Rouge's Trail

XXVI

The tent could hold all of us but, just like when it was just Ajax, Sophia, Isabella, and I, someone needed to keep watch.

After what Thomas told me I couldn't help myself and argued with Lucas until I was granted a watch. I made sure it wasnt the one after his so he couldn't "forget" to wake me up for it and take over mine.

I was waken up at 2 in the morning but an oddly gentle Isabella, her beautiful face loomed over me like the angel of death. It was a welcoming sight, like she was comforting a dying soldier after a difficult battle. I could almost hear her whispering to him that he did good but it was time to rest now.

But she wasnt the angel of death, she was Isabella, an Italian rouge who lost her accent over years on the rouge and travelling with an American rouge raised in Russia and a rouge from Los Angeles.

The fire was a pleasant greeting when I got outside. It burned brightly in the dark night and let off so much heat that I almost discarded the blanket Luke provided to me and everyone else.

Instead I pulled the blanket tighter and watched the darkness that surrounded me, listening intently for any sounds of distress from the earth to let me know of a potential predator.

The first and only time I ever had anyone attack me in the dark didn't end well.

It ended worse for Alexia.

Ivalo...

The air dropped a few degrees when I thought of that place. Alexia and I had escaped one form of torture but I had endured another special brand.

"What is Ivalo?"

I jumped off the floor, hand yanking out my dagger while I turned to face the potential threat.

Luke.

His eyes zeroed in on my own, though. He completely ignored the sharp edge just inched away from his throat. His hands came up in surrender.

"November," he said in a low voice so he wouldnt wake the others," What is Ivalo?"

I felt a tremble coming at the name of that place but quickly dropped my arm before he could see.

I must have said it out loud.

"Ivalo is the monster under your bed for rouges," I gave him a pointed look when I picked up the blanket that had fallen off my shoulders in my sudden movements.

I wasn't lying. Ivalo is a horror story told at every camp fire young wolves gather around, but for rouges its more than real.

"Oh, I guess I thoug-"

"Why are you awake, exactly?"

He held up a cell phone. It showed that it was 2:19 a.m. and his lock screen was a picture of those children from back in Alaska with chocolate smeared all over their faces and big smiles all around.

"Calling my sister. Time difference and all."

"Ohh, I see," I raised an eyebrow and sat down on the ground to watch the fire again," it must be really convenient to call a mother of two at 10:19 at night."

I could almost feel his sheepishness take over when he took a seat next to me. I took the chance and glanced over to see that his blue eyes took on a darker hue that made them seen deep, like sapphires at the bottom of a lake. Tempting but potentially murderous.

Who knows when you may drown.

"Why are you really out here?"

"I thought you might value the company," he blew some air out of his lips," and my wolf has been dying to be near you all day. Its getting a little annoying, honestly."

"I should have pretended that I didn't speak English when I met you, then you wouldnt try to talk to me."

"What else do you speak?"

"Only a little Russian and a cuss word or so in Latin from Sophia."

"Impressive. You dont meet many people interested in learning Russian."

"It wasnt optional."

"What do you mean?"

I looked at him again, doing my best to put through that I couldn't bring myself to tell him why it wasn't optional using just my eyes. I realized that was stupid as all hell and stopped quickly, though.

The fire was better to stare at.

"I had a friend who taught me some. She was pretty persistent."

"Where is she now?"

"Gone."

He was still staring at me but I gave up on caring. Alexia was the only thing I could think of now.

"She was beautiful, you know? Not like super model beautiful, more like inevitably beautiful. Like no matter what happened to her she would always have that golden smile and that wavy, brown hair and those gorgeous, hopeful green eyes. No one could take that away from her."

"But someone did," he added in almost a question. I let out a scoff. Of course someone did.

"Someone always does."

I think he said something else after that but I was too busy staring at the fire. If I looked away from the heat I might go back to that cold night just a hundred meters away from the borders of Ivalo. If I looked away I might not be able to stop thinking about the sound of the wolves howling while they looked for us. 

If I looked away I might not be able to forget the look in her eyes when she handed me the vile of Wolfsbane.

And if I looked away I wouldn't be able to stop the smell of blood from overwhelming my senses to the point of madness.

Again.