Fane chuckled. “That was a good one.”

“I know, right? Good and mushy.”

Fane leaned down and kissed her softly before stepping back and taking her hand in his. They turned to face Vasile and Alina as everyone else had done.

“I know that you all are tired,” Vasile addressed them, “and I don’t think I really made it clear that we will be hiking and sleeping in the great outdoors.”

Jacque held back a groan, barely.

“We are going to hike tonight for about an hour, then we can call it a night. We are going to need to keep our wits about us the deeper into the mountains we go. There are supernaturals that take shelter in this forest and it would be wise of us to not draw their attention.”

“No offense, Alpha, but we have three Alpha males hiking with five females. How exactly were you planning on keeping us incognito?” Jacque asked.

“Good point, Jacque. I did think of that. Believe it or not, we males can think ahead occasionally,” Vasile teased. “Adam should be arriving soon and he will be cloaking us. He said that he might not make himself known to us right away, but would be covering us from afar. In fact, he might already be in place. I trust him to do his best.”

Jacque gave him the thumbs up. “Good call, V. I knew you were Alpha for a reason.”

“So glad I have your approval.”

Jacque looked over at Alina, who was trying to hide her smile.

“He has mastered sarcasm way too quickly.”

Alina laughed. “You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“Oh no, I’m not taking sole responsibility. Jen is probably guiltier than I am.”

Everyone mumbled their agreement as the males began unloading the van and distributing everyone’s packs.

Once everyone was armed with their survival gear, the group set off. Vasile took the lead, with the others following in a single file line arranged so that each female was walking between two males..

They hiked steadily up a path that hadn’t been used in a very long time. Jacque looked into the dark forest around them and, as usual, was shocked at how well she could see. Having her wolf surface had some serious pluses.

She felt the cool night breeze blow on her face and shivered when she sensed something unnatural and unsettling that she just couldn’t place.

Crina, who was walking behind her, whispered, “Do you feel that?”

Jacque nodded. “It feels like we’re being watched.”

“Exactly,” Crina agreed.

“Fane, do you feel it?” She reached out to him.

“Yes, it’s putting my wolf on edge.”

“Rachel, do you sense anything?” Gavril asked her quietly, but aloud so that the others would know.

“I do, but it doesn’t feel evil.”

“The pixies aren’t evil,” Vasile said from the front of the line. Everyone’s sensitive ears, even Rachel being a dormant, were able to hear him just fine. “They are neutral until they choose a side. They might decide to test us, so keep your eyes and ears open.”

The rest of the hour, the forest was quiet as they climbed deeper and deeper into the mountains. The only sounds were the soft rustling of leaves and foliage as they passed.

After what seemed like the longest and most uneasy hour of Jacque’s life, they finally stopped. There was a small clearing to the right of the crude path. A few large rocks enclosed the area, giving the illusion of cover. The guys dropped their packs and immediately started gathering wood for a fire. The girls began organizing spots for sleeping gear; no tents. Jacque had asked why and Fane had replied that, “You can’t see your enemy through a tent.”

So that was how they slept, as close to the fire as possible without getting burned. The guys took up rotation of keeping watch through the night, a night that would become the last memory of peace for a very long time – a memory they would reach for in the coming darkness.

Chapter 14

“Sometimes what you think is true, what you think is safe and good, is actually evil in disguise. Evil so enticing, so deceiving, that you don’t know it’s evil until its wrapped you up and caressed you as a lover. You gaze into its eyes, enraptured by the pretty words it whispers softly in your ears, realizing too late that the pretty words were all just twisted lies.” ~ Jacque

Adam watched the group from afar as they settled down for the night. One person in particular had held his attention from the very second he had flashed into the forest. Crina. It was taking everything in him not to go to her, to wrap her in his arms, and never let her out of his sight. Something had changed in him the moment he saw her, and something in him defined that change with one word – mate. She was his mate. So Peri had been right. He had been chosen by the Great Luna to be a mate to one of her wolves. He couldn’t believe the instant intensity and the passion he felt for Crina. He understood now why the males of their race acted the way that they did. Something in him cried out for her. He didn’t want her to be in a group with a bunch of males, whether they were mated or not. He didn’t want to be so far from her.

He'd decided that it would be best to wait to reveal himself sometime the next day. In truth, he was stalling. For the first time in his very long life he felt insecure. He knew she would be drawn to him, but what if she didn’t like him? Adam had always been confident, cocky even. He’d been with females of his race. Never anything serious, though, so this whole mate thing was definitely new territory as far as commitment went.