Elise laughs. “It’s difficult at first, but I think eventually they learn to differentiate between our scents.”
“I, for one, don’t understand how anyone could mistake you,” Henry points out. “You might look similar, but you’re so different. Elise is fun and bubbly.”
“True,” Marcel muses and grins when Elise winks at him.
“And I’m grumpy and annoying?” Elodie asks.
“No. You are tough and pretty cool,” Henry tells her.
I’m not sure if Henry is aware of what he said, but I notice how there is a hint of pink on Elodie’s cheeks.
Her sister saves her by looking at Ryllis and shifting the topic. “Is it okay to call you Ryllis, Amaryllis? I noticed that’s what Freya calls you, and I think it’s cute.”
Ryllis looks at her shyly. “Of course.”
“It’s a really beautiful name,” Steve says dreamily. “It’s a flower, right? A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
Ryllis’ cheeks turn pink while Henry groans. “Goddess, someone save me from that lovey-dovey attitude.”
Finn punches his shoulder playfully. “Wait until you find your mate. Then we’ll be talking.”
Elodie smirks at Henry. “I bet the Goddess will have you fight for your mate, considering your attitude when I first met you.”
He looks flustered for a moment. “Hey, I’m not that bad.”
“Now. You aren’t that bad now,” Elodie states mercilessly. “If you were like this from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had any problems.”
“You know, you could be a lot nicer too,” Henry argues back.
She tilts her head. “You have a point,” she admits. “But in terms of attitude, you definitely take the cake. Even Anthony pulled his shit together, eventually.”
Henry looks seriously flustered now.
“Come on, Elodie. Henry and Anthony are nice guys.” Steve smiles.
She nods earnestly. “They just hid it well.”
Henry glares at her before a smirk curls his lips. He takes one of the fish out of the basket Steve carries and moves it toward Elodie’s face. He makes kissing noises while Elodie squeals and screams. “Come on, Elodie, when the sassy princess in the fairytale kissed the frog, a prince appeared. Who knows what will happen for you?”
“That’s not a frog,” Elodie complains while her sister gasps for air, laughing.
“Come on, Elo.” Elise holds her sides, still laughing. “You kind of deserved it. Stop bullying him.”
“Okay, okay.” Elodie raises her hands, and Finn saves the fish from dropping to the ground. “Peace,” she says and offers Henry her hand.
He shakes it with a smile. “Peace. I know I have been quite shit,” he admits.
“Pity my phone broke, or I would have recorded that,” Anthony mumbles sleepily, with a hint of amusement in his voice. “He’s right, though. We have been giving you a hard time.”
Finn approaches him and helps him up in a sitting position. He looks a lot better. To imagine how long Ryllis, and the others always struggled to heal… I feel almost a bit envious. Alpha Colton took away so much from us, even our basic wolf abilities.
“Wow, so much manly compassion.” Marcel snorts into the silence. “I’m starting to question my sexuality.”
Everyone giggles again while Henry starts to rummage through his bag. “Here,” he says. Bringing forward a bag with protein bars. “They are very high in calories. I brought them along in case we would be cut off from the outer world.” He frowns. “I can further offer you candy, beef jerky, and nuts.”
He looks up, noting how we all stare at him.
Anthony grins. “That’s Henry for you. Imagine how it feels to travel with him. He’s always prepared for the apocalypse.”