I let the remains of the monkey fall to the forest floor, sure some creature would finish off the rest of the meal soon. I'd only wanted the blood.
I rested a hand against my stomach, pitying the baby growing in there.
What a mother I'll make...
I muttered a silent prayer that this baby would not be born with the blood lust of a V. I couldn't bear to see it grow up under that curse. At least I had some control over it.
I spotted the baboon lifting its head from a hole in the branch above me. Two younger ones poked their heads out, too. Guess we aren't so different.
I descended from the tree with less grace than I'd scaled it, returning to the forest floor. I found my way back to the stream and followed it through the forest, hoping it would lead me to a larger water source. If there were people living here, surely they'd remain near fresh water?
A breeze rustled the foliage around me. I'd entered a copse of close-knit trees and had to weave through them as I walked. Vines clung to them, wrapping around their boughs like snakes.
Movement caught my attention and I glanced over my shoulder, searching for the culprit. There was no sign of any wildlife. In fact, it had grown disturbingly quiet.
I picked up my pace, moving further into the jungle, the trees seeming to grow closer on every side. Shadows moved overhead, but when I looked, nothing but the vine-laden canopy caught my attention.
Something brushed my arm, feather-light. I jerked backwards. I frowned at the strange sight before me. A vine had lifted from a tree trunk, reaching in my direction.
Something slid across my calves and I ran. At my movement, the entire forest came alive. Vines slithered toward me at speed, making me cry out. I leapt over more than one, not stumbling for a second. My Hybrid speed was phenomenal, moving me through the dark forest faster than a wild horse. I heard the rush of water up ahead. Not far. Not more than a mile.
I could make it.
The trees seemed to bend around me, the whole forest looming above, coming after me.
What the hell is happening?
I leapt over a thick vine, dodged another, ducked a few more from above. Panic snared my heart. They were moving quicker, lashing at me like whips.
A howl caught my attention. Pounding paws. A word exploded into my mind. Wolf?
I could barely process what that meant, never stopping, never taking my eyes off of the surrounding vines. I could feel the forest closing in behind me, the crash of enormous boughs as they fell, the earth shuddering beneath my feet. I pushed myself as hard as possible and suddenly I spotted him up ahead. A black wolf with two shining bronze eyes. Eyes I'd memorised down to the last shimmering fleck.
Jameson.
He was standing in a clearing up ahead, seeming to ram his head against thin air. I couldn't work out what I was looking at. But for the life of me, I couldn't slow down. Vines grazed my arms, tickled my legs, never quite catching me. I was a gust of wind in my haste.
I felt something tighten around my thigh just as I reached Jameson, slowing to try and work out what sort of barrier parted us. But nothing halted me. I stumbled and fell, but the vine still had hold of me, dragging me back. The moment I hit the floor, it let go and Jameson took hold of my dress, dragging me backwards several paces in the mud.
I rolled over and he dove on me, licking my face with the whole pad of his tongue.
“Ah!” I cried, half disgusted, half delighted. I hugged him, his black fur as soft as feathers beneath my palms. I couldn't fight the laugh of relief that escaped me.
“Oh thank God,” I breathed as he let me get up. I rose to my feet, gazing down at my filthy appearance, now a mix of monkey blood and mud. Jameson tugged the hem of my dress, guiding me forward. When I started moving, he turned, padding off ahead of me, his tail flicking happily back and forth. I couldn't fight a smile and was glad his eyes weren't on me at that moment. Jameson was alive. And he was here. Words couldn't quite explain what that meant to me.
A stream gurgled up ahead and I spotted Jameson diving into it, sending a huge splash onto the shore. I gladly followed him, soaking the dirt from my body, relishing the cool feel of it on my skin.
“What were those vines?” I asked Jameson, though I knew I wouldn't get an answer.
He growled, then swam back to shore, shaking violently to remove the water from his coat. He gazed around as if anxious to keep moving, his ears twitching as he listened to the forest.
