The tickle in my throat was hard to ignore as Genesis and I scavenged through the woods together. Nonetheless, I forced it down and plowed through the discomfort. "Genesis, try not to fall behind. It's very easy to get lost along this path. So, just keep close to me, okay? I can't promise I'd be able to find you in time if anything were to happen." Goddammit.
Even the mere act of talking felt rubble rubbing against my fucking throat.
"Oh? Is that kindness I hear? Wow. I may need to clean my ears out," she retorted.
"No. What you're hearing is a warning," I stated, calmly.
"That sounded pretty kind to me . . . and for the most part, out of character coming from you," she muttered, kicking the pebbles ahead of our path.
I shot her a narrowed-eyed look over my shoulder. But all I received was a shrug in reply. I rolled my eyes and turned my head forward again, the silence falling over us like tidal waves. I heard a deep sigh, then the feeling of Genesis' eyes plagued me. It was a feeling I was growing used to—as if I was a rubix cube she desperately wanted to figure out. But I wouldn't allow her to get that close, nor would I allow myself to succumb to her charisma.
As we continued walking, she muttered something faint under her breath. I paused, my eyebrows knitting together. "What are you mumbling about now?"
"Uh, I was just wondering how far from the main road we were going to walk. We're pretty far now and we've been walking for a while," she said, shrugging. If I had enough energy, I'd point out how awful of a liar she was. But I didn't. So, I brushed it off and played along.
"Just a few more feet ahead," I said, walking forward.
"Hey wait! Those legs of yours move fast as hell," she huffed and trotted forward on my tip-toes in an attempt to catch up to me.
"Here." I stopped abruptly, closing my eyes and sniffing the air.
Bingo, this was it.
"This is where we left off on our search." After dragging myself towards one of the nearest trees to lean against it, I said, "Okay, you got what you wanted. We're here. Now what?"
Not now, I repeated that thought as I felt the subtle obnoxious twitch in my fingers. Shit, this couldn't have been an even worse time for my body to fail me. There was a battle for air within my chest. But I tried my best to hide it by hunching my spine. Perhaps if I did that long enough, I'd be able to hold out for just a little longer. Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I fucking felt weak. I was sure I looked weak too. Like I was on the verge of passing out.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Genesis frowned.
Could she tell something was wrong? Fuck, she probably could. The last thing I needed was her noticing and worrying about me.
"Um, well . . . I wanted to take a look around," she said.
"The floor is all yours." Clearing my throat, I gestured around the trees. Genesis took her time strolling around the patches of grass littered across the ground. She clenched her hands into a tight fist as if she was fighting something. I frowned but said nothing.
"You said Amaury was handling some alpha business that night, right?" she asked.
"Correct," I said.
"Okay then, he had to come from somewhere, right? Whatever direction he was heading from, led him to me."
"That would be a plausible thought if we hadn't considered that already. Unfortunately for you, the odds don't work in your favor"—I needed to look her in the eyes, needed her to see there was a reason I couldn't let go of my suspicions so easily—"when we tried to backtrack on his whereabouts, his blood trail was useless. It only trailed through where everything went down between you two."
"You've got to be fucking shitting me. . . Right, that was where you found us." She scoffed.
"Yeah, anything further and there was no scent to latch onto. Now do you understand why it's been difficult not to suspect you? We haven't exactly been given a solid reason not to"—I tilted my head back, gaping up at the light easing through the clouds—"except for your word. If you really didn't have anything to do with this, I'm not sure who you pissed off. But it seems like they've got a target on your freedom."
"A target on my freedom, huh? More like they're using my odds to their benefit." She sighed out a laugh. "I don't think this has anything to do with me pissing anyone off. It was just their lucky day. All they needed to do next was cover up their tracks because I happened to take the fault." I eyed her from head to toe, my thoughts a blurry mess of questions.
