Emerging from the tree, I waded into the water. Goosebumps ran along my skin, and my insides clenched up. Gritting my teeth, I submerged myself to my neck. I let out an involuntary gasp before kicking my legs hard and swimming frantically, hoping to warm up. With a few broad strokes of his arms, Bastien reached me. A faint smile was on his lips. Apparently he was amused by how rapidly I’d been swimming.
“I don’t plan on staying in here long,” I muttered.
Bastien’s eyes flickered to my wet shirt. A wet, white shirt. I might as well have been wearing no shirt. At least I’d had the sense to keep my bra on.
“You’re shivering,” he commented, reaching out and touching my cheek.
So I was. I hadn’t noticed. I was about to turn around and head back to the bank immediately, afraid that I might catch pneumonia or something, when he took hold of my hands and drew me to him. His hands slid around my waist and flattened against my back as he pulled me against his bare chest. His arms wound around me. He held me so flush against him, I could feel every contour of the front of his body, as he could mine. My cheeks must have been a bright tomato red by now.
“Do you feel warmer now?” Bastien asked.
I felt “warmer now” in more ways than I cared to admit. “Yes,” I managed.
We were so close, I couldn’t look at his face without our noses touching. My cheek rested against his rough one, and the feel of his stubble against my skin sent tingles down my spine, as it had done back in his armory.
I didn’t doubt for a moment that his gesture was innocent. He had seen that I was cold, and this was his solution to warming me. I wondered if he even realized the effect his touch had on me.
His head lowered to the base of my neck. My breath hitched as, suddenly, his lips were grazing my skin. I couldn’t help but think for a moment that I was going to have to make a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in my assumption about his intentions… but he did not plant a kiss against my neck. Of course not, Victoria! Why would you think he’d do that? He just breathed in deeply. He was taking in my scent… Just something that wolves do.
When he raised his head again, I leaned my own backward so that our faces would not be quite so close together as I looked at him. He was frowning.
“I like you, Victoria,” he said softly.
I smiled. It would have been a lie to say that I didn’t like him, too. He had grown on me quite unexpectedly in the short time we’d spent together.
“I hope we can be friends even after… all this,” I replied.
Bastien said nothing, though he continued to gaze at me. He was studying me like I was a curious specimen of some kind. His eyes trailed from my forehead down to my nose before settling, and lingering, on my lips. I found myself biting my lower one, feeling self-conscious beneath his attention. I didn’t think a boy had ever looked at me this closely before. But there was something about the warmth in his eyes in this moment—if warmth was even possible for such steely gray irises—that rendered me unable to pry myself away from his gaze, even as I wondered what he found so interesting about me.
A splash came from behind us, breaking the spell. Bastien’s eyes shot toward the noise, and as I turned, I caught sight of a man swimming near the center of the lake. Then he became still, allowing me to make him out better.
He had only one eye, but it was fixed right on us.
Dane.
Apparently coming to his senses, Bastien immediately distanced himself from me before saying in a disconcerted whisper, “We should go.”
Victoria
On the way to the bank, Bastien dipped down and emerged holding a familiar plant. A slimy, bulbous weed. But unlike the whitish river weed, this had a greenish tinge. “Lake weed,” Bastien explained.
We plucked off some of the mucousy bubbles and ate them in a hurry. Lake weed was no more unpleasant in taste than the river weed—quite bland, really—but the snotty substance slid just as slowly down my throat.
Reaching the bank, I grabbed my satchel and retreated behind a tree to dry myself as best as I could and get changed. Bastien promised to keep a look out and warn me if anyone was approaching. Once I’d finished, I returned to see that he had also changed into another loose set of clothes.
I pulled my jacket on and zipped it up high before we returned to where we had left the rest of the werewolves. It seemed that everyone was awake by now. I caught sight of Dane from the corner of my eye, climbing out of the lake. Had he been spying on us? From Bastien’s concerned look, he seemed to suspect as much.
Then I spotted Brucella throwing me a dirty look. I let my eyes pass over her, ignoring her.
About a quarter of an hour later, everybody declared they were ready to leave. I climbed onto Bastien’s back once again, and we set off.
* * *
The next few days passed in a blur of travel.
First, we managed to successfully gather the Cuthrals—a burly, dark-toned tribe—along with two other packs. Once he had these three additions, Bastien suggested to Sergius that we had enough groups to split ways and gather the rest faster. Sergius agreed to his suggestion, since it was far more efficient than all of us traveling together. Each pack was allotted groups to gather over the next few days. Our fellow travelers also agreed that we would only have time to gather the strongest packs, at least for now. They decided to gather fifty in total. With fifty, Bastien seemed to be convinced that they would be strong enough to move onto the next step: taking on the hunters.
But first, of course, everybody had to meet to discuss what their strategy should be. This was something that I was still scratching my head about, and Bastien had not offered any further clarification as to his thoughts either.
Thus, we all split ways, promising to meet our quota of recruited packs within five days, after which we would all gather in Rock Hall—another suggestion that was posed by Sergius as his own idea, rather than Bastien’s, since they were far more likely to accept it from him.
