“And we’re not coming back without my parents,” I vowed. “My mother is the only one I know who can make you give me that ring.”
“Let it go, Zoe.”
19
Nineteen
“Are you sure?” Aric asked, leaning forward so he could peer into the dense underbrush.
We followed my intuition north out of Barker Creek. The trail was faint, but it grew stronger with every mile we drove. I started getting nervous when we crossed the Mackinac Bridge and found ourselves in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I knew we were leaving civilization behind once Aric mentioned “camping,” but it was still daunting.
“I’m sure,” I said, resting my head against the window.
“Well, we’re right in the middle of nowhere,” Aric said. “There’s nothing around here that I know of. We’re between Ishpeming and Escanaba, and the Hiawatha National Park is that way.” Aric pointed to the east. “Whatever is out here has to be hidden well.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
“We’re going to do what we set out to do,” Aric said, pulling the Explorer to the far side of the road and killing the engine. “Come on. We need to hike into the woods. If someone is watching the road, I don’t want our campsite to be too close to my truck.”
I hopped out of the Explorer and stretched, dread washing over me as I stared into the trees. The woods out here were much thicker than the ones by our house.
“Come on, Zoe,” Aric called. “You need to carry your own sleeping bag and some of the other gear.”
I wordlessly took the pack Aric handed me, hoisting it on my back and groaning at the weight. “Do you think we need to take this much stuff?”
“It would have been a lot worse with tents,” Aric replied, closing the hatch door and hitting the security button on his fob. “That won’t stop anyone from trying to steal it, but at least the alarm might draw a crowd if it happens.”
“I’m not sure how far back we have to go,” I admitted.
“Well, you know more than Paris and I do right now,” Aric replied, his pragmatic streak taking over. “You’re the leader, and we have to follow you.”
“Does this mean I get to boss you around?”
Aric rubbed his thumb against my cheek. “If you think that will make you happy, go for it.”
“I think nothing is going to make me happy until we find my parents,” I said. “When that happens … .”
“Then we’re going to have some decisions to make,” Aric finished. “There’s no reason to get ahead of ourselves. We can’t make a plan of attack until we know what we’re attacking.”
Doubt gnawed at me. “I’m afraid.” I said the words so only he could hear me. Paris stood at the tree line, testing her pack. I think she was purposely giving us a few minutes alone.
“I know you are,” Aric said. “I am, too.”
“They’re my parents. You shouldn’t have to make this your problem.”
“You’re my family, Zoe Lake,” Aric said. “You’re going to be my family forever.”
“Even though you won’t give me my ring,” I grumbled.
“We’re in this together,” Aric said, ignoring my gripe. “We’re in this life together. Where you go, I go.”
“I don’t want you to see me do something horrible.” My voice was barely a whisper. “What if I do something terrible and you can never look at me the same way again”
“Whatever happens out here, these people have earned all of it,” Aric argued. “There is nothing you could ever do that will change the way I feel about you. Stop worrying about that.”
“What if I squash them like I wanted to squash the bees?”
“I’ll be happier than if you killed the bees,” Aric replied. “Bees are dying. There’s a surplus of assholes in this world. It’s going to be okay, Zoe. You need to have faith.
“You need to have faith in me that I’ll always be with you,” he continued. “You need to have faith that your parents are waiting for you and will be thrilled when they find out I’m going to propose. Most importantly, though, you need to have faith in yourself.
“I have never believed in anyone as much as I believe in you,” Aric said. “We’re doomed to fail on this mission if you don’t believe we can complete it.”
“I believe I’m going to win,” I said, lifting my eyes to his. “I don’t want to become a monster in the process.”
“We’ve spent years trying to hide your gifts, and that was probably an error on my part,” Aric said. “I was so desperate to keep you safe I forgot how strong you are when I let you do your own thing. We’ll never know how things could have been different. What’s done is done.
“I’ll tell you the one thing I know with absolute certainty, though,” he said. “You’re the best person I know, mouth and all. I don’t believe for a second that you will ever turn into one of the monsters. It’s not in you.”
“You always know how to make me feel better.”
“It’s a full-time job, but someone has to do it.” Aric grinned and kissed my forehead. “Now, if you’re done delaying the inevitable hike, we need to get moving. I don’t want to hear one complaint from you about walking either.”
“And I thought you knew me so well.”
Aric arched a questioning eyebrow as he moved toward Paris.
“We both know I’m going to complain nonstop for this entire trip,” I said. “Don’t pretend I have abilities outside of my wheelhouse.”
“It’s a good thing I’m already in love with you because I have a feeling if we’d gone camping on our first date I would have left you buried in the woods,” Aric muttered.
“What’s done is done.”
“THIS looks like a good spot,” Aric said two hours later, studying the small clearing despite the descending darkness. “Even if it’s not the perfect spot, though, we can’t traipse around in the woods when it’s dark.”
My face burned from the physical exertion of the walk. My inner tracker refused to pick a straight line – or the easiest path – so we were forced to climb hills that I would have opted to avoid if left to my own devices.