I couldn't help it. Every time she was in my presence, I despised the confliction she anchored into me yet I always wanted to learn more. How could someone be so intriguing and frustrating? Hell, it pissed me off. I wanted to hate her. I needed to hate her. At least until the verdict for Amaury's death proved otherwise. But she was an enigma that drove me up the Goddamn walls.
"Genesis," I started, then froze.
A third scent? No, a fourth?
Shit, we were no longer alone.
"Genesis, what—?" I sprang into action, covering her mouth with my hands. Genesis' shaken body was hard to ignore beneath me. But I didn't move from that position. My nostrils flared. I sniffed once, twice, and a third time. She repeated my movements.
"Don't move," I whispered, turning my head in the opposite direction. I walked further ahead, maneuvering my way through the trees. There were exactly two scents. None of which were from wolves I recognized. But they were shifters, I knew that much.
"I know you're here. . ." I growled, my voice low. "Come out of hiding."
The fact that I had just now noticed them bothered me to no extent. How fucking sick was I that I allowed two rogue wolves to put us in danger?
"Vincent?" I could hear Genesis' soft whispers behind me. Before I could respond, the faint rustling ahead of me sent me into defense mode. I bared my teeth at the oncoming danger—two red-eyed wolves creeping out of the trees. And by the looks of it, we were on their territory.
"Erebus wolves," I whispered, swearing under my breath. Fuck, this wasn't good. I needed to get us out of here immediately. "Genesis, get the hell out of there now!" By the time I yelled back, the first Erebus wolf jumped out, claws-first. I pounced towards it, my body shifting into my wolf form. Which was a lot more painful than it should have been, might I add.
I winced, then groaned. But it probably sounded more like a whimper in my fucked-up state. I then noticed the dark gray wolf breezing past us. Genesis, the alarm bells in my head went off. Her loud shriek that followed confirmed I was right to feel sick with worry.
I wanted to scream her name—to ask if she was okay—but my racing heart would have to speak for me because all I could do was wrestle the first Erebus wolf off me. With a loud snarl, I kicked off my hind legs with all my might. The action sent myself and the Erebus wolf tumbling from in between the trees, tangled together until we landed smack dab where I left Genesis. It was then our bodies detangled from each other.
To my surprise, and thankfulness, she was unharmed. Well, for the most part.
"Shit." Her body flew back into the ground. She winced and inserted her first into her mouth. That fall must have hurt like hell. I could see it on her face. For some reason, that only fueled my impatience and anger more. So much that I directed it towards the causes of this all.
I sunk my teeth into the first Erebus wolf's neck, biting down with all the force I could possibly muster up. Then, with a swing of my jaw, I flipped the first Erebus wolf across the ground until it flew into the gray wolf. A warning growl seeped through my bared teeth as I neared Genesis, stalking her like a protector in the wild.
"H-holy shit," she stuttered. My eyes flicked over my shoulders. I bellowed out a noise I hoped she interpreted as are you okay, before adjusting my focus back on the threats in front of us. Of course, the Erebus wolves were already back on their feet. Looks like they were pissed too. The glow in their eyes had taken a darker shade of red. Just my damn luck.
But no matter how I felt, I was the only barrier standing between Genesis and the Erebus wolves. And it didn't seem like they were backing down anytime soon. I needed to end this now before it went on any longer. No matter the risks or the costs.
"Vincent, what do we do now?" Genesis whispered, desperation leaking from her tone.
The Erebus wolves were closing in again. Their bodies moved in a circle, surveying us from limb to limb. I looked back over my shoulder again. Truthfully, I couldn't give her a promised response. But I could put her at ease by making sure she was safe. So, that's exactly what I did.
I made a quick gesture with my head. My ears twitched in the same direction. Run and don't look back, that's what I wanted her to do. She understood immediately.
The hell you do, I thought to myself, noticing the gray wolf lunging towards her. She screamed as I tackled the gray wolf to the ground. I pinned the wolf down, snarling in its face. As much as I liked to think the outcome was in my favor, my body reminded me why it was in fact not. I resisted the urge to topple over and dry heave when a wave of chills passed over me.
