Page 91 of Wilds of Wonder
El signed impatiently as the vines wrapped tighter around Driscoll. A few more dropped down, one tickling my head, another poking Maverick in the shoulder.
“I have a secret,” Aron said. “I retain a lot of my wolf traits in my human form.”
One of the vines around Driscoll’s neck loosened. “What does that mean?” he choked out.
“It means I hear sounds impossible for human ears to comprehend. Including the conversation between you and Emory just moments ago.”
Driscoll’s eyes bugged out of his head, but the vine released his throat and retreated upward.
Aron stroked his jaw. “Another secret? I enjoy your openness.Another? You’re not going to ruin me. I’ve already been ruined. You don’t bring out the beast in me—you bring out more humanity than I feel like I’ve had in years. You don’t hide what you’re feeling. You don’t say something but mean something else. I like talking to you and knowing that what you are presenting is what you’re getting. I like you as you are, Driscoll.”
Driscoll’s mouth fell open along with mine as the vines around his waist unraveled, slinking back. A few of the vines still wrapped around his hands and chest.
That was so damn romantic. Tears pricked my eyes at all of Aron’s revelations. I knew something was going on between them. My gaze flicked to Maverick. I was happy for them. They deserved this.
El signed something, and Maverick glanced at her, then translated, speaking almost to himself. “I haven’t just been looking for your sister because I heard of her and wanted to keep her safe.” He stilled as he said the words, processing them while El kept signing. “I want to find her because if she found a way in, then maybe that means she can lead us out.”
Maverick’s jaw locked as he finished speaking, but El held his stare, almost as if challenging him to say something to her.
Another vine slithered from Driscoll’s chest and up into the tangle of plants overhead. It was working, but I didn’t know how to feel about El’s admission. It made me wonder what other secrets she might be keeping, and by the look Maverick had given me, he must’ve been thinking the same thing.
Maverick cleared his throat. “I’m afraid I’m not capable of loving anything more than my work.”
There it was. The dagger to my heart. Exactly what I’d feared all along. I looked away, folding my arms across my chest. I supposed I needed to supply a secret as well. I opened my mouth to say something, but then Driscoll spoke.
“I’m free.” He patted down his body. “I’m free. I’m free. Now can we please get the bloody spirits out of here?”
Chapter Forty-Three
EMORY
We finally trudged through the tunnel of vines, no more almost-suffocations happening, the vines satiated with all the secrets that had been spilled.
The five of us stood in a circle on the pathway, everyone breathing heavy and wild-eyed after yet another near-death experience. Black dust lifted and swirled, and I blinked a few times as some of it got in my eye. The pathway wound around a hill, and I could’ve sworn I saw more of those cat-like creatures lurking about, tails flicking out from the tall grass, eyes peering curiously. But every time I blinked, they were gone.
“Why didn’t you tell me about wanting to find my sister?” Maverick asked El, hands on his hips. “What else are you keeping from us?”
El signed, pointer and middle fingers sticking up, then she raised her pinky and swiped her hand in an arc over her chest.
“That’s not good enough,” Maverick said, fists balled. “I don’t care if you thought it might anger me, if you didn’t want to risk us running away to find her ourselves. You should’ve told me from the beginning. What are you planning on doing? Marching her through the Wilds soshe can show you where she got in? What if she doesn’t want to? What if I say no?”
El glared at Maverick, making a quick succession of signs.
“Yes,” he responded. “Of course we want to escape, but not at the expense of my sister. It’s not her job to be your personal guide. And why do you want to escape anyway? As twisted as this place is, it’s your home. So why do you want to leave?”
El broke eye contact, pale skin flushed with anger. Another secret.
“Ah,” Maverick said. “So you’re willing to share a few secrets, but not all of them.”
“We should calm down.” Aron held out his hands. “I think we might be close to finding your sister.”
Maverick pointed a finger at El. “She’s not getting anywhere near my sister. Not until she tells me every secret she’s keeping.”
El threw her hands up in the air, stalking down the path, her back to us.
A buzzing noise filled the air.
Driscoll rubbed his temples. “What is that?”
