Page 16 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

Xyla looked at him sharply. “Dad, that’s not going to help. We have enough wood to last the day and probably night if we use it sparingly. We have enough food to last a few days. Surely, by that time, we’ll be rescued. People know we’re here. It’ll be fine.”

“I should have known better. Why couldn’t you ask for something normal for your birthday?”

“Knock it off, Dad. If you don’t have something positive to say or a solution, then keep your mouth shut.”

Elliot looked at her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Xyla had never stood up to him before. He stood up and walked toward his bedroom, growling loudly as he hit his shin against the coffee table. Xyla closed her eyes. Being shut up with her father was going to be pure hell for her and Edward.

“Are we going to die? Are we going to starve to death or freeze to death?” Edward’s voice was high-pitched with fear.

“No, we aren’t. People know we’re here and they’ll send help. This is a mountain and avalanches happen on mountains. The owners of the resort will have a plan.”

Edward slowly nodded.

“Look at me. This is not your fault. You know how Dad gets. A situation could have happened no matter where we were. Okay?”

Edward nodded.

“Stay here for a second. There’s a closet off of the kitchen. I’m sure they’ll either have lamps or candles in there.”

He nodded again.

Xyla used the flashlight on her phone to find the cabin. She was happy to see that there were three lanterns on the shelf. There were also a couple of shovels. Xyla briefly thought about the possibility of digging them out, but she was certain her father wouldn’t help and Edward couldn’t.

She grabbed the lanterns and turned one of them on. “Let’s just use one at a time to preserve the batteries. When this one goes dead, we have another.”

“Okay.” Edward’s voice sounded weak.

“Let’s see if we can get a little more sleep. We’ll just stay on the couch where the fire will keep us warm. I’ll grab the blankets off the bed and we’ll wrap up in them.”

“Okay.”

Xyla was pretty sure that her brother was in shock. Hopefully, he’d snap out of it soon.

He was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. Xyla thought that she dozed lightly, although she was on high alert for any sounds of more danger or a rescue.

She fully woke up when Edward said, “I’m hungry.”

“Okay. We have some breakfast bars, a couple of apples, or a small box of dry Fuity Circles.”

“Fruity Circles and some apple sauce.”

“Coming right up.”

She quickly ate a breakfast bar and then packed a bag of clothes and necessities for her and Edward. Her father could take care of himself or not. At this point, she didn’t care.

The two of them spent the next couple of hours putting together a jigsaw puzzle she had brought with them. They opened a couple cans of soup and heated them in a pan over the fire for lunch.

“See, this is just like camping,” Xyla told Edward.

“You don’t run out of wood in the forest,” the little boy said dryly.

“We’ll be fine. I promise.”

They finished putting the puzzle together in the early afternoon. Edward had enough battery left on his game system to keep him busy for a couple of hours. She pretended to read a book but spent most of her time staring into the low fire, hoping that someone got them out in time.

The entire day had passed when Edward looked at her with a mixture of fear and hope. “Do you hear that?”

“Yes.”

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