I sucked in a breath and clenched my eyes. The other wolves must have sensed a moment of weakness because everything happened in the blink of an eye. One of them took off in Genesis' path, and I felt something sharp plunge into me—claws. The next thing I knew, blood was flowing out of my body and my blood wasn't the only blood I smelled. Genesis!
Her name was the loudest in my mind. What kind of sorry excuse for an alpha was I? I couldn't even protect one person. I could hardly protect myself.
"Vincent!?" Her voice was faint in the distance, and I was all alone. This was by far the most pathetic I'd ever felt. It soothed me to know she was alive though.
"Vincent!?" she called again.
She sounded closer.
I struggled to my paws, my legs wobbly. I heard a scuffle nearby. It sounded very one-sided but I couldn't quite tell what was happening. Just as I ventured through the trees, I noticed one of the Erebus wolves attempting to stand. Genesis was mere inches away with her jacket tied around her waist, The bottom of her sweater was soaked in water and she was shivering.
Before the Erebus wolf could fully recover, I shot out of the trees, causing the wolf's body to flatten with a loud thud. Then, I wasted no time in going straight for the kill. I could barely register what was happening when silence reigned again.
"Vincent!" The concern in Genesis' voice was hard to dismiss.
Stop that, I wanted to scream. All her worrying did was make things more impossible to ignore; more impossible to deal with. But as I lay limp on the dirt, my body finishing the last of its transition back into human form, all I could do was breathe unevenly. Even in the midst of my breathing, I felt Genesis' jacket landing on my skin. Did she just cover my privates?
If this were any other time, I might have suppressed my laughter. But I didn't even have the energy to laugh.
"Hey, you!" Her hand touched my forehead. "Vincent! Hey! You're not dead, are you?" Shit, her hand on my skin shouldn't have felt as comforting as it did. "Oh no, you're not allowed to die. I'm already in deep shit because of you! Seriously. You can't die on me, okay!?"
For once, I was glad her motormouth kept going. Because if she touched me for a few seconds longer, I'm not sure what kind of reaction I might have given her.
"W-why are you . . . so fucking noisy?" I fought to open my eyes. "Relax. . . I'm not dead."
"Well, you don't sound alive!" She scoffed out a laugh.
She rested her fingers under my jaw. She then bent forward, her ear touching my chest. I tried my best not to inhale. She didn't need to know how much her touch was affecting me. Why the hell was I reacting like this? This was so fucked. I didn't like this at all.
"You're overexaggerating, Genesis. I'm okay. I-I . . . I just need to get to Mariah. We need to go." I tried to sit up but her hand pressed into my wound. What the fuck? "Ow, what the fu—!?" I shouted, then coughed.
"Overexaggerating my ass!" She scowled. "Stop moving. Seriously. You're severely injured!"
I didn't bother trying to hide my annoyance. "I'll start healing soon. The healing process is faster for us."
"Healing? I don't think you understand the condition you're in. Even if you've already started healing, you'll bleed to death before you make it back to Calamitous! You need to at least let me clean the wound first and patch it up until we get back. I can help you!"
"I said I'm fine," I hissed.
By the way she recoiled back, I knew my wolf's eyes must have flashed at her. Good. Maybe then she'd leave me alone. I didn't want to talk about this. I clenched my jaw and tried to lift myself up again. What I didn't expect was to be jabbed in my wound with a fucking stick.
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. I dry-heaved and crouched over, groaning. But the snarl leaving Genesis' mouth was even more unexpected. And when I looked at her, she looked equally as surprised at the noise. My eyes regressed back to their original state. I glanced between her mouth and her eyes. Two sharp canines were poking out of her gums.
I didn't know what the hell was running through her mind, but she must have had some random spark of confidence, because never in a million years did I think she'd pin me to the floor. Surely, she'd lost her mind. Right? I must have lost my mind too because why the fuck was I not put off by this? All I could do was stare.