“Paris, can you build a fire?” Aric asked.
Paris nodded. “Shouldn’t Zoe put the dome thing up first?”
“That’s a good point,” Aric said. He tossed me a bottle of water. “Drink up, sport. You’re on deck.”
“I hate you sometimes.”
“I love you, too,” Aric replied, not missing a beat. “Hurry up. It’s going to be dark soon, and it will be a lot easier to build a fire if we have a little light.”
I downed half of the bottle of water and turned to my task, closing my eyes as I centered myself. I pictured a dome encapsulating the small area, letting it form before ripping the top off and making the walls so nothing on the other side could see in. When I was done, I glanced around at my handiwork. It was pretty impressive.
“I can kind of see some shimmering,” Paris said, pointing at one of the walls. “Can they see that from the other side?”
“Nope,” Aric responded. “It will look like a blank space. They can’t hear either. We tested that, too.”
“We tested it when I had a cover on.” I pointed toward the sky, stars popping into view. “This might change things.”
“Well, we can’t do anything about it,” Aric said. “I’d rather not choke to death on the smoke. You can only do what you can do, Zoe. This is pretty amazing in my book. I was not looking forward to hauling a tent on top of everything else.”
He had a point. “I’m hungry.”
“I figured you would be,” Aric said. “Paris is going to start a fire, and you, my dear, are going to put the sleeping bags out.”
“Who is going to cook dinner?”
“I am,” Aric said.
“I can cook dinner.”
Aric ran his tongue over his teeth as he regarded me. “What food did we pack?”
Ah, a “gotcha” question. “The kind we eat.”
“Yeah, you’re not cooking anything,” Aric said. “Put the sleeping bags over there. I want them close enough that we can get warmth from the fire but won’t choke on the smoke.”
“You’re really bossy when you’re camping,” I muttered.
“I have to get a chance to shine every now and then,” Aric replied, unruffled. “You can cede your bossy crown for a few hours.”
I already hated camping.
“THAT wasn’t so bad,” I admitted an hour later, scraping my plate to make sure I’d gotten every last morsel. How did you learn how to cook in the woods?”
“I’m a wolf,” Aric reminded me, leaning against the fallen log I rested on and touching his shoulder to mine. “I was sent to summer camp every year and surviving in the outdoors was part of it.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Aric chuckled. “No. I take it your parents didn’t send you to summer camp, huh?”
“The other kids took a vote and we all agreed I was better off staying home,” I said. “I’ve never liked the woods.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before we built our house in the middle of the woods?”
“Because you need the woods,” I replied. “I guess saying I hate the woods isn’t fair. I could take or leave the woods. Don’t get me wrong, I would never want to live in a big city, but I hate having to drive a half hour to find a grocery store.”
“We can move if you want.” Aric said the words, but I knew he didn’t mean them.
“I wouldn’t trade our house for anything,” I said. “While I have no affinity for trees, I like being close to the river. I like being able to have bonfires without neighbors complaining. I like being able to hop into our hot tub naked and not worry that anyone is spying.”
“Are you sure? We can sell the house if you want to move closer to a town.”
“Oh, don’t even,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I love our house. I love that you built it and we’re the only ones who have ever lived there. You couldn’t make me move even if you wanted to, which I know you don’t. Let’s not overdose on the chivalry here.”
Aric smirked. “Thank you.”
“You can thank me when we get back to the house by giving me my ring,” I suggested.
“I’ll take it under advisement.” Aric turned his attention to the stars.
“Did you design the house the way you did for any specific reason?” Paris asked. She was trying to contribute to the conversation, but I could tell she felt left out.
“I had a picture in my head of where I saw us spending our lives together,” Aric said. “My father was on the lookout for a piece of property that would work and when he sent me the link to that one … I just knew.”
“Are you saying you daydreamed about our future?” I teased.
“I’m saying I saw our future clearly and it’s all turned out exactly how I thought it would,” Aric countered. “I saw forever the moment I looked in your eyes. That has never changed.”
“Ugh, he’s so romantic I want to choke him,” Paris said. “Why can’t I find a man like him?”
“I think they broke the mold with this one,” I said, nudging Aric with my shoulder. “I guess that makes me the luckiest woman in the world.”
“Oh, so cute,” Aric cooed, pinching my cheek. “I didn’t bring the ring with me, so there’s no chance of you getting it before we get back home. If that’s why you’re trying to butter me up, you’re fresh out, honey.”
“I don’t always have ulterior motives.”
“That was unfair,” Aric conceded. “You only have ulterior motives when you’re awake. I’m sure your dreams are all rainbows and unicorns.”
“Speaking of dreams, I’m tired,” I said. “I never thought I would look forward to sleeping on the ground, but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my eyes open.”
“We should all go to sleep,” Aric said. “Dawn will come early. I want to start moving as soon as we can. I don’t suppose you have a feeling for how close we are, do you?”
I shook my head. “The pull gets stronger all the time. I don’t think we’re close yet, though.”