I waded up to join him on the bank and he sat like an obedient dog, gazing at me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
I ran a hand over his head. “I thought you might be dead.” Voicing the fear sent a shudder of terror through me. No matter what he'd done to me in the past, losing him wasn't bearable. The idea alone was enough to rip at my heart.
Thank God he's okay.
He made a whimpering sound as he nuzzled my leg and I wondered if he'd suspected the same of my fate.
“Fancy changing out of that wolf suit so we can have a proper conversation?” I asked.
He titled his head and I swear he managed a suggestive expression. Damn wolf boy.
I figured out what he meant though. He'd be naked if he turned.
I picked up the smallest leaf I could find and held it out to him. “Well this would cover you just fine.”
He growled at me, clearly not amused and I let out a laugh at the jibe. I wouldn't have put it past him to turn human just to prove me wrong, but he remained as he was.
He nudged my hand with his nose, then moved forward so it trailed over his head and down his spine. When I didn't move, he repeated the movement, gesturing for me to follow. I kept my hand on his neck, walking at his side, my heart finally beating a steady rhythm again. God, I hated to admit it – and I would never ever voice the extent of my feelings - but I was overjoyed to see him. I tried to bury the other emotion that chased my relief, the one I'd locked away in a box at the back of my mind and buried under ten feet of cement. That emotion was so powerful that it was fighting its way to the surface, demanding to be acknowledged. But I wouldn't. Not ever. Jameson had betrayed me. Hurt me. And I would never be able to trust him emotionally again. I did, on the other hand, trust him to help me. He was a seriously handy guy to have around in a life-threatening situation. And the two of us were more than a match for one Reaper who'd washed up from a shipwreck.
Whilst Jameson couldn't talk, I figured now was kind of a good time to tell him the truth. All at the risk he might freak out and change back into a naked man. But I'd just have to take that risk...
“So...” I brushed his ears and he made a content sort of sound. “I have some news.”
He glanced at me, his eyes as deep bronze as they were when he was a human.
I cleared my throat, giving him an encouraging sort of smile. “Before the shipwreck, I'd sort of tried to tell you something. And seeing as you're a wolf right now, and you can't shout, or demand I get rid of it-”
Jameson paused. I paused. Cracking twigs sounded up ahead, silencing me. My bare feet sunk into the muddy ground.
I lowered to a crouch, keeping a hand knotted in Jameson's fur. He started growling, the noise reverberating through his entire body.
I tasted the humid air, trying to catch a scent, but there was nothing but birds and small mammals close by.
I crept forward and Jameson took hold of the back of my dress with his teeth to stop me.
“Let go,” I hissed, but he shook his head, dragging me backwards so I fell onto my butt in the mud.
Before I could rebuke him, he leapt over me, his wet underfur grazing my head before he darted off in the direction of the noise.
I moved after him, keeping low, using my Hybrid stamina to catch up. A bark caught my ear, then a whimper of pain. I increased my pace, my heart beating so hard I thought it might break free of my chest.
I emerged in a small clearing, gazing left and right. Jameson's paw prints led to the middle of the dirt patch, then disappeared abruptly.
“Jameson!” I called in alarm. His scent was everywhere. But he wasn't there.
Another bark caught my ear and I craned my neck back, spotting him high above my head tangled in a net that appeared to be made of vines. Luckily, they weren't moving like the last ones I'd encountered. The contraption looked man-made.
He wriggled in its hold, his legs poking out of it at awkward angles.
My heart rate slowed a little at finding him alive. I followed the single thick vine suspending the net in the air, hurrying to a tree where it was tethered to a notch. I used a sharp rock to cut through the sinews, rushing forward as the net fell.
Jameson flailed madly, but I caught him before he hit the ground. An oomph left my chest. Immortal or not, he weighed a tonne. I placed him down and he shook off the remainder of the net. I checked him over, but he wasn't paying attention to me. He was eyeing the net, his eyes wheeling back and forth.
“Someone made this,” I said. “Maybe we should wait for them to come and check their trap?”
