Feral Wolves (Feral Wolves of the Arctic Book 1) by J.L. Wilder

Author:J.L. Wilder [Wilder, J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J.L. Wilder
Published: 2020-10-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

MARCO

Marco returned to the cave with the day’s catch to find that Ryker had beaten him there, a fact that was surprising for a number of reasons.

“You’re alone,” he said, feeling stupid for stating the obvious.

“Sophie wants to go work on her baskets,” Ryker said. “I left her by the side of the river.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Marco asked anxiously.

“Because of the bears, you mean?”

“Well, they did almost kill me,” Marco said. “And Sophie was nearly attacked too, you told me.”

“That wasn’t near here,” Ryker said.

“We don’t actually know where it was,” Marco pointed out. “I wasn’t in my right mind when I got to you. I don’t know how much ground I covered between you and the bears. Unless you know something you’re not telling me—”

“I’ve told you everything I know,” Ryker said. “The day we found you, I did a perimeter check. Ten miles away from the cave in every direction. They’re not here.”

“That doesn’t mean they couldn’t come here,” Marco said.

Ryker nodded. “They could,” he agreed. “But they won’t. Things are different. It’s not like it was when we were on our own, when we were easy targets for bears because they were bigger than us. We’re a pack now. The group of us, acting together, is stronger than any bear. We can take them out. And if they catch our scent, they’ll understand that, and they’ll steer clear.”

“Burton didn’t steer clear,” Marco pointed out.

Ryker frowned. “Where is Burton, anyway?” he asked. “I thought you and he were checking the traps together.”

“Most of them were empty,” Marco reported, holding up the lone squirrel he’d found. “Burton offered to go collect berries, so we split up a while ago.”

“Are you fucking with me?” Ryker jumped to his feet. “You left him alone out there? Sophie is out there!”

The pieces clunked into place in Marco’s head. “Shit!”

Then they were running, both of them, side by side. The world flew by in a blur. Ryker was the only thing that remained stable in Marco’s vision. “Where is she?” he gasped. He was running so hard that his muscles were already beginning to cramp. “Where did you leave her?”

“River,” Ryker bit, picking up speed. “By the rocks.”

Marco’s head spun. If something happened to Sophie, if Burton took advantage of this opportunity to attack her or hurt her, it was going to be all his fault. He was the one who had let the thief go off alone. He might not have known that Sophie was on her own out there, but they had agreed to watch Burton at all times until he had proven himself trustworthy, and that hadn’t happened yet. Far from it.

Putting his head down, he ran harder.

The riverbank came up on them so suddenly that they almost didn’t slow down in time. They almost went splashing into the water. But the sight before him was enough to bring Marco up short.

Sophie and Burton lay on the river bank, half-dressed, their fingers entwined, staring up at the sky.

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