“Well, that means a full day of walking,” Aric said. “I think we should all turn in.”
After climbing into my sleeping bag and rolling close enough to Aric that he could hold my hand, I pressed my eyes shut. I figured it would take me at least an hour to doze off despite my exhaustion.
I was wrong. It took me a grand total of five minutes. I welcomed sleep when it came. It allowed me to escape from our gloomy reality – if only for a few hours.
I woke to the sound of alarms dinging, and it took me a moment to realize they were inside my head. I rolled to my stomach, scanning the dark. Nothing looked out of place.
“What is it?” Aric murmured, still half asleep. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“Something brushed up against the perimeter,” I whispered. “Something is out there.”
20
Twenty
Aric was instantly alert. “Are you sure?”
I nodded, my eyes widening as my heart rate increased.
Aric climbed out of his sleeping bag, keeping low even though it was dark and my magic shrouded us. “How do you know?”
“I … there was a dinging in my head, like an alarm clock,” I said. “I don’t know how I know, but I do. Something is out there.”
Aric looked torn as his gaze bounced between the perimeter and me. He lifted his nose, scenting the air, and paced the entire perimeter before returning to where he started. Finally, he moved away from the unseen wall and lifted the edge of my sleeping bag to crawl in beside me.
“What are you doing?”
“Sticking close to you,” Aric said, his eyes fixed on the darkness. The fire burned out while we slept, only orange embers remaining. “Go to sleep. I’ll watch.”
“I’m not sure I can.”
“Here. Put your head against my chest.” Aric rolled to his side and turned me so I faced him, pulling me close. “Try to listen to my heart. Let it put you to sleep.”
I glanced over at Paris’ still form. She didn’t rouse. She hadn’t shifted even while Aric stalked around our campsite. “You should tell me a sports story instead,” I suggested. “That will put me to sleep.”
“You’re a funny girl,” Aric murmured. “Come on. Put your head down.”
I did as instructed, the strong beat of his heart filling my head.
“Sleep, Zoe. Morning will be here soon.”
“What was out there?”
“I’m not sure,” Aric replied. “I’ll know better in the morning. Go to sleep.”
WHEN I woke next Aric was still beside me. He’d nodded off sometime during the night, and while I could tell his sleep wasn’t as sound as usual, I was glad he found some solace.
“I can hear the gears of your mind working from here,” Aric said. “What are you thinking and why are you staring at me?”
I scowled. “I was thinking that you’re handsome when you’re asleep and I was hoping that you would be able to get a few more minutes of it.”
“I’ve been up for a little bit. Don’t worry. I’m okay. I’m rested. I don’t need as much sleep as you do.”
I didn’t believe that for a second. Just because he doesn’t complain as loudly as I do, that doesn’t mean sleep isn’t required. “Maybe you should try to rest for another half hour.”
“I can hear the birds,” Aric said. “I’m up.”
I strained my ears for a hint of what he suggested. “I don’t hear any birds.”
“That’s because I have wolf hearing, and you only hear what you want to hear.” Aric wrenched his eyes open. “Please tell me you got some sleep. You’re going to be a bear if you’re sore and tired.”
“I slept. I knew you were here. I slept fine.”
“Despite having to sleep on the ground?”
I nodded. “What was here last night? I know you didn’t want to tell me because you thou
ght I would freak out, but it’s almost light out now. I can take it.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re like a dog with a bone?”
“No one still alive. What was it?”
“I can’t be one-hundred percent sure, but there was at least once wolf out there,” Aric replied. “I think it was more than one.”
“Why didn’t you go after them?”
“I wanted to,” Aric answered. “There was no way I was leaving you, though. I figured showing up like that was an attempt to distract me and separate us. I don’t want to do anything stupid.”
“That’s my job.”
Aric grinned. “You’re smarter than you look, Trouble. I was shocked when I realized that. I thought you were another insipid coed with boys on the brain and beer fueling your loins. Imagine my surprise when I realized you were something more.”
I punched him in the stomach, causing him to cough. “When you saw me you thought you were staring at an angel,” I said. “Admit it.”
“Fine,” Aric said, grimacing. “I thought you were an angel.”
I smiled at my win, however small.
“I thought you were a fallen angel and you were going to do something with that tarnished halo of yours.”
Aric moved before I could hit him again, snorting as he fell out of the sleeping bag.
Paris rolled over quickly, suddenly alert. “What happened?” When her gaze fell on us her eyes darkened. “Please tell me you guys aren’t doing something filthy.”
“Well, I am in the dirt,” Aric drawled, pushing himself to his feet. “We were not doing anything filthy, though.”
“Then why were you in the same sleeping bag?” Paris asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “When we went to sleep, you were in separate sleeping bags – although you were holding hands, which was both disgusting and sweet.”
“Something brushed up against the perimeter last night, and Zoe woke when it happened,” Aric explained. He pointed toward the fire. “Can you get that going again?”
Paris nodded, her expression serious. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
Rising Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 1) Page 15
