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Chapter 4
Meira
My eyes flip open to an explosion of light, and it takes me a few moments of blinking and squinting to find the morning sun blazing right in my direction.
When I move, my legs and ass feel numb and have fallen asleep in the awkward position I ended up in in the tree. I twist around as feeling starts slithering through my legs.
Wait, where’s the girl from last night?
I frantically drop my gaze, thinking she fell out of the tree during the night, but I would have heard her. Unless the Shadow Monsters took her swiftly.
Somewhere inside my mind I know she didn’t fall; she must have slipped away from me once I fell asleep. I’ve been in her position, living in the woods, not trusting a soul. Everyone poses a danger, and she doesn’t know me, so why should she trust me?
Still, the notion of her being out there alone curls under my breastbone, and I use my vantage point to search for her. There are trees in every direction, with no animals or birds. I shift to get down from the tree when a horrible, sharp pain floods me so intensely, I shut my eyes and grit my back teeth until the ache passes. The pain from whatever is wrong with me comes more frequent now, like it’s building up to something. But I push it aside because I don’t have answers right now.
Finally, I jump down from the tree and scan the forest floor around me. Overgrown shrubs smother the land with evergreen vines crawling up the pine trunks. But there’s no sign of a body or remains, so I trace my way toward the river. I need a wash, and that’s likely where the girl has returned to.
Once there, I kneel and splash the crisp water onto my face, then scrub the back of my neck as well. I take my fill just as a twig snaps from across the river.
I snap my head up and spy a small deer with white spots dotting its back. I’m mesmerized, as it’s been so long since I’ve seen a deer. The little thing has survived this long, and I hope she manages to continue doing so for a long time. When I climb to my feet, she flinches and bursts back into the woods.
I’m up on my feet and turn away from the river. The deer might have been lucky until now, but all our luck runs out eventually. This isn’t a world with butterflies and unicorns, but zombies and sex-starved wolves. I hastily rush up the bank and dart into the woods and out of sight so I’m not easily spotted.
But the girl lingers on my mind. Where has she gotten to? As selfish as it sounds, I’d enjoy her company. It sounds strange to think that when I’ve lived in the woods by myself for years, but if I’m honest with myself, being with the pack was a nice reprieve, even if it was short. Knowing I wasn’t alone and that we all worked toward survival in a protected area started growing on me. I sigh at what a hypocrite I am.
My emotions straddle the fence now, when once I couldn’t even fathom the idea of joining a pack. It’s ridiculous to even have such thoughts, considering how things ended with the Ash Wolves.
I march quickly over the dried foliage and shrubs, my hands swinging by my side as I sweep the woodland for any sign of the young girl. With each inhale I take, I search for distinctive wolf smells and the putrid stench of the Shadow Monsters. My trick to survival has been living next to the undead creatures, as they tend to keep to small herds in the same location. Their presence makes it more likely rogue wolves won’t be around to hurt me. It’s a simple trick, but it’s kept me alive this long.
I keep the river to my right and head straight hoping I’m heading in the right direction to where I used to live in the treehouse. I’ll collect what few belongings I have and find a new home where no one will be able to track me.
Step after step, I keep going, needing to forget the Alphas, who’ve affected me in ways that surprise me. It’s my fault for letting myself believe I could even have a normal life. The truth stings worse today because I miss them, and I hate myself for having such emotions. I curl my hands into fists against the ache rising through my chest. It’s the same sensation as last night… a longing that threatens to rip me apart. With it comes a desperate sensation of leaving behind what belongs to me, but I don’t stop walking. I keep pushing, one foot in front of the other.
It’s the stupid markings Dušan and Lucien gave me. I sense the prickling over my skin where they bit me, and an unmerciful energy floods me, reminding me constantly I am theirs.
I jerk my focus to the woods, but my head lifts with darker thoughts.
My throat thickens as fear collects into a ball. I could die at any moment if my wolf comes out. But then again, I’m surviving the apocalypse, and death is coming for everyone sooner rather than later. I try to ignore the worry simmering in my mind that I’ll be caught. I wrap my arms around my waist, surveying the land with every few steps I take.
Having walked most of the day, the sun is now descending, and with it comes an icy cold. I focus my energy on moving faster through the quiet woods. My weary muscles strain, and I keep going until dusk settles around me. The loose stones on the slanted earth slide under my feet, and I slip, my stomach lurching. I snatch onto a nearby branch and catch myself. Quickly, I hurry down the hill into an open valley where the river roars and foams around the boulders it crashes into.
I kneel at the edge of the water to fill my stomach when I glance over to my side and find the dried-up carcass of a deer, its skin peeled away and rib bones clean of flesh. It looks as though someone tried to find a meal out of the remains.
Near my foot something white glints, and I reach over to the bone that must have once belonged in the animal’s leg. It’s been snapped in half, but the shattered end sticks out sharply. I tighten my fingers around the bone that fits nicely in my grip.
Sticking it into the waistband of my black leggings, the pointy bit upward to avoid poking a hole through the fabric, I’m up on my feet and heading off quickly again. A small field of wild grass and shrubs surrounds me, the river at my back. I trudge toward the broad oak trees that popular this part of the woods, standing shoulder to shoulder, thick with heavy branches covered in lush green leaves. These lofty guardians will be my home for the night.
Under the protective shadows of the woods, I search for the perfect tree to scale and settle into, preferably one that has multiple branches crossing. But my attention snags on a rose-red fruit hanging from a tree several feet away.
My mouth salivates instantly as I rush to the plum tree, branches heavily ladened with bright red globes. A cry of joy falls from my mouth, and I jump up and snatch a fruit from the branch. The skin is smooth under my fingers, and I take a big bite, the crisp skin breaking between my teeth with a satisfying snap. Sugary-sweet juices burst in my mouth and drip down my chin. I moan with contentment and finish the fruit in three more bites before I grab two more.
Tossing the seeds to the ground, I help myself to more, unsure how many I’ve eaten when I finally stop. Juice runs down my fingers, and I wipe them down my pants before collecting half a dozen more to take up into a tree with me.
Mama and I would go fruit picking all the time. She’d stand watch for Shadow Monsters while I scaled trees and threw the fruit down. If we’d known then that I was immune to the undead, it might have made more sense for me to keep guard, especially after Mama had a few close calls.
I miss her terribly, miss hearing her voice, miss her mixed fruit pies. Cradling my plums, I resume my search for the best tree to settle in when a sudden excruciating sharpness digs into my whole body. I shudder, the fruit tumbling out of my grasp and plonking to the ground as my knees buckle.
The ache pulses, and I hold myself tight, riding the pain that shudders through me like broken glass. My lungs tighten and I’m coughing, spitting blood onto the ground. Just as I did back at the Ash Wolves fortress. Something’s really wrong with me. These attacks are coming more frequently, and I don’t feel like myself.