Bastien and I did not have much of a role to play in gathering the packs, given that most of them we stopped by were either unknown or enemies to him. We relied on the others to go in and do the recruiting. For us, it was a lot of waiting around, followed by more travel. Though I could not say that I got bored at all. Bastien was too interesting a man for me to feel bored around. We talked a lot, and I dug deeper into his childhood—like what it was like to grow up as a wolf in The Woodlands—and his culture. He also introduced me to his family in more detail, particularly his siblings: how they used to pass their time, how they would hunt, play, fight, and do everything together. It sounded like his siblings had been his best friends.
I also told him more about The Shade, as well as the current state of affairs on Earth. He seemed impressed when I described the role that The Shade had come to play in everything, the protectors and fighters we had become. I also told him everything that I knew about the hunters—something that he, understandably, took particular interest in.
We lived mostly on a diet of either river or lake weed, since there did not seem to be any shortage of fresh water in The Woodlands, and it was quick and convenient. I guessed that some of the more courteous wolf tribes we visited would’ve invited us inside for a hot meal, but there were just so many of us. It would have been a huge undertaking to accommodate all of us.
Bastien was again unaware of most of the locations we were heading to, so we could not travel up in the trees… which left us on the ground, enduring Brucella’s constant glares. I was not sure if it was just my imagination, but I couldn’t help but think she was spending more time watching us now than she had before Dane had spotted Bastien holding me in the lake. At least we had parted ways with the Bonereavers for the time being.
But once the pack stopped to rest for the night, Bastien always escaped with me to the trees. As time went by, I found myself looking forward to the end of the day when we could get away from the crowd of dangerous strangers and be alone. It was during these stolen hours that we h
ad our best conversations. We could both feel much freer around one another. But often, we did not talk. Often, we just sat together, enjoying the silence and each other’s presence.
Over the next four days, the Northstones worked hard, even cutting down on resting times to meet our quota. Fortunately, we reached an area that seemed to be far more populated with wolves and there was less distance to travel between each den. By the fourth evening, we’d gathered every pack allotted to us except for one. We had to hope that the other tribes had been as successful as we had been.
We weren’t left to wonder long about how the Bonereavers had fared. As we prepared to stop for the night, we crossed paths with them in a clearing, and with them were almost ten other tribes. There were so many wolves gathered around me now, I could hardly even estimate the number. The Bonereaver chiefs reported to Sergius that they had been successful in securing their quotient, and tomorrow they had just a couple more to retrieve before we were all due to meet in Rock Hall before evening. Things were going more smoothly than I had expected, and I was surprised at how the wolves were cooperating. Though this was such an emergency, they really had no choice but to put aside their differences.
That night more than any other night, I was glad when Bastien took me up to the treetops to sleep. Instead of resting on a wide branch as we usually did, we found a hollow in the trunk, right near the top. It was large enough for the two of us to lie comfortably together—after he had brushed away the centipedes. In here, we were sheltered by the wind. It was also surprisingly dry. I worried it might be home to some kind of animal, maybe even a giant, carnivorous bird. But Bastien deemed it safe for us to spend the night in, and I trusted him.
We settled down, our backs resting against the walls of the cubby hole. As I glanced at Bastien, I was surprised to see his eyelids drooping. This was the first time I’d seen him show any sign of sleepiness throughout the whole journey. All this traveling must have finally taken its toll on his body.
“You should sleep tonight,” I said, reaching out and giving his hand a small squeeze. “I’ll keep watch.”
He nodded, smiling faintly, before letting his eyes fully close. He was still leaning against the wall.
“Bastien,” I whispered, not wanting to annoy him, but his current position looked so uncomfortable. “Why don’t you lie down?”
Not opening his eyes, he took my suggestion and lay down before turning on his side and facing the other way, his back toward me. I felt a faint stab of disappointment. I had been hoping to watch him sleep. Like a creeper, my inner voice admonished me.
I settled myself down, lying the opposite way to Bastien with my head near the entrance. From this angle, I could look up at the treetops and the starry sky beyond. Shafts of moonlight fell across my face, a pleasant breeze catching my hair at this end of the hole. As my own eyes grew heavier, dangerously near to closing, I reminded myself of my promise to Bastien. I’d said I’d keep watch. But lying here, I knew it was only a matter of time before I slipped off to sleep.
I forced myself to sit up, and seeing that there was a wide, sturdy branch sprouting just beneath my feet, I swung my legs over the edge and dropped my feet to the wood. This did not solve my drowsiness, however. I only lasted so long sitting before my eyes started closing again. I was going to have to stand. I slid out of the hole and shifted my weight to my feet. I made sure to grip hold of two branches to keep myself steady. I had better not fall asleep standing up. The threat of death should be enough to keep me awake. We were surrounded by a myriad of wolves, many of whom hated Bastien’s guts. It was imperative that somebody kept watch.
I glanced back at Bastien, who was breathing more deeply. He had fallen asleep. At least I could be thankful for that. The poor guy deserved a lot more than a couple of hours of sleep.
