Vanessa

I blink my eyes a few times to make sure the humid air wasn’t messing with my comprehension. Kore and I have a deep understanding. If she wants me to keep returning to Dolon, Nate stays with me, point-blank. This has never been a problem, until now at least. I stare at Keira’s big round eyes, and it takes everything in me not to go over there just to break her nose.

“And why is that?” A voice rings out, and I see Nate’s dad stepping forward, shifting my attention. I gaze at him before comparing him to the mental image of Nate that I have, and they just don’t match up. Perhaps he gets most of his looks from his mom. “You wouldn’t be indicating that because my son is a Bobby, you’re gonna separate these two.”

“Oh, no, I would never dare, but…” Keira hesitates, “he does have connections even that hellspawn place Huxley.” I narrow my eyes at her and wonder how she knows that name. Kore had admitted long ago that except for her immediate family, nobody knew about the locations or names of the other settlements and camps. Most had already been in this area as the Outbreak occurred. Though I guess it’s not hard to imagine that rumors and information are quick to circulate in a small place such as Dolon.

“You guys wouldn’t know this, seeing as you were gone, but the sieges on the town have only worsened. We had to abandon that place and had to move further south in hopes of reaching the waters,” she declares.

“Why the hell woulda move towards the waters, I mean unless my info is outdated than that’s more dangerous than being in Bobby infested lands,” Nate drawls.

“Nobody in their right mind would get on a boat. That’s not even taking into account that the NTSCU patrols those waters,” Samuel concurs. “It’s said that some kind of creature lurks in the oceans now.”

“Really, what kind?” Nate sneaks closer to the others, his curiosity getting the better of him—plus I know he’s not a fan of Keira. She just rubs me the wrong way, he once admitted when I bugged him about it too many times. I glare in her direction and at her faint smile. I can’t say I trust her words, but I know that no matter what I have to go see Kore, if only because of the slight chance that this is not a trap.

“Alright, I’ll go with you, but,” I emphasize. I’m nearly shouting as Keira goes to open her mouth, “we’ll be traveling with Huxley until the time comes for us to go separate ways. If that’s alright with you, Samuel.” I catch a glimpse of Samuel and catch him, giving me a quick nod.

“That’s not what I was instructed to do,” Keira laments, pointing her fingers together and shuffling her foot every few moments.

“Tough shit, that’s what I want, so we got a deal or what?” I glare into her eyes and give an inward smirk when she gives me a despondent look.

My hand glides through the air as the Jeep pushes forward. The sun is starting to lower itself, but it’s still high in the sky, there’s plenty of daylight left. The car gives a violent jerk as Nate turns the wheel too suddenly. I let out a loud snort, and he gives me a harsh glare.

“Would it be too troublesome for your eyes to stay on the road,” a voice squeaks from the back. I turn and look at the man that I remember from our last run-in with Samuel, and he’d really enjoyed his eyeful of Nate. Not that I could blame him.

“Don’t worry, Nate’s always been a bad driver, the ride will get better the more miles he drives,” Nate’s dad informs us. I chuckle and kick Nate when he reaches over to cover my mouth.

“Thanks, Dad,” Nate sarcastically drawls.

“No problem, but perhaps keep your eyes on the road until we get back to the camp,” he suggests, causing Nate to grumble under his breath but do as he says.

“I must apologize. I never got either of your names,” I state, pointedly ignoring the one female that had come on our little cruise to gather dinner.

“My name is Alistair, but you Miss may call me Star,” Nate’s dad, Alistair, responds. “You see shifters, especially wolves, are the opposite of witches in regards to names.”

“You can say that again,” the nameless witch agrees before crossing her arms and looking pointedly out the window.

“My name is James, but my friends call me Jamie,” the other man adds.

“And I may call you Jamie,” I confirm with a hint of a smirk on my lips.

“Yes, you may,” he assures. We once more jerk to a stop, and I spin around to face Nate and see that several feet ahead lies our temporary camp.

“Great driving,” I praise him before leaning over and planting a kiss on his cheek, the witch makes a choking sound that makes my eyes roll. “It’s called positive reinforcement, I believe you should try it,” I smirk at her before exiting the vehicle. Nate slams his door shut, and I’m graced with the view of his muscles still glistening in the sun from his earlier workout.

“Hey, Witchy, mind giving me a hand with the load?” Nate is already moving to the end of the Jeep and lifts the trunk up. There are several small jackrabbits and two medium mountain lions stacked up in the back of the truck, all of them sporting deep slashes across their throats.

“Now, what did you really want? We both know you can easily carry these suckers by yourself,” I . He makes a sweeping gesture down his body with his hands, and I immediately lean in closer to check him over. Aside from the slight mess on his face, nobody will be able to tell he indulged before we came back. Besides, they should all be lucky he went for the animals and not the nosy witch we got stuck with. I reach up and rub all the blood off with a circular motion of my thumb.