Jameson shook his head sharply and I frowned. “Why not?” I asked, even though he couldn't give me an answer.
He nudged the backs of my knees, encouraging me to keep walking. I moved at his side, noticing he was limping with his back leg. I reached down to feel for a wound, but he snapped his teeth at me, nudging me harder. His intention was clear. Keep going.
I didn't know why he was so worried, but figured he might know something I didn't. I quickened my pace, the hairs on the back of my neck rising to attention.
We rushed through the trees until the stream grew to an all out river, cutting a path beneath the bending boughs. The light was growing dimmer and the birds had taken on a new tune that signalled dusk. How had it been almost a day since the cruise ship had sunk? This forest devoured time.
As we hurried along the bank, I spotted someone who made my heart race. Silas got to his feet where he'd been sitting next to a folded-up pair of jeans. Further down the river were two men, washing themselves in the water.
I rushed toward Silas and he flung his arms around me, crushing me into his body. He was damp and smelt of moss and a day in the sun. But beneath it all was the crisp, fresh scent of laundry powder. He cupped my cheeks and I recalled the moment he'd kissed me back on the ship. My heart beat out of tune as I fought the image away.
Jameson barrelled his way between us, nearly knocking us over as he snatched up his clothes in his teeth and disappeared into the trees, limping all the way.
“Are you alright?” Silas asked, his eyes dropping to my stomach.
I nodded, gripping his arm. “Fine.” I was glad to have washed most of the monkey blood from my dress in the stream. But there were still traces of it on my skin.
“I fed,” I answered his probing look. It was only then I realised that Silas was no longer carrying his little sister, Emma. I glanced around, trying to spot her limp little body.
Silas stiffened, raking a hand through his unkempt hair. “She's gone,” he read my mind. “After the ship went down I...” He cleared his throat, his eyes flashing with pain. “I lost hold of her.”
My hand went to my mouth then I threw my arms around his neck again. “I'm so sorry,” I whispered.
Before I could say any more, Jameson stepped out of the bushes, shirtless, his muscular chest gleaming like it belonged on the cover of a steamy romance novel. I stepped away from Silas, a lump the size of England lodging itself in my throat.
Before I could figure out how to react, Jameson pulled me into that chest, his muscles seeming to mould around my body as he squeezed me. His usual subtle scent lay beneath the musk of the forest. I gazed up at him and his eyes roamed over my hair. “Nice fro.”
“It's the humidity.” I tugged myself out of his arms, fury seeping through me.
“Hey boss.” One of the men approached; he was burly with hairy forearms. Silas introduced him as Raj and the other man as Miguel. “Reckon we should move on soon. Don't fancy those vines coming back.”
Miguel remained on the bank, staring at the water as if he'd recently seen something horrible.
“You saw them too?” I asked.
“Saw them?” Raj balked. “They killed most of us.”
“Oh God.” I turned to Silas again, his expression telling me he knew something important. And when he'd finished explaining about the deadly security system on the island and that we had already passed through two force-fields without any chance of turning back, I felt a little sick.
Raj gripped the gun at his hip. “Any idea what else we're up against?”
Silas sighed, shaking his head. “No, but I've been thinking...”
I folded my arms, waiting for him to go on.
“There might be an emergency override, or a way of contacting the institute to turn the system off.”
Jameson's brows shot up. “Where?” he demanded.
“I don't know.”
“Surely someone at the institute will be notified that the system's been triggered?” Raj asked hopefully. He suddenly gazed up into the trees as if an idea had struck him. “And what about cameras. A system like that would be monitored. I've worked at other institutes-”
“Indeed,” Silas cut him off sharply, gazing up into the trees himself. “But if there are cameras, they would have seen us by now...they would have turned the system off, sent a rescue team...”
As everyone deliberated his words, I started to grow fearful.
“If we're in the second ring, why aren't we dead yet?” I gazed around as if the whole forest might turn on us at any moment.
“Well...” Silas sighed. “We probably have a certain amount of time before each one is triggered.”