Then I averted my eyes to the neighboring treetop. It was dark and shadowed, except for small patches of glistening light where the leaves reflected the moonlight. A stronger wind blew, swaying the thick curtain of foliage draping the tree’s trunk… and as it did, I noticed something. An oddly shaped shadow among the tree’s interior branches. The foliage fell back in place before I got a chance to figure out what it was. It looked like the curve of a back—definitely not human. Something hunched over…
I was barely breathing as I waited for the wind to sway the leaves aside again. This time, however, when it did, I saw nothing. Just the skeleton of the tree.
It was a trick of the eye. It’s nighttime after all, and it’s not like I have vampire vision.
I was just in the process of convincing myself not to worry—for I really, really did not want to wake up Bastien—when I heard a dull thud on the ground, many feet beneath us, followed by the rustling of leaves and the snapping of twigs. And then the shadow of a large wolf, bounding away into the darkness.
Bastien
Rising slowly to consciousness, I reached instinctively for Victoria. I felt her body next to me, the curve of her hips. Still half asleep and barely aware of what I was doing, I moved closer to her, wrapping one arm around her midriff and pressing my chest against her back. I buried my face against the back of her neck and breathed in. Mm. I love this girl’s scent.
“Bastien,” she murmured, pulling me fully awake.
I let go of her and sat up, realizing only now that the cobwebs of sleep had cleared just how close I’d gotten to her. She gazed up at me with her light blue eyes, her expression tense and worried.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. My voice, heavy from sleep, was several tones deeper than usual.
She glanced furtively outside. I wondered what time it was. It was still dark. “I saw something,” she said. “Someone.”
I stared at her. “Who? Where?” I moved to the opening of the hollow and gazed out.
“I’m not sure who,” she replied. She pointed to the treetop directly opposite us. “In that tree… a wolf was in that tree. I had been standing outside keeping watch, but that spooked me and I moved back in.”
I whirled on her. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because he or she was gone before I had the chance.”
“Can you describe the wolf?”
She breathed out a sigh. “Not really. It was too cast in shadow. All I can say is that it was big.”
My mind ticked over, even as my stomach tensed. The Bonereavers had joined us last night. Could that have been Dane, spying on us again? Perhaps he’d been commissioned by Brucella to check if, indeed, all I was doing with this human girl was protecting her. Dane would have hoped to catch us being intimate. I knew he would take extreme pleasure in reporting us to Brucella.
Then again, although tough and strong, Dane was not a particularly large wolf. I supposed it could have also been a Northstone sent by Brucella to try to catch us.
Now I wondered whether we might have been followed every night up into these trees. Although I had been awake each night before this one, truthfully I had not been paying as much attention as I should have to the trees surrounding us. Victoria was too much of a distraction to my senses, both when she was awake and when she was asleep. My focus was usually on her in some way or another.
We could have very well been stalked each night by one wolf or another. I should not have expected anything less from Brucella.
Pushing the unnerving thought to the back of my mind, I slid out of the hole before reaching for Victoria and helping her out too. “Let’s return to camp.”
Victoria
Shortly after Bastien and I returned to camp, the Bonereavers left to recruit their final wolves, while we were left to fetch ours.
We set off to the two remaining packs, and by early afternoon we had gathered everyone. After this, we headed straight to Rock Hall—about three hours away from our final wolf pack.
When we emerged from the woods and arrived at the base of a jagged mountain, Bastien declared our arrival. Sergius and Brucella led our crowd to a tunnel entrance in the foothills. Bastien hung back with me until t
he others had passed through before we followed. Echoes of footsteps thundered all around us as we moved inside. The tunnel curved gently as we traveled deeper into the mountain until finally an exit came into view. We emerged into an immense cavern that resembled an auditorium. It was packed to the brim with stone chairs and benches, and there were balconies above us where even more seats appeared to be. Flaming torches sent shadows dancing against the walls.
“The Bonereavers have arrived already,” Bastien muttered.
“How do you—?” I followed his gaze upward where a group of five men were gathered in one of the balconies. “Where are the rest?”
Bastien shrugged. “Probably retreated to their chambers to rest while they wait for the remainder of us to arrive.”
I didn’t have to wait long to find out what Bastien meant by chambers. While most of the Northstones and the wolves we’d traveled with hung back to admire the auditorium, Bastien and I crossed the vast hall and entered another tunnel at the opposite end of it. Doors were cut into the rocky walls on either side of us, so far all of them closed—probably already occupied by the Bonereavers. But as we traveled deeper, we began to find empty rooms. Bastien stopped outside a door to our right which was ajar. Its hinges groaned as Bastien pushed it open. It was empty, in every sense of the word. It was just a bare chamber with not a single scrap of furniture. Nothing.
As we stepped inside, our feet sent dust billowing up from the floor.
“Wow,” I murmured. “I wonder how long it’s been since somebody came in here.”
Bastien gazed around, his mouth grim. “It could be centuries for all we know,” he muttered.