My mouth parted and my cheeks were no doubt flushed with embarrassment. A withering pain lingered beneath all of those emotions. It didn't help matters that I was naked. She must have known that too because her focus was solely on my face.
"Listen, I tried to be nice. But your stubborn ass leaves me no choice. I refuse to go down for another death. You're accepting my help whether you like it or not," she gritted out.
I couldn't find the words to speak. Was I angry? No, not quite. Annoyed? Yes. But I'd admit, none of those emotions were at the forefront of my mind right now. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Mostly to calm me before I said or did anything I'd deeply regret. Then, I exhaled, looking at her. I guess there was no use in fighting this.
"Good. I'm assuming your silence means you're going to cooperate." She sighed, shaking my head at him. "Vincent, you have a fever."
"Do I?" My eyes fluttered closed again.
I knew very well that could have been the case. I figured the moment I lost control in the middle of the fight. But I couldn't afford to rest.
"Yes! I can't believe you've had a fever all this time and you didn't tell anyone. That's probably how that Erebus wolf got the upper-hand on you. What do you think, you're invincible!?" She threw my hands in the air and frowned.
Surprising me again, she rolled my eyes and flicked my forehead. Growling at her again proved to be useless because she obviously didn't care. Again, that unsettled me.
My eyes shot back open. "It doesn't matter if I get sick. I can't afford to rest. As alpha, my duty is to my people. Their health comes before mine."
"Alpha this, alpha that. Blah, blah, blah. With that mentality, you'll die before you can help your people." She laughed dryly. "Poor health won't make you strong enough to protect them. You still need to look after yourself too. Self-care. You should try it."
Though she was right, this pack was all I had. If I let them down, who else was there to take my place? Plenty of people, and that's what bothered me the most. I was replaceable. I was never meant to be here in the first place. That meant I needed to work ten times harder to prove myself.
Genesis sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Listen, just don't move. I'll be back."
"Wait! Genesis, w-where are you going?" I frowned.
"Didn't I just say don't move!? I'm going to grab you something to wear." She must have noticed my conflicted expression because she stopped. "What? You can't expect me to walk around with you like that, right? I know you shifters are used to being naked but you can't walk around showing your anatomy to humans. Your dick is hanging out!"
I immediately choked on my spit. Holy hell, this girl had no filter. I didn't know whether to be pleased by that or disturbed. I coughed a few times before finally finding my voice. "I know, I know. T-that's not what I was. . . Just go. My cloak is in the second row of my car. Retrieve it and come back. The car is unlocked. The keys are inside."
"Hmm, I'm not hearing that magic word I should be hearing."
". . .Please." I sighed through gritted teeth.
Shortly, Genesis returned with my cloak in hand. I heard her approaching.
"Shit," she whispered. Her hands roamed the length of my body again. "Vincent?" She tapped my shoulder. I couldn't move like I wanted to. This fucking sucked.
"Okay, okay. Come on. Let's get you out of here." She helped me to my feet and shuddered.
She shuddered? Why? As curious as I was, I refrained from voicing that thought. When she began wrapping the cloak around my shoulders, my adrenaline kicked in.
"I c-can do it . . . m-myself!" I protested.
"Shut up and just let me help, would you?" she snapped.
I went quiet again. I hated to admit it but I needed her help. I could barely walk on my own. Between my oncoming fever and my claw marks sweating blood, I leaned on her shoulder for support the entire way back to the car. She helped me into the passenger side, the wound of her thigh catching my full attention.
"Don't pass out, okay? Please don't pass out." She hurried around the front of the car, jumping into the driver's seat. She rummaged through the compartments for the car keys.
"D-do you . . . do you even . . . have a l-license to drive?" I slurred.
Fuck, I could hardly talk.
A nervous chuckle left her as I slipped his keys into the ignition. "Um, about that. . ."
"Genesis. . ." I frowned and turned my head, looking at her through hooded eyes.
"I was supposed to get my driver's permit this year but, uh, life happened. So, you know. . . But, don't worry! I know how to drive! My dad taught me. You're in good hands."
