Page 94 of His to Hunt

“Wait where are you going!?” I ask nervously.

“Auto-pilot is engaged. We don’t have to sit up here the entire time. I’m going to have a drink,” he says, opening the cockpit door.

“I guess you can’t exactly get pulled over for drinking and flying,” I say, standing up as well. “And since I can’t actually fly this jet, I think I’ll have a drink as well.”

“I told them to make sure there was vodka and cranberry juice,” he says as I follow him to the main part of the jet.

“Aw, thank you.” I can’t help smiling because it means he thought of me. I’m still getting used to having someone who thinks about what I may need or want. “I probably should have downed a few before we took off.”

“It’s going to take six or seven hours to get there, so I don’t think you’re going to regret not starting soon enough,” he chuckles. “Just don’t have so many you can’t do the ritual.”

“Everything is already in the bowl. All I have to do is light it on fire, add a drop of blood, and pour it into the ocean,” I say, glancing over at his backpack. “That should be pretty simple. The rituals are easier than the spell my friends and I cast.”

“Why is that?” he asks, walking to the mini bar where he begins making our drinks.

“It’s just mixing ingredients together and following the instructions,” I say, shrugging slightly and taking my cranberry vodka when he offers it. “I don’t even have to say any magic words or anything.”

“Probably because you’re the magic,” he speculates. “It’s in your blood, like the wolf is in mine.”

“I guess so,” I sigh.

We drink and talk while sitting next to each other, and I get a little closer after each sip until I’m in his arms. We forget about our drinks and kiss for a while, then make out even longer. It’s hot, sensual, and seems more passionate than the normal raw hunger that seems to pull us together.

I stop Victor before things can go too far, and he seems annoyed by it. I’m annoyed too, because I want him almost as much as I did during the frenzy, but we have to stay focused. We pass the hours in conversation, learning more about each other as people. Victor asks more about my family and my grandmother. I tell some stories, smiling as I realize I haven’t thought about some of them in years. I’m full of questions about his life, being a shifter, how the community works, and just all things Victor.

But no matter how much we try to focus, we eventually end up in each other’s arms again, making out until I feel him pull away.

“I need to go back to the cockpit,” he groans, his dick hard against me. He adjusts it as he pulls away. “Auto-pilot should have us close, but I’ll still have to land it.”

“Wow, that time went quicker than I thought would,” I comment, adjusting my bra, shirt, and jeans before sitting up. If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have taken them off. “Time to focus. I’ll get everything ready.”

“The helicopter should be waiting,” he says, then retakes his seat in the cockpit, puts on the headphones, and starts pressing buttons and flipping switches.

I put myself back together, finish my drink, and hurry to sit beside him. I’m not drunk, but I’m flustered from making out and I have a pleasant buzz. I still feel radiant, and I like that, whether it is a druid power or not.

I put on the headphone and adjust the microphone. “Oh wow, Alaska is beautiful.”

“Never been here before?” he smiles. “I used to come up here to run sometimes when I was younger.”

“No, I’ve never been anywhere before,” I say, looking around.

I pictured snow, and there is some, but there’s a lot of green, too. It looks like the area is untouched, still as beautiful as Mother Nature made it other than the occasional building tucked into the landscape.

But once we get closer to the ocean, everything changes. I saw pictures, but that’s nothing like seeing the sludge. It’s not just in the sea. The damage has spread inland, creeping up rivers with the tidal surges. Trees are dying. I feel like I can hear birds screaming. Wild animals are desperate for help. Somewhere, a bear cub is crying for its mother.

I can feel it all, like a coil in my chest. It takes my breath away and I gasp.

“Taryn? What happened?” he asks, head snapping toward me.

“I… I don’t know,” I stammer. “I was suddenly… aware of… nature. Everything, all around us. All the damage from the oil seeping into the soil, contaminating the water.”

I shake my head, finally able to separate myself from nature’s pulse.

“Remind me not to take you to anymore ecological disasters,” he mutters. “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, let’s just do the ritual,” I reply, steadying myself.

Another druid power? I’m not sure how to control it, so little good it does me. Now I just feel kind sad. Victor has convinced me I deserve everything good, so I’m looking back on the damp basement less fondly than I used to. Everything around here would love a damp basement to live in over this nightmare.