102. Chapter One-Hundred-One
Chapter One-Hundred-One
Scarlett
It’s a relief to see Riley doing better. I have to admit he had all of us worried for a while when he was sleeping despite the muscle cramps wracking his body. I got Xane and Trick to drag him to a shadier spot while Kian and I carried the cooler full of water.
I’d thought the sun might help the water stay warm, but it cooled faster than I would have liked.
That’s when I made the decision about the second cooler.
It was the easiest way to switch the water out for hotter water.
Especially since we were gonna need to do that a whole bunch of times.
By the last twenty minutes, Xane told us the shallower fill was the best he could get.
So, I guess that means there won’t be a chance for showers tomorrow.
That sucks, for sure. But Riley needed our help more than we need showers so there was no other choice.
There’s always the lake. That would give us a chance to cool off.
It’s the closest we’ll get to feeling refreshed now.
The bottles of water are lukewarm, so even those are less satisfying.
I can’t wait until we get to the resort.
It’s really gonna feel like we’ve worked for the rest by the time we make it out there.
“I wish I’d realized the coolers wouldn’t work well for very long,” Kian admits, as he passes Riley his sandwich and water.
“I hope there’s meat on this,” Riley says as he takes his lunch from Kian.
“There is, don’t worry. Cheese, too.”
“Good.” Riley takes a drink before he starts on the sandwich.
“I should put the tents back up,” Xane says, getting to his feet.
“We can do that later,” Trick tells him. “Relax.”
“Actually, you could probably use a nap.”
Xane looks at me and blinks. “Uh …”
“Yeah, you were up all night,” Kian adds. “And you look like death warmed over.”
“Thanks a lot,” Xane mutters.
“You probably need to rest. That’s all I was saying.”
He stands there for a second before he nods. “Yeah. I think you guys are right. I’ll go lay down. We’re not doing anything now until tomorrow anyway.”
“Right,” Kian says. “So, it’s fine. You’ll feel better if you sleep.”
“You’ve had water today, right?” Trick asks.
“I drank a bottle with lunch.”
“Just making sure.”
“Try not to make too much noise while I’m sleeping.”
“Of course,” Kian scoffs. “It’s not like we’re usually storming around shouting, or anything.”
“I’ll make sure they behave,” Riley promises.
“Make sure they look after you,” Xane says, before he heads off in the direction of the jet.
“Don’t worry, he’s in good hands,” I call after him.
I look back at Kian. “Is it just me, or is something up with him?”
“It pretty much always feels like something’s up with Xane,” Kian tells me.
“He probably feels bad about stranding us here,” Trick says with a shrug.
“He’s the lead Alpha. Everything is on his shoulders. Weight of the world, and all that.”
Riley shrugs when I look at him.
It’s kinda crazy how different he seems today.
Yesterday he barely looked at me.
He hardly spoke to anyone.
Today, he’s like a whole new person.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine how that would feel.”
Xane’s not just responsible for himself. He’s also responsible for his pack.
He makes decisions that affect them every day.
I don’t think I could handle that.
In fact, I know I couldn’t.
It’s way too much, and it’s not fair.
His pack are grown men.
They don’t blindly follow his orders.
Kian made that clear when he opposed splitting up to leave Riley on his own.
He can’t be holding himself accountable for every little thing when they all have their own opinions and they don’t always agree with his take.
It’s way too harsh. He’s only human like we are.
Sighing, I wonder how badly he’d take me telling him those things.
I doubt he’d even listen, for a start.
He’s stubborn.
Most people who have strong opinions are.
And I’m the last person he’d take seriously.
I discard the idea out of hand.
We’ve all agreed to head out tomorrow.
There’ll be plenty of time to talk while we’re walking through the jungle together.
If I get a chance to speak to him, I will. If I don’t, I won’t.
Might as well let fate decide. It hasn’t failed me so far.