Page 4 of Fated Unkindness
“This is going to take longer than normal to heal because of where we are. We’re going to have to make shelter probably for at least a couple of days if we can…If we have any hopes of her being able to travel through the Soule mountains to get back toRavendene.” He starts gathering branches and shuffling logs from nearby fallen trees to create a makeshift shelter. He looks over at me with worry bracketing his mouth, but tries to bring a smile to his face with words to reassure me. “We will get out of this Rae. I promised myself I’d bring you both back. I promised we would all make it and I don’t take that lightly.”
My eyes are wet with genuine sadness, and at that moment I decide to trust him. A hum starts in my chest as I mentally make the decision and finally, I find my voice.
“I’m sorry I’ve been quiet. I—” I take a deep breath. I don’t know what to say to him, so I just say the first thing that comes to mind. “I can tell you know who I am, but I don’t remember who you are... Either of you,” I wave my hand between him and Kait. “I don’t know who we are running from, and I don’t know where we are going back to, and I don’t know why, I don’t fucking know.” My head is pounding again and I reach up and rub at my temple a bit where the cut had been.
I can’t take my eyes off him. He doesn’t say anything at first just stares at me with those golden hazel eyes round in shock or disbelief. What happens next catches me in surprise, as he takes two long strides toward me. I see that he is going to make contact with my body, and I tense for impact.
Gods I hope I didn’t read him wrong, he’s going to kill me.I close my eyes hoping that intrusive thought is wrong, and the feeling I’ve gotten about him is leading me in the right direction. His arms envelop me completely and he squeezes me tightly.
“I’m so sorry Rae I should have known something was up with you. Fuck, I should have known.” He pushes me out at an arm’s distance. “ We will figure this out.Together.” A wrysmile spreads across his face. “It’s Trent, by the way. Me, you, and Kait…” He turns waving toward the unconscious female. “We came out on our own into Demetrey territory to find things needed for a cure to a curse that Dax got himself into... He’s back home in Ravendene and last we knew he wasn’t doing very well. This was a double rescue mission in a sense. Mel, my baby sister. We are also keeping a lookout for any sign of her because she was kidnapped…” He squeezes me into him once more and lets go. I reach my hand up across my body to brush my upper arm nervously. My brows pinch as I think about what he’s told me. I wish I knew what he was talking about. I wish more than anything my memories would come back to me. Especially after hearing his story. But I don’t. I don’t have the slightest clue.
“I’m sorry, Trent… but who are Dax and Mel?”
Chapter four
“Dammit Trent.” I cursemyself under my breath. I should have realized something was off with Rae. She’s quite possibly neverthisquiet. She doesn’t know who any of us are. Where do I even start in trying to tell her what she’s forgotten? How do I explain everything?
Fuck. I don’t even know everything.All that has happened over the last year, as well as the bigger question, what the fuck happened to her to cause the memory loss?
“It’s a long story. I can start with a simple version if you want.” We need to rest and then get moving. It’s already sketchy as fuck being holed up here still on Demetrey territory with everything that has happened. They are looking for us, and it's only a matter of time before they find us. I shift my gaze to where I laid Kait torecover and heal. Needing to see the steady rise and fall of her chest, proof that she’s still alive.
“Maybe we should just wait to talk about specifics until after we get some rest,” she agrees. “My head is pounding, and my body has a weird buzzing feeling crawling all over it.” Rae drawls out as she pinches the bridge of her nose. She doesn’t sound like herself. The confidence that she normally carries herself with isn’t there. She worries her lip between her teeth, and her brows furrow as she folds in on herself where she sits. She sounds timid and unsure. Now that I know, I don’t know how I missed it.
I dip my chin in the direction of the makeshift shelter I created. “It’s not much but with the circumstances…” I shrug. She smiles shyly hiding behind her thick lashes as she looks to where her hands rest on her knees. A shiver breaks out across her skin—just enough that it’s noticeable to me. I shrug off my cloak and push it out toward her. “Here Rae, it’s chilly. I’ll take the first watch. I’m nearly all healed up anyway.” I make a show of flexing my muscles which brings a half laugh out of her, which she then snorts at. A cheesy grin breaks across my face unabated. It’s the first time she’s sounded like herself since this shit show all went down, and we found each other after being separated. “ Try and get some rest, yeah?” She nods again, her lips curling up at the ends before she tips her head back looking to the sky.
I venture out into the trees a bit further searching for a good lookout point. Not too far from where Rae and Kait rest, I need to keep them in view. I find the perfect tree to use as a lookout post, the low branches allow me to get the footing I need to pull myself into the climb. I want to get a good vantage point so I can see if someone is coming before they get close enough to spotour camp. That way we can get fucking moving with quickness if needed. We need every advantage we can get. We are in no position for a fight right now. With Rae's memory on the fritz, who knows if she even remembers her training?
Kait is… well, Kait will be out of commission for a minimum of maybe a full day if we’re lucky, and that’s if she only has the injuries I can see. If we have visitors before, then I’ll have to carry her ass to wherever we run off because I know I can’t take on the trained Demetrey guards that are out searching for us on my own. This whole mission has been a shit show of epic proportions. Dax will be giving me shit for this for a long time to come… if we manage to save the asshole.