“There. All better,” I assure him, and he repays me by throwing all his body weight onto me. “We have talked about this; you’re heavy.”

“No, I ain’t,” he denies but still releases me from his grasp. I grab his hand and drag him to the campsite that becomes eerily quiet, though I know these people had just been making a ruckus before. I ignore the issue until I push Nate onto the last available spot on the log, and give a small screech as he wrenches me into his lap. I twist around to glare at him but just receive a teeth-baring grin for my efforts.

“Here, Vee.” Alistair reaches over, handing me a stick that is impaling several pieces of meat. I nod to him in thanks. It would’ve been a peaceful last meal together if Keira could’ve kept her trap shut.

“You know there are other seats available, dear,” Keira points out, “you don’t have to sit there.” I give her a snotty smile in return.

“No thanks, dear, I’m quite comfortable where I am.” I bring my arm up around Nate’s neck and have to press my lips together when he drops his face into my back to smother his laughter. For the first time since arriving, Keria drops the smile off of her lips. She stands and strides closer to where we sit, places her hands on her hips, and opens her mouth to once again spew nonsense.

“Maybe you think hanging off someone who will sooner kill you than protect you is cute. Most of us here, those damn shifters included, have lost somebody to the Bobbies, and you’re just sitting there throwing that thing into our faces,” she chides.

“I don’t need his protection,” I correct, standing up and away from Nate though I hear him grumbling about it.

“What?” Keira asks with a wrinkled nose as though what I’ve said is highly complicated.

“I don’t stay with Nate for protection, I stay because I chose to,” I enunciate each word loudly and clearly, so there’s no chance for her to mishear. We’ve had this conversation multiple times; besides this significant flaw in her personality, she’s an okay person to have as an ally. She’s not skilled in the ways that Kore and I are, but she is an expert information gatherer.

“Who would choose to stay with that monster?” She states this as a question, but I know she’s not looking for an answer.

“Okay, ladies, perhaps we should all take a breather,” Samuel interjects himself into the conversation, ever the peacekeeper, and for once, I wish he’d stay out of it. Out here, I can whack her in the face, and not worry about the consequences.

“You’re right, Sir. Vee, come along, we’re leaving.” Keira gives me a long look before she walks away. I gape at her before twisting to stare at Nate. He stands to his feet and crosses the space between us.

“I’ll walk a little further with you, the path is that way, and she can’t complain about it,” Nate whispers. He brings a hand up to caress my hair, and it takes everything in me not to fall against him and refuse to move again.

“I’ll talk to her; maybe I can make her see reason,” Samuel states, walking ahead without waiting for a response.

“Well, while he’s gettin’ that hard rejection let me redo your braids’ kay,” Nate grabs me and drags me back to the logs. I turn my back to him and close my eyes at the gentle padding of his finger weaving through my hair. With great practice, he undoes each of the braids before tightly rebraiding my hair. I wince here and there when his hand tugs on a particular knot, but he doesn’t rip through my hair. He turns me around to look at his handy work before nodding.

“Did you somehow get better at that since leaving,” Alistair asks, closely admiring Nate’s handy work.

“Ehh looks the same to me,” he responds.

“You always do that?”

“Nah, I taught her a couple styles, and she picked them up pretty good.” Nate digs into his pockets until he retrieves a string that he uses to tie the end of my long braids.

“Vee come on,” Keira calls, and we stand. “Just you.” I clench my fists at her words but focus back on Nate as his hand rests on mine.

“So, I guess this is it, uh?” I stare into his face and try not to let the tears lying upon my lashes fall down my face.

“As if. Give me a couple of days, at most, then I’ll come find you,” he promises, wrapping his arms around my waist and crushing our chests together. I feel his head resting on top of mine and have to bat against his chest for him to move. My eyes wander to his face, and I can’t help but wonder if this will be our last time seeing each other like this. Our faces inch together, and our lips are just a whisper apart when Keira yells out for me to hurry up.

“Next time,” Nate huffs, his gaze lingering on my lips before he presses a deep kiss onto my forehead and then lays his head upon mine. “Two days, and then I’ll come lookin’ for you, Nessa,” he whispers so softly that I can barely make out the words. “I promise I’ll come for you.”

“Don’t go saying things you don’t mean,” I warn him, pulling away from his embrace. He jogs away towards the duffles and withdraws something before returning with a bittersweet expression.

“I know it’s ratty, but,” he wraps his scarf around my neck, “this way, you’ll know I’ll be back, at least for my precious scarf.”

“Right, for the scarf,” I breathlessly respond.

“I promise you.” He makes the statement, and for once in my life, I want nothing more than for that promise to come true.