Chapter 152

My shoes squelch from the water that fills them. The cold of the mud mixed with the soggy fabric makes me shiver. No amount of running hot could warm me from this icy chill as it settles into my bones. I knew the second Hayes made us go back to the others that we “Shit, it’s an endless fucking stream of rain,” Dean growls with a shudder, his arms clutched to his chest.
were screwed. Everything on this mission has a way of going sideways.
“We should try to wait it out,” Nisha yells, her voice barely audible over the droning sounding of hard, heavy droplets pelting us from the sky.
Hayes drags his hands through his hair, droplets running down his cheeks before he meets my eyes, and a frown grows on his lips. He knows there is no way I will willingly stop. We have already lost so much valuable time and likely important clues. Maybe this explains their lack of finding Ezrah all along. Do they even want to find the guy?
“Waiting it out is the difference between a quick mission or two years of wandering aimlessly.” I yell over the noise. Marcos’ eyes widen in shock, but Hayes doesn’t seem phased by my comment. “I have no intention of resting or losing what little trail we have left.” I pick up my speed, moving faster as Nisha falls behind with Koda at her side.
“Kyra,” I hear my name being called, but I can’t in good conscience slow down. If they can not keep up, then they will have to find me on their own later.
“Kyra!” I hear Hayes roar loudly, and yet all it does is cement my stubbornness as I keep moving. His hand clutches at my elbow as he whirls me around. Hayes’ lips purse together, droplets raining over them as he huffs out an exasperated breath, spraying the water away as he pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
“It’s gone already,” he finally says. “I fucked up by heading back. I can admit that. But slogging around in a fucking rain storm isn’t going to get you anything but wet and more lost.”
I yank my arm free, my pride and anger swelling in my chest. He knows nothing about my abilities. All he has done is severely undervalue what I can do, admittedly things have been off to a rough start, but that isn’t entirely my fault. I trusted too easily when I should have known better that the worst kind of enemy is the one who knew you.
“Right now, I am trying to cling to whatever closeness we have to him.” I throw my hands up, “Of course all the clues and trail are gone. Ezrah is traveling with an egg. One, he must keep warm at all costs, Hayes. That means he is not moving, he is hunkered down, keeping warm and staying somewhere dry.”
He scoffs, shaking his head.
“I’m calling it. We have passed the furthest point you were at earlier. It is time to find shelter and wait this out.” He demands.
“You are not my alpha, and as luck would have it, you are not my beta either. So you may find the others shelter, and sing cute songs around a fire and cuddle. I am doing my job.” I snap, turning to run away from him. His hand wraps around my elbow again and he yanks hard, pulling me around and into his hard chest.
I can only help my eyes carry the anger I feel about him manhandling and demanding I follow his stupid orders. Orders that will mean I am stuck here with him for longer and I need to be rid of him and this fucking bond I used to beg for.
“My priority is everyone’s safety.” He says, glaring down at me.
“Well, I relieve you of that priority.” I say, looking up at him as he growls in his chest.
I can feel the way it vibrates in his vast chest that is pressed against me. My body shivers, the warmth of his body reminding me just how cold the rain actually is. Damn my traitorous involuntary movements that only help convince him he is in the right. “Enough of this back-and-forth shit, Kyra. I am not here to bicker with you. Merikh asked you to do this but with my permission you were allowed to join us. I take others’ safety fucking seriously. I will not fail another person the way I failed her ever again.”
The bitter resentment and hurtful words sit at the tip of my tongue, which I bite down so hard the twang of blood colors my mouth. What I want is to make him mad enough he lets me go, but something tells me he won’t be dropping this issue anytime soon. What a drastic change from the time he left me for the fucking dragons, drugged and alone.
“The second the rain lets up, even a little, I am gone to track. Is that understood?” I sneer at him, and he arches a brow down at me.
“Weird. It sounds like you were asking permission all while you were telling me what you were doing.”
I roll my eyes, stepping away from him.
“Yes, well, I listen to orders to the best of my ability. Doesn’t mean I have good hearing, though.”
We walk back in silence, not really sure which way we are headed in, until I catch a whiff of smoke and a little glimmer of light. To my left, sheltered in a corner over a massive overhang, sits a small rundown cabin.
I scrunch my nose at it as we move closer. Tyler had a love for the human world’s horror movies. They weren’t really something I liked at all, but of the few I watched, I am fairly certain this is a scene from one.
Hayes lets out a bird call and I smirk, amused. The guy couldn’t so much as whistle when we were growing up. Now he is tweeting like a bird. A similar sound comes back, and I watch his shoulders roll back as he motions for me to move forward.
“A bird’s call?” I scoff as we step onto the leaking porch. “In a rainstorm? Really inconspicuous,”
“Unless someone is closer than they
should be, they couldn’t hear it over the rain, and considering Ezrah is a Fae and not a lycan or werewolf, his hearing is as shitty as a basic human.” he gives me a tight smile, like we are battling and he won. I respond with a solid eye roll, and he shakes his head as he pushes the door open.
Heat wraps around me and there is no hiding the shiver that runs through me at the relief of the warmth. Marcos moves over, looking Hayes over, who whispers and points in my direction. Marcos then grabs a warm blanket that had been hanging near the fire and hands it to me.
“Everyone has taken their clothes off to let it dry. You should do the same, but you can wrap up in this.” He says kindly.
I nod, taking it from him, my white fingers struggling to bend as I clutch it. Then he frowns and Marcos reaches out and takes it back.
“How about I hold it up while you change?” he asks. I sigh in defeat and nod yes as I turn to a corner and he follows, holding the blanket up as I try to quickly rid myself of my wet clothes.
“Thank you,” I tell him as I reach up and take the blanket. His head turned to the side before he meets my eyes, a heated desire there, and he swallows roughly and then turns away, heading toward the fire.
I wrap the blanket around my body
tight as if I were hopping out of a shower and then I take my messy hair out of its ponytail and tie
it up in a bun. When I look up, I notice Hayes’ eyes on me, watching my every move as I blush and move toward the fire, the heat making me sigh in relief.
“You are a real hardass.” Nisha snorts after a minute. “We are used to traveling in shitty conditions, but damn, I couldn’t even see my own hand.”
I arch a curious brow and smirk.
“That sounds like a compliment.” I tell her, and she looks away, licking her teeth before he chuckles.
“It might have been.” She shrugs.
“So we camp out here tonight, and head out in the morning?” Marcos asks, coming to sit next to me.
“No, once the rain lets up a little, I will be back out there again.” I say, looking around. “No offense, but I can’t do this for two years. I refuse. So I will do everything in my power to end this as soon as possible.” Hayes laughs low, his eyes finally leaving me as he looks out the window.
“Got somewhere to be?” He asks, looking at me again. “So eager to go home to an empty house and bleak, lonely future?”
His words hit me harder than I hope he intends. Because he is right. What is there left for me? No Tyler, no baby, and no doubt a rejection from my second chance mate. There isn’t much.
But I refuse to believe my life is over because I lost my mate. If the moon goddess had intended for it to be over, she would have taken me as well. So for now I will cling to the hope there is something better for me.
“An empty house doesn’t have to mean loneliness. It can mean peace and space to grow.” I murmur, then I turn to Marcos as I lay down, my head close to him. “Wake me when the rain lets up. I am actually trusting you again. Please don’t fuck me over this time?”