Chapter 54

A ridiculously buff manstruts from the trees with his dick swinging between his legs. Ravi keeps his hand across the back of my legs, not setting me on my feet as we remain hidden. But I can see the guy upside down. He tips his head back and inhales a deep breath before taking in the surroundings.

“There are two packs through here and the girl. They can’t be that far.” The man says the words out loud, twisting on the balls of his feet.

My heart sinks into my stomach at the site of Dante and another man closing in. What is he doing? I knew I should’ve never trusted him. I’m not his supposed soulmate. I can’t believe I fucked the guy, and here he is either hunting me or torturing these people alongside the other men.

“I’ll keep looking. They can’t have our recruits or our female.” The other man rubs his hand on the back of his neck and glances at Dante. “Head south. Call your connections and see if they’ve seen anything.”

Dante swivels on the balls of his feet and stares at all the dead bodies. “Yes, sir.”

I scrunch my face at how formal he sounds when addressing the other man. In this moment, Dante looks less threatening. He almost looks as if he lacks any power at all.

“Because he does. That wolf is so low in his pack that he might as well be... human. He is here to serve his pack and nothing else. We refer to him as infraborne.” Ravi thinks the words to me.

“So like an omega?” I know some things about animal hierarchy but not much. I know wolves in the human world act more as a family but this whole thing—lykoswulves—is different.

“Not quite, princess. That’s what you will be to me.” Ravi smirks with his words, enjoying the thought.

“And what am I going to be?” Breck’s voice rings through my mind next. Ravi was talking to both of us telepathically. It’s the strangest thing.

“You’re a pup. You’ll learn your place soon enough. I’ll teach you how to be a good boy.” Ravi’s smile widens, though he doesn’t say the words out loud. And the way he says it? I don’t even know how to take it. Is he joking? He has to be joking.

“I’m only joking if you stop thinking about the idea of this man being a good boy. You like it. I can sense it. You want him to be your good boy, princess. Don’t you?” Ravi’s words prod into my mind, but Breck doesn’t react, so I know that they were intended just for me.

Blush crawls up my chest, warming my neck and cheeks. The way he says it? What is wrong with me? I shouldn’t even humor his banter. He bit me. He forced a fate onto me that I did not want. He’s my enemy.

Or is he?

“Far from it, Sasha. You’ve met our true enemies. Those men prefer to see the destruction of you as you are considered weaker than them. Just wait until they realize who put a claim on you.” Ravi adjusts me in his arms, taking me off his shoulder but he doesn’t set me on my feet and instead cradles me. Looking into my eyes, he adds, “If only I had found you sooner and before the infraborne. He put thoughts in your head. He has nearly ruined your ability to trust me. And for that, he will pay.”

I shouldn’t feel the sudden fear at the idea of Ravi hurting Dante, but I can’t control it. He was there for me and the rest of us.

He gave us necessities. He protected me.

“He did the bare minimum. He should’ve done more. You shouldn’t have needed protection. You should’ve had necessities the moment you arrived and had not been left to the fates.” Ravi’s anger rushes through me, and I can feel his emotions as if they’re my own.

I gasp and jerk in his arms, bucking my body with my head rush. He remains steady as I flail, keeping a grip on me, ensuring I don’t fall.

Clearing his throat, he whispers, “I’m sorry. You’re not quite ready for the intensity of our mate connection. It’s hard to keep it to myself.”

I whack him. “We don’t have a mate connect—”

Ravi covers my mouth and steps back, moving from tree to tree, remaining hidden. He motions for Breck to keep his pace a moment before surprising me by handing me over like I’m some doll they can throw back and forth.

He growls and transforms into a wolf, spinning around and leaping past us. Breck doesn’t follow him, picking up his pace, running in the direction Ravi was originally heading. I cling onto Breck. Staring over his shoulder, I search the forest. A white beast crashes into a grey wolf, and the two of them snarl and roll. It’s Dante and Ravi. They fight each other, snapping their teeth, trying to incapacitate one another.

A third wolf launches from the trees, crashing into the both of them. Fur flies and the snarls grow louder, increasing off my fear. This is absolutely nuts. I should be thankful that they go after each other instead of us. I should pray that they take care of each other. But a small part of me fears that sort of outcome. What will happen to me if they do? Is it weird that I’m afraid we can’t survive without them no matter their true intentions? Maybe not.

“Help me keep a lookout. Ravi said we must turn and head northeast when we come to the waterfall. Remember how Dante said not to go that way? Well, that’s where we’re going.” Breck once again speaks to me telepathically as if it’s the most natural thing.

I nod my head in response, wiggling until he slows to reposition me. I hop onto his back and lock my ankles together around his waist. Pain shoots through my calf, but I force myself to hang on. Our lives depend on it. Everything I thought I knew might be wrong. I don’t even know what to believe anymore.

I lose myself to my thoughts, listening to Breck’s deep breathing. The noise of the fighting wolves suddenly silences. My body chills, my mind getting the best of me. Did Dante and the unfamiliar wolf kill Ravi? Did they give up? Should we even be running this way?

