The Alpha's Daydream ✔️

Chapter 25

2566 words

"Alright, guys," I clap my hands to get their attention. They stop their arguing and six pairs of eyes turn to me begrudgingly. I swallow my fear and wipe my sweaty hands on my shorts. "You could keep talking all day, getting nowhere. Or, you could follow me and we could check out—"

"Oh, just be quiet," one of the guys throws at me. "You've never done this before so just keep your thoughts to yourself. We know what we're doing."

"Clearly," I mutter under my breath, tilting my head in annoyance while I watch them walk in circles at the edge of the lake. They still think the scent goes somewhere, but I can feel it tugging me back down the path, the way we came, deeper into the forest.

"Fine," I put my hands on my hips. One girl spares me a glance, but the rest have gone back to ignoring me. "I honestly don't care if you follow me or not, or even if you find the flashlight or an alligator out there in the stupid lake. But I'm heading back." I turn on my heel and start marching away, but Hendrik's stern voice stops me.

"No splitting up. Rules of the expedition. We make decisions as a team."

I rub the bridge of my nose, getting really impatient with the arrogant wolves by the lake, who have now begun pushing each other as their bickering heightens. "Yeah? Tell that to them," I wave my hand and finally get all their attention. With a very pointed look at Hendrik, I straighten my shoulders and once more head back down the path, stepping daintily over a boulder, all the while feeling their heated gazes on my back. This defiance of the rules could either get me in big trouble, or gain some credence at taking initiative and leadership. Honestly, I don't know what Hendrik is trying to teach us through this particular exercise.

I count ten beats of my heart, then I hear rustling and twigs cracking behind me. Without having to look back, I sense all of them starting to follow me.

I smile to myself.

Score one for the future Alpha Female of this pack.

It's not long until we reach the fork in the path, and this time I take the turn where I can smell the scent the strongest. I am still leading them, tracking the scent and watching for other clues, footprints, anything to validate I'm on the right path.

I am so closely watching the ground that I don't look up until I walk straight into a tree. I stifle a gasp and rub my sore forehead. Someone snickers behind me, but I refuse to give them any satisfaction of seeing me hurt. Brushing it off, I walk around the tree, puzzled. It is a very tall sequoia, with low hanging branches nearly all the way to the ground. I retrace my steps, finding the scent draped all around yet leading nowhere, as if this is the end of the line.

Maybe it is.

I look up, and nearly chuckle at the simplicity of it all.

"No way!?" One of the guys mutters a string of curses that make me cringe inside.

"And just how are we expected to get it when it's all the way up in a crazy tree?" a girl throws her hands in the air and nearly smacks Hendrik in the face.

"That is entirely up to you," he smirks in my direction, and I get the feeling he is enjoying this very much. Casually sitting down on a fallen trunk, he settles in comfortably to watch the show.

I was hoping for a little more recognition of my good tracking skills, but the others still act like I'm a drag on the team. They talk together, swapping ideas on how to get the flashlight which is tied a good thirty feet high on a branch.

"How about someone just climb the tree?" I throw the idea out there when they begin searching for long sticks and lashing them together in a rather haphazard fashion. If I was stranded on an island with these clueless people, I would certainly not survive.