Wild Desperation

Chapter 40

"What do you think Aggele, do you want me to stop?" His tone sends shivers up and down my spine as his thumb brushes gently against the side of my face. "How are you okay with this?" I find myself blurting the first clear thought my mind can process about the situation as I glance between the two boys and Silas let's his hand drop back to his lap. "Aggele, North and I have shared a bird before, and we certainly don't mind the thought of sharing you." Silas is serious. The direct fact that they're not virgins doesn't surprise me, but what is a little shocking is the bit of disappointment flaring in my chest at the knowledge.

 "If I did have romantic feelings for all of you someday how would that even work? I mean there are nine of you and nine to one odds just don't seem fair to any of you even if it was possible." I mutter on a frown. "Watching you walk away doesn't seem fair either." North growls out with a scowl. "Don't worry about us Aggele mou, we know how we feel, and even if you only like us as friends I'm still going to do everything in my power to keep you around and I won't be the only one." Silas smirked as I forced a small smile to my lips before wandering off to explore the mall more and escape the tension still hanging in the air.

 I found a quiet corner to relax in for another hour or so before the rest of the boys returned, and it was as if the conversation between Silas and I never happened. "I want everyone at the ready in case of trouble, keep an eye out, and stay close." Owen ordered as we started the last leg of our journey to the Charleston Research Institute. I was on high alert with my bow at the ready and a pistol in my waistband I was more than capable of warding of a slew of attackers if necessary. The town looked to still be in decent shape, we even saw a few people running about that kept their distance from our group. 

The moment we got within a two mile radius of the research building however it was a stark difference to the rest of town, everything was deserted and abandoned. The strange thing was that not even a stray dog or cat or any beasts were in the vicinity unlike every other town or place we'd passed by. "Something doesn't feel right about this place." Victor whispered out. "I know it's like there's no life in the area, like a complete dead zone, but that doesn't make any sense. This should be the spot where more beasts than ever are camped out, instead there's no other living creature in sight." I state just as soft, the whole thing is making me uneasy. 

I decide to turn Nightmare loose before continuing onward, Arrow even stands tense at my side, hackles raised nervously. When the large brick building of the institute came into view I was surprised by the crumbling rubble state it seemed to be in but yet it was still in better shape than the buildings around it that had turned into collapsing death traps. "Well we're here, now what the f*** do we do?" Gabe hissed out. "We go in and we search for answers." I state in determination as we carefully pick our way through the rubble at the entrance before staring off into the dimly lit branch of hallways. 

"Lead the way Cupcake, we're right behind you." Luke urged as I took the right hall that led us towards the research lab I had explored years ago. I was moving at a decent pace when Arrow suddenly whined and drew my attention which stopped me in my tracks, the boys moved ahead a few steps before pausing. "What's wrong big guy?" I knelt to his level carefully checking his paws for any debris that might have injured him, finding none I moved to stand only to have him stop me by clamping his jaws down on my arm with another whine. The action frightened me even though he was only gently holding my arm in his teeth but my mind raced back to that first time when he'd done the same actions to keep me from going to the diseased deer.