“If you don’t think we should follow Ravi’s directions, we won’t. We can head back to the beach and grab the raft.” Breck slows as the sound of rushing water hums through the air. He navigates the thick landscape until we break through the trees to see a breathtaking waterfall cascading into the bluest pool I’ve ever seen. “If we follow the creek, we might find the place where we originally started. I don’t think the raft would be that far. Or we could just give it up and hide until the moon. I wouldn’t mind staying in a tree with you for a while.”

An image flashes through my mind of me on top of him in the trees. Heat flourishes across my body. As quickly as that image arises, it disappears. I don’t have a chance to respond to him. A man covered from head to toe with mud runs from the trees.

Breck takes an automatic step back, bumping my back into the trunk of one of the twisted trees behind us. My hair tangles in the branches, and I thrash as I try to pull myself free. Positioning his legs, Breck gets into a fighting stance. He holds his fists up protectively.

“Sasha.” The man gasps and clutches his side, my name faint on his lips. But his voice? I know it. It rises relief inside me. It’s Dustin. I can’t believe he found us. I’m so thankful that he’s alive. He isn’t one of those half-beast things.

“Holy fucking shit.” Breck rushes forward, grabbing Dustin by the shoulders and staring him in the eyes. “Where the fuck have you been? We tried looking for you, and then shit got bad. Sasha and I were both bitten. We think Dante was double crossing us. The others have been taken. And... we found a lot of bodies.”

Dustin doesn’t respond right away, his dirty face cracking with his frown. The dried mud flakes and I reach out over Breck’s shoulder and run my fingers across Dustin’s cheek.

“I had to disguise my scent the best I could. They’re hunting me. I could hear them in my head. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

Dustin scrubs his cheeks, sending more dried mud dusting around him.

Breck throws his arms around Dustin and hugs him, not even caring that he’s filthy. “You’re not. Those voices are because the lykoswulf speak telepathically. They’re probably fucking with you while they track you, waiting for the moon. Whatever pack that bit you has a claim.”

His eyes widen. “We have to get off this fucking island. I can’t be a part of that pack. The voices... they’re monsters. The things they claim they’re going to do...I won’t ever survive that.”

My heart aches, hearing the shaking of his voice. I can’t even imagine what he’s been threatened with especially with what I found out about it in regard to me. It makes it even worse. The strange hierarchy. The way these wolves treat each other within their pack is just as bad.

“We will. I won’t let them have you, Dustin. Even if I have to murder them all. We’re going to get through this. You’re not part of their pack. You are now part of my pack.” My pack. The sound of it feels so amazing coming from my mouth. Just the idea of joining together with Dustin and Breck... Zev, Evan, and Jeff. We can make this work. If we stand together, we can fight. At least, once the moon comes.

Suddenly, I look forward to it. Ravi unintentionally gave me hope because he thinks I’ll survive. If I survive, then I know the guys will. None of them have turned into that nasty half-beast thing. Maybe this was fate. Maybe it’s because my lineage gave me an advantage and that affects things. But I don’t think I’ll ever know. I don’t want to hang around with those on the island to find out.

“I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else, but we have to hurry and hide. They’re going to be coming. I hear them.” Dustin spins around and searches the trees. “Do you?”

I close my eyes and listen. I don’t hear anything. I wonder if he only hears the pack that cursed him.

“I think you’re right, little badass,” Breck thinks to me. “We’re not receptive to them.”

“I don’t know,” I respond to Dustin, trying to keep my voice steady. I don’t want him to freak out.

“We hear some voices, but they’re still fighting each other and not tracking us yet. I trust you when you say that someone is after you, though, so let’s go. We’ll stick to the creek for a clean path. Everyone keep a lookout.” Breck takes charge of the situation, and I hold on tightly to his back, thankful that he still carries me. I don’t think I would be able to keep up with the bite to my leg. It’s still tender and throbbing. My arm doesn’t fare any better.

Dustin sticks close to our side, clutching a spear. I’m thankful he has a weapon. It’s not very sharp, but it’s enough to at least keep some space around us if a wolf tries to attack us. I don’t know what would happen if the wolves after him find us or if the wolves after me find him. Ravi said that Breck was bitten by someone on his pack, so he’s supposedly on our side.

I inhale and exhale slow breaths, trying to keep my racing heart in control. We only make it a couple dozen feet before a howl sounds through the air. It’s impossible to hide from wolves. They’re masters at tracking us.

A grey wolf jumps into our path, and I recognize Dante’s bright blue eyes. Dustin yells and swings his spear, not even hesitating. He clocks Kel’s wolf form on the side of his head, sending them sprawling into the creek. Dante growls, the sound guttural and scary as hell, and he snaps his teeth as he tries to charge us.

Dustin scrambles away, and Breck steals his spear and aims it at Dante.

“You son of a bitch. Stay the hell back. You’re a lying asshole. We know you’ve been playing with us.” Breck jabs the spear, trying to knock Dante back.