s still kinda warm out.
I find Xane hammering a tent peg into the ground.
Both tents have been put up, and they’re as small as I thought they were gonna be.
“Are those supposed to be three-man tents?” I ask as I come over to where he is.
“No. They’re two-man tents, and they’re about as cheap as it gets.”
He doesn’t sound impressed as he gets to his feet.
He moves around to the next corner and hammers another peg into the ground.
“There are five of us.” It seems obvious, but maybe Kian didn’t plan this whole thing out as well as he thought he did.
“I’m aware,” Xane mutters. “It’s fine. One of us will need to be on watch at night anyway.”
I go over to the tent that’s already pinned in place. It looks crazy small to me, and that opinion doesn’t change when I unzip the entrance. I crouch down and kneel inside.
It seems claustrophobic and crazy small for two people, but I guess it depends on which two people are inside.
I could easily curl up with Scarlett in here, but Riley would hog the entire space the second he passed out. I think I’d rather sleep on an ant hill.
I get back up and zip the tent closed to keep the bugs out.
We haven’t seen any so far, really, but who knows what’s out here.
“Kian can share with Scarlett when I’m on watch.”
I don’t want her to be uncomfortable, and she likes Kian.
“You need to be careful around that woman,” he warns me, standing back up, apparently done with the second tent now.
“I’m capable of looking after my future mate, even if I can’t remember to eat sometimes.”
It’s supposed to be a joke, but he doesn’t look amused.
I don’t remember the last time he ever laughed, if I’m honest.
That might be the bigger problem.
“I’m not talking about protecting her. We’ll all do that. It’s second nature.”
I frown back at him. “Then, what are you talking about?”
He blows out a breath. “I know it’s new to you, being around an Omega. It can be confusing. That’s what their perfume is supposed to do to an Alpha. It doesn’t mean she’s fated to you.”
“What?” I ask, more confused about what he’s trying to say than anything else.
Xane knows Omega’s perfume when they meet a true mate.
We’ve literally written songs about it.
“Is this because she lied about her name?”
“No. It’s because she’s an Omega.”
It still doesn’t make sense, but I don’t know what else to say.
“Have you had any water today?” I ask, trying to remember if I saw him drinking.
I know he ate, and he had a beer.
He frowns at me.
I put my hands up. “Hey, you’re warning me off my true mate, like she isn’t also yours. Checking if you’re suffering from heatstroke is valid.”
“I had a bottle while I was sitting out here. I don’t have heatstroke. You’re the ones who were sitting around under the afternoon sun. And she’s not my true mate. She’s just an Omega.”
Okay, now I’m starting to get it.
He has a problem with Omegas.
It’s weird, but it’s his problem, not mine.
“Well, she’s my true mate and I don’t care if she’s an Omega or not.
I’ve waited all my life to feel what I’m feeling now.
I’m not gonna push her away just because you have some kind of prejudice against Omegas.
I don’t know what’s going on with you, Xane, but you’re not the same guy you used to be. ”
I wait for him to give a response. Any response.
He just stands there, staring at me like he’s not happy.
So, I shake my head and walk away from him.
I hate to even think it, but if he pushes too hard, I know who I’ll be walking away from, and it’s not gonna be Scarlett.