My gaze snags on the shelter again. Rae is still sitting up, taking in her surroundings. I guess some things come naturally. I stare at her for a long moment trying to see any changes in her. I don’t see anything other than her confusion and timidness, though I don’t really know what I’m looking for. It’s just Raelle sitting down there. I don’t think they did anything freaking weird to her like, replace her with a clone, brainwash her, or something equally disturbing. You can’t be overly cautious with the Demetrey scum, though. She does seem a little less fierce than usual and a little bit scared, but isn’t that to be expected after a traumatic event? I don't think I’ve ever seen fear on Raelle's face though. It makes me worry for her. Our eyes meet briefly, and I try to give her a reassuring smile before I salute her and return to my patrolling of the area.
Hours go by with no sign of Demetrey soldiers, which could be our first bit of good luck since leaving Ravendene. Jumping out of the tree, I trek a little deeper into the woods to scout for some semblance of food or water. I’m able to snare some small gameand berries to make a small meal. It would be so much easier to find food if I could shift but with the barriers on the territory, I can’t shift until we cross the border, which doesn’t help us at the moment. I’m just hopeful that Rae or Kait are getting the rest they need to heal. If we were out of these damn barriers though, they could heal much quicker, but it dampens our ability to heal rapidly unless we have the mark of Demetrey. Which we sure as hell do not have.
I come around a large pine tree, stepping into camp, and a branch snaps under my boot. Rae is up in a matter of seconds in a fighting stance ready to take me down. I smile at her and laugh quietly, “Calm down killer. I’m glad to see your reflexes are still intact. We've got to count our blessings at this point, am I right?” She takes a deep breath and physically relaxes a little, dropping her shoulders a fraction. Which makes me feel good knowing she can trust me enough to not be on the defense, even though she doesn’t currently remember who we are to one another. “Did you get some sleep?” I ask. She responds with a small nod but her stomach growls at the same moment. I step forward and place my palm up, offering her berries with a smile.
“Thank you, Trent.” Her lips curve up at the corners as she reaches out and takes the berries from my palm. Hearing her call me by my name sends a pang of sadness into my heart because I know her; she’s only just learned it, but she is someone I have grown close to. We will get through this. We will get home with the cure for Dax. We have to.
Time is passing too slowly while we wait. It’s always like that when you know something bad could happen at any moment.Focus on the positives, Trent.We have each other, and that in itself is a blessing from the gods. I know we need to get moving, but Kait has barely moved in the last day. Rae is showing more and more trust in me, so I guess that’s a positive. Rae and I have taken turns on sentry duty, so we can each get rest while we wait out Kait’s healing.
Dusk is falling on us, and if Kait doesn’t wake up by dawn tomorrow, I will need to carry her. There will be no avoiding it; we need to get on the move. We won’t be able to stay any longer. We are sitting ducks out here right now, it’s only a matter of time before–
I’m not able to finish the thought before a loud thumping vibrates the forest floor beyond our perimeter. It’s Rae’s watch right now, but I happen to still be awake. I rise from my resting area stretching as I try to listen for any other noises. Rae comes tearing through the trees and slams right into me. “We need to run, NOW!” She yells in my face, fisting my leathers with both hands. I don’t ask questions. I pivot, bending down, I grab Kait and throwher over my shoulder. We take off to the east toward the Soule Mountains like we planned for if anything like this happened.
Before we get very far, I hear Kait groan. “What the hell?” she croaks out from my back.
“Kait! Impeccable timing, beautiful. How are you feeling?” I ask between panting breaths, dodging random low branches and hopping fallen logs. Kait screams and starts slamming her fists on my ass.
“Let me down! That thing is going to bite my godsdamn head off!” A loud snap and snarl sound right behind me, and as I crane my neck, I see the shifter right on my heels in their wolf form, teeth snarling and snapping for Kait's head as it dangles over my shoulder. I curse flipping her back to her feet so she can run with me. I hope like hell that she’s healed enough and ready for this. We are faster running individually, but in shifted form, the wolf is going to take one or all of us out if we don’t take care of it first.
I see a large branch coming up in my path. “I’m going to run ahead and grab that branch. When I get in range, tuck, and roll. I’m going to show this wolf my best dinger.” I yell, not waiting for a response. I know she will follow through with what I say. I push myself into a sprint passing Kait. I swoop down and grab the branch in a fluid movement. Gripping the branch like a sword, I swing. Hard. Putting all the shifter strength I can manage into my hit.
Kait does as I instructed, tucking low and rolling out of the way just in time for my branch to meet its target in the form of a big ugly ass dingey gray wolf shifter’s smug face. CRACK. There is a ripple of power that is visible as the lights go out on the shifter’s eyes and a male takes the place of where the wolf was. His facebashed the fuck in. My stomach clenches at the sight, but I reach my hand out to Kait, she threads her fingers through mine and we keep running. There is no time to risk talking about what just happened. We catch up to Rae but none of us slow down in case the shifter isn’t alone we need to get distance between us.
That was too close. The darkness of night is fully upon us now, and while it’s dark, we are still exposed. There is more to worry about than a shifter in these woods at night without shelter, but I recall there are caves that we can take shelter in at the base of the mountains. If we can make it that far, we will be able to wait the night out and leave at first light, and now that Kait is awake, we can start the journey back to Ravendene.
“Why are we heading in the wrong direction?” Kait asks. “We still need to get the cure for Dax. We can’t go back empty-handed, especially after everything we have been through.” Anger flashes in her eyes as she burrows her gaze into me.
“Kait— “I try to interrupt.