My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to retort but she'd already stepped on the gas. I clutched onto the headpiece of my seat with my fist, using the other hand to grasp my wounded side. This was hell. That had to be it. There was no other explanation for this cruel turn of events. I was sure she could hear the pain in my moan.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
The rest of the ride into town was silent. Most of these neighborhoods I was only familiar with by brief glances. I didn't know them well other than that. I shifted against the window every few minutes, unable to shed my discomfort. Feeling like this was brutal. When the car ignition shut off, I knew we'd made it to wherever she planned on taking me.
"Crap, I can't go in there like this," she huffed, glancing down at her blood smeared thigh.
"There's a shirt somewhere back there. Wrap it around your leg," I said, quietly.
"Okay." She nodded.
She followed my instructions and climbed out of the car.
"Wait, do you have money?" she asked.
"Money?" I squinted.
"Yeah, I don't have any . . . remember?" Her eyes shifted to the side, eyeing the small black wallet sticking out of my cup holder.
"Take it and buy what you need. Only what you need," I said, firmly.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it," she said, waving me off.
When Genesis returned to the car, I thought that'd be the end of it. But we made another stop, and it certainly wasn't Calamitous.
"We stopped again. . . Where are we?" I lifted my head, gazing around at the empty area. It was void of any buildings, any trees, and any houses. Nothing but an open, vacant space in front of a field surrounded by tall metal chain-link fences. She wanted to kill me. I knew it.
I seethed under my breath.
"We're in a parking area. This lot isn't often used anymore. Only when people decide to play in this field. It's safe for me to treat you here," she said, shrugging.
"Hmm." I made a noise.
Not to plot my death. Okay then.
Genesis reached into the second row for the bags. "I don't have plans on fleeing if that's what you think. I would have left you for dead back there if that were the case. But like I said, I'm not going down for anyone else's death. I'm trying to clear my name, not taint it more."
Well, at least she knew what I was thinking. I was onto her, that was for sure.
I stayed quiet, observing my every move.
"I got a few bottles of cold water. Here, drink one. You need to stay hydrated and you need to take these Tylenol pills. Make sure you read for the proper dosage before you just pop some in your mouth." She passed me a bottle of pills alongside a bottle of water.
I grasped them with one hand and tried my best to sit up. Genesis perched herself on her knees in the seat cushion, leaning over me to push my seat as far back as it could go.
"What is that for?" I questioned the yellow cloth in her hands.
"A cold compress for your forehead to keep the fever at bay. You're still burning up. You need to stay cool." She opened her side of the car and leaned outside. After pouring another bottle of water all over the cloth, she folded it and placed it on my forehead. I winced at first but relaxed.
"You know a lot about this stuff. . ." I muttered.
"My mother used to always do this for me whenever I got sick." She grabbed a pack of gauze pads from the bag, tore them open, and grabbed a bottle of peroxide. Then, she leaned outside the car again, pouring some of it on one of the gauze pads.
"Must have been nice." My bitterness was showing. Not the time for that.
I lifted the Tylenol bottle to my face, rotating it around. She squinted at the words I read, most likely realizing it was another language.
Her eyes widened. "Wait, that's not English. Shit, I bought the wrong bottle! Those instructions are all in Spanish—"
"I can read it," I cut her off.
"You can read it?" One of her eyebrows lifted.
"Yes. . . My mother didn't know English very well. Spanish was her first language. . . S-she spoke to me using Spanish a lot when I was younger. I can't speak it as well as she could . . . but I know the basics and how to read it."
She paused, observing me. Given how little she knew about me, I expected that reaction. I'd expect many more if she were to ever find out where I really came from and how I ended up in Calamitous' pack. It wasn't a fun story to tell and frankly, I hated sharing it.
"Oh. . . Well, um, this might sting a little." She opened the upper half of my cloak. When she rubbed the gauze pad along my skin, I flinched and gritted my teeth.
"F-fucking hell!" I spat. I bit the top of my knuckles and closed my eyes. A loud growl snapped from in between my jaws.
