Page 25 of Eclipse of the Pack

Jon held Ivy as she rested for most of the day. They held a simple conversation, ignoring the elephant in the woods. Jon appreciated the time to be with Ivy and not focus on the insanity around them. The wilderness gave them a little bit of cover from the craziness taking over the world.

“I haven’t been in the woods in a long time,” Ivy commented.

“Really?”

“Ever since I… started my old job, the chance just never came up. Plus, it was the smart choice not to go.”

“That makes sense. I’d take the occasional camping trip with Galen, but we’d never go this deep. He had his own reasons for avoiding going too deep into the woods.”

As the sun went across the sky, the two companions talked about their past lives. It wasn’t until late afternoon that she was able to move around again.

“How are you feeling?” Jon asked. Ivy grimaced as her muscles protested her movements. Even though she was feeling better, her body was still in pain.

“I’m fine,” Ivy quickly answered. “Are you hungry. We should probably eat something.” Jon knew Ivy was right. They hadn’t eaten in a while, and they needed to get some strength. Especially Ivy.

“I can get us-”

“No, I’ll do it.” Ivy left before Jon could say anything further. He sat back down feeling useless. He was one hundred percent out of his element. Secret agents and werewolves out to get them, and then being pushed into the wilderness away from civilization.

Even though Jon was feeling down, he did not want to throw himself a pity party. He was going to find a way to be helpful.

Not too much time later, Ivy returned with a couple of rabbits.

“I found a spot closer to the water. I think we should set up there.” Jon nodded and started following. He noticed she was moving kind of slow and moved to walk beside her. Ivy took his help without any protest. Hunting had drained her more than she expected. Without Jon, she wouldn’t have survived.

They reached their new campground, deeper in the wilderness. Jon built a fire to cook the rabbits while Ivy rested. As he roasted them, Ivy looked at him.

“Thank you,” she sighed.

“For what?”

“For saving my life.”

“Of course.” Jon went back to cooking, a small smile growing on his face.

When the rabbits finished, Jon gave Ivy some, and the two fugitives sat next to one another and ate quietly. Jon couldn’t help but think of everything he had lost. His life had beensimple, but it was his. A part of him mourned for his past, but it didn’t matter anymore. Not in a way that was substantial. Living in the wilderness was a huge change, but his life wasn’t glamourous before meeting Ivy. Having Ivy in his life was worth it. He loved her. Jon would have never predicted his life ending up like this, but he was determined to stay by Ivy’s side no matter what.

31

IVY

“Should we sleep in shifts?” Jon asked.

Ivy nodded. That made sense. They needed to stay vigilant in case the wolves or the PEACE agents found them.

“You can sleep first since I slept for most of the day.” Ivy could see that Jon was tired. Not only had he rescued her, but he took care of her until she was better.

It had been a while since he rested, and being human, he needed it a lot more.

“I’m feeling a lot better, so it’s okay.” Sleeping all day and getting some food into her belly had given Ivy back some of her strength.

“Sure.” Jon was still worried, but he knew better than to argue with Ivy. He positioned himself against a tree but didn’t fall asleep immediately. He was distracted by Ivy’s intense energy. She was standing, arms crossed over her chest.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m going to do some patrolling,” Ivy said, not really answering Jon’s question.

“I’ll stay close enough to keep watch.” Ivy considered shifting in front of Jon, but she remembered what had happened last time when she killed those PEACE agents. The two had managed to break the tension between them, but Ivy and Jon had never actually spoken about what happened.

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