“How much time?” Jameson growled.
Silas shook his head in answer.
“Then we'd better start looking for cameras,” Jameson growled. “If they haven't seen us yet, we'd better make ourselves known.” Jameson moved forward to make his point, but stumbled on his injured leg.
“You're hurt.” I darted toward him, my stomach twisting.
“I'm fine,” he muttered, but he let me steady him.
“We need Larkspur.” I looked to Silas who gazed around the forest.
“It grows wild here,” he said. “If we can find the flowers, I can make some. But we don't have time to waste. If that system gets triggered, I don't know what we'll be up against.” He turned to Raj. “Take Miguel and start looking for cameras. Fan out if you have to.”
Raj nodded firmly, marching off toward Miguel. It seemed to take a few seconds to coax his friend to his feet, then they waded across a shallow part of the river, moving into the forest on the other side.
“You'll have to stay here,” Silas said to Jameson.
Jameson looked ready to argue so I pressed a finger to his mouth. “You can't walk. You'll have to wait here while we look for it.”
Jameson took hold of my wrist, removing my finger from his lips. Electricity coursed through my veins that had no business in being there and I regretted touching him at all.
“You'll stay together?” Jameson's eyes remained on me, but I knew he was addressing Silas.
“We need to split up. I'll look for cameras whilst Firefly looks for the flowers,” Silas said. I was locked in Jameson's hard bronze gaze, feeling like he was drinking in my soul. I turned away at last, gritting my teeth as I battled down my rising emotions.
“I'm assuming your men don't hunt out here?” Jameson turned to Silas at last, releasing my wrist as he gave him his full attention. I was glad to have a moment to recompose myself. An image filled my mind of me ripping out the unwelcome emotions from my chest and drowning them in the river.
Silas frowned. “No. Why?”
“I got caught in a net. The thing was made of vines. Had a trip-wire. If your men didn't make it, who did?”
My heart stuttered at what he was implying. Was that why he'd drawn me away from that trap so fast? Had he suspected it wasn't man-made?
“Ma
ybe the institute's trying something new...” Silas didn't look convinced of his own words, his face draining of colour. “I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about.”
“Yeah...I'm pretty sure people said that about Mount Vesuvius, too,” Jameson muttered, wincing again as he jolted his leg.
“Sit down,” I encouraged. Jameson resisted a moment longer before dropping down to the ground and resting his injured leg.
Silas turned to me, murmuring a description of the flowers. Purple with white flecks. The scent of jasmine would probably be enough to lead me to them anyway. Night was already drawing in so the sooner we moved, the better. As we headed off, Jameson remained on the riverbank, looking out of sorts at being left behind.
As Silas and I headed off, the light was almost entirely sapped from the forest and nature grew louder than ever. Fireflies bloomed to life over the water, splashing gold and green swirls across my vision.
“I'm going to head back to the force-field before it gets too dark. If there are cameras, there must be some near it,” Silas said when we were out of earshot of Jameson. He squeezed my arm to halt me. “Will you be alright?”
“Of course,” I said simply.
I gave him a reassuring smile before turning away. His footsteps crunched across the ground.
“Silas?” I called as an afterthought.
He turned back, one of his eyebrows furling in a question.
“I really am sorry about Emma.”
His mouth twitched at one corner. “Perhaps it's for the best.” He bowed his head and his face fell into shadow. “I mourned her loss a long time ago. Maybe it's time for a new chapter...” He marched off into the trees before I could respond, slipping between the leaves of a large bush.
With time weighing on me, I followed the river, hunting for the flowers by smell. Larkspur had the distinctive scent of jasmine and every now and then I caught it on the wind.
The darker the forest grew, the more disturbing it became. I could see well enough with my heightened vision, but everything seemed to be coloured navy and darkest green. I wondered how well Silas would fare. Did his Reaper-born body give him heightened senses like my own? I made a mental note to ask him.
Wolf Games: Island of Shade (The Vampire Games Book 5) Page 5