"At least the blood is coming off." She threw the gauze pad to the side then stopped.
Normally, being exposed never bothered me. After all, that was our way of life. We grew up learning to be one with nature. Us wolves were exposed when we shifted. We were exposed when Mariah needed to tend to our injuries. Not always in full, of course. But enough to make us feel vulnerable. With ourselves and each other.
But the way she observed me meant exposing secrets I kept buried for years. Secrets I never even shared with the likes of Bennett and the rest of the people I considered family. Amaruq, Lady Teresa, and Amaury knew most of it by default. But the rest, I'd like to keep to myself. She probably thought I couldn't feel her eyes because mine were closed. But I could.
She saw the older marks on my body.
Thankfully, she didn't bring it up. I opened my eyes to see her gulp and turn away.
"You know, you got hurt too. . ." I gestured to her bloodied thigh.
"It's okay, I'll take care of that when I'm done with you."
"It's still bleeding out," I mumbled.
And that irritated me for some odd reason. Maybe it was because of the stench of blood. Or no, maybe I just hated that it was my fault. That's what I'd tell myself at least.
"That's fine." She shrugged. "Don't worry about me."
"I'm not worried"—my eyes dropped to my lap and my jaw ticked slightly—"I was just pointing it out. . ." She rolled my eyes and scoffed, clearly tired of my bullshit.
"What are those?" I changed the subject. My eyebrows furrowed at the large dark blue packages sticking out from one of the bags.
"Oh, um, I needed some pads. . ."
"Pads?" I didn't understand until I got a better look at the bag. "Oh. . . You could've told one of us. Mariah would have lent you some."
"That's okay. I'd rather have my own." She shrugged.
I nodded but said nothing.
I guess I made it pretty clear she was a prisoner. She probably wanted nothing to do with anything we had to offer, including pads.
She continued to clean my wound in silence, using gauze pad after gauze pad to dab each mark until my skin was clear of any blood. I avoided eye contact the entire time. Only sure to look at her when she wasn't looking.
She cleared her throat. "You would have seriously rather died than let a human help you, huh." She raised an eyebrow at me. The question caught me off guard but I shrugged.
"I guess I should have expected no less from a guy who made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me on the first day we met." She began wrapping the gauze dressing around my torso. "Oh well, whatever. I guess it can't be helped. . . I take it you're not used to people taking care of you."
"I wouldn't go as far as to say that," I said.
Why was I even adding onto this conversation? That was my chance to back out.
She rolled her shoulders back, watching me intensely.
"Well, for someone who likes to shit on human morals and goes on and on about wolves protecting their own, you act like you've never been cared for." She tightened the gauze dressing so it was squeezing me more.
"Fuck! God d-damnit, Genesis," I hissed.
"Oops, too rough? Sorry, I'm still getting used to my strength. I'll try to be gentler . . ."
She pulled that shit on purpose.
I glared at her but sighed and let it go. "I said most wolves were brought up that way. I never said we were all perfect."
"Oh?" When she was done, she leaned back in her seat.
My Adam's apple bobbed in my throat. I swallowed a load of saliva. She waited patiently for me to continue. I was crazy for even doing so. But I guess holding it all in for so long could make anyone crazy. I started going off on a tangent without even realizing it.
"M-my brother and I's mom spent most of her time taking care of us . . . while our father stayed out to take care of pack business. And though she tried her best to treat us both equally, Amaury was still always her first priority."
"Why do you think that?" She hummed.
"I don't t-think that." I laughed, dryly. "I know that. . . I d-don't belong to Amaruq and Teresa. . . T-the last time I saw my birth mother . . . was when I was seven-years-old," I stated, bluntly. Just as Genesis stopped, I slumped back in the seat, my head tilted to the side.
All of that pain and moving finally caught up to me. I could've sworn I heard my name but I never came back to my senses. The last thing I felt was my fabric over my chest and Genesis' gentle touch warming my already heated skin an even hotter degree.