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His wolf came through when we needed him.
"Tzi?" Lex leaned forward. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay." I forced a smile. "Just rattled."
Looking down at Joon's unconscious form, laid out in the thick mud, I let out a thankful breath.
We were alive.
That's all I did lately—thank the Moon for allowing us to barely survive.
Today it was the hannoth, yesterday it was a territorial grizzly, and last week we were almost caught by a few determined rogues that tracked us for three days before finally giving up.
I was so tired. We all were.
"Let's find some shelter," Lex said. He stood and swayed on uneasy legs. He closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself.
"You're hurt," Byriel gritted out, pointing at Lex's wounded arm.
Black blood dripped in chunky clumps, and I panicked a bit, unsure what to do about it. I was good at finding herbs and flowers to speed up the healing process with wolves, but I had no idea if they would help a siren.
"We passed a shack not far back," I said, my hands resting just next to the wound on Joon's chest. His bandage was dirty, and red seeped through the center. It needed a good cleaning, but it was too late in the day to find a stream.
"I'll get Joon," Byriel said, pushing his massive body onto his feet. He staggered as he took his first step, and for a moment, I thought he would pass out. Sweat covered his dark skin, and his eyes were weary with exhaustion and hunger.
"Byriel," I lifted my hand as if it might help hold him up, "don't push yourself."
"I'm fine," he said a little too quickly, pulling in a long breath through his nose. He nodded again, "I'm fine."
Lex's face reflected my worry. We couldn't force the alpha to rest, and we did need to find shelter soon. It was probably best to let him push through his pain.
Byriel pointed at the dead hannoth. "Lex, can you collect a bit of meat from them?"
"Can we eat them?" Hope filled my chest. My stomach had never felt so empty.
"Legs only," Byriel warned as Lex knelt next to one of the lifeless creatures. "They have pockets of that damn venom along their neck and down their chests. One wrong cut, and it'll burn you up. Be careful."
"Legs only," Lex nodded, inspecting the hannoth's hind quarters.
Byriel grabbed Joon's upper arm and heaved him forward out of the thick mud. My alpha was wedged deep, the earth pushing up and over his legs.
It felt as if it had rained non-stop since we left Vaesen, and I decided I didn't care for northern Havre. Too wet and cold.
My body missed the soft, flat lands of Madra Village. It was dry this time of year back home, and I had never longed for a drought more than I did now.
"Grab your dagger, omega," Byriel said, taking forceful breaths as he steadied Joon over his shoulder.
Walking over to the hannoth, I pulled my blade from its throat. Yellow, sizzling venom shot out of its neck, spraying just past me. The hairs on the back of my neck raised, the close call making my skin crawl. Taking several steps back, I rubbed the coiling, purple mark that decorated my skin along my forearm.
While my journey had not been kind to my body, I was still thankful to be relatively unscathed. The Moon had been kind to me so far.
If only she'd give me back my alpha.
The Shack
Tzidal
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