Chapter 35

Jonas I felt like a million bucks about how Kelly looked at me with pride when I was able to intemperate and get a map from the locals. I could tell she was a bit annoyed with me last night and was hoping I could make up for it today. Looks like we were off to a good, no great, start. Although our primary mission was to gather the ingredients for the elixir, I secretly hoped this excursion would bring Kelly and I closer together.

We were close for so many years, up until we found out we weren’t fated, that is. Part of me wishes I hadn’t dropped Kelly after the first time we slept together, but it looks like being away from her paid off, because here I was on this mission with her. She chose me to be one of her three to come along. Now if only she would choose me for a much bigger decision.

“I would strongly advise you to keep your eyes peeled for predators. The forest has many poisonous plants and animals, werewolf or not, they can hinder our abilities and slow us down.” Emmett said from the back of the single file line we were in.

“Why don’t we just shift?” I asked. “Kelly, you can shift on your meds, right?”

“I can. I chose not to if it’s not necessary.” She answered carefully.

“I’ve never even seen your wolf. It’s just us three. Why not shift now?”

“No Jonas.” She said firmly. “I’m not going to shift in a foreign place unless it’s completely necessary.”

“Why not? I dont understand, how bad is Keres anyway?”

“Drop it.” Emmett said. “She obviously doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“Do you even know what her wolf is like?” I asked, picking up Emmett’s curious glances at Kelly.

“I-” Emmett began, but shut up when Kelly shot him a look.

“Why won’t you talk about this?” I kept pushing. “I’ve known you your whole life and have never seen your wolf. Heck, I never even knew her name until almost a year after you got her.”

Kelly abruptly stopped and grabbed me by the scruff of my collar. “Let. It. Go.” She growled, her eyes flicking silver, telling me her wolf was just under the surface.

Huh. I wonder if I could get Keres to come out on my own. Kelly said she was a b***h, but maybe she just needed some attention from a mate. She’s lost three now. That is as much Keres’s loss as it is Kelly’s. Maybe if she met my wolf she would settle down a bit.

“You would be wise to listen, boy,” Thorin chimed in.

“You’re her trainer. Have you met Keres?” I asked.

“Vstrecha s Keresom tochno kak vstrecha s dyavolom.” Thorin rambeled off.

I guess I should have mentioned I learned some Russian. I didnt speak much, but I knew enough to decipher a few words. Metting Keres something, something the devil. Now I’m really curious. If Eastwood was comparing her to the devil, how bad was she really?

“New topic please.” Kelly practically growled. “Like, oh I dont know, what our plans are for getting the flower?”

“Walk, rest, walk, rest, walk, find flower, rest, leave.” Throin said.

“Would it be easier to shift and run? Kelly could hang onto one of our backs while we ran.” I suggested.

“It would take less time,” Thorin agreed.

“That is up to her,” Emmett shrugged.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” she said firmly.

“You wouldnt be.” I reassured her.

“Fine.” She said, huffing and stopping. She looked between the three of us. “Well, what are you all waiting for? Strip.”

Forget a pissing contest, this was the top tier comparison. Nothing like stripping in front of the girl you have a crush on next to two other fit, good-looking guys. I had a feeling they were also pining for Kelly. Why else would they agree to go on this deadly mission except for the girl they had their eyes set on? So there we were, and there she was with a cocky look on her face from getting a good look at all of our-

“Hand me your clothes.” Kelly said, interrupting my thoughts.

She quickly packed away all of our things and handed each of our wolves our bags before climbing onto my back, letting Thorin’s wolf lead the way. Time to show Kelly how strong I really am.

– – – – – – – – –

Kelly I cant believe how hard Jonas was pushing to meet my wolf. I went through this with him years ago. I thought he let it go, but obviously not. Keres was chomping at the bit to come out, ever since Derek left us at the altar, she had been bubbling just beneath the surface. I even took a double dose of my medication to keep her at bay and it didn’t seem to touch her. I hadn’t even had the chance to talk to Emmett about it yet. Thorin assured me ahead of time that he brought the means to control Keres, but would it be enough?

Climbing onto Jonas’s wolf, Jones’s back, I let them take us deeper and deeper into the forest. Carrying some extra weight was the least he could do after pushing the Keres situation so hard. If only he knew. But I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I didn’t want him to meet Keres and give me the same look that everyone but Throin did. The terrified, fearful, ‘what’s wrong with her’ look. Even Emmett gave me that look once when he saw Keres coming to the surface. She hadn’t even shifted us and he was already giving us such a confused look. And he was a doctor for goddess sake. He was supposed to be trained to not give funny looks.

“Everything okay?” Thorin linked me.

“Fine. Just a touchy subject is all.”

“Keres is not all of you, only a part. She does not define you.”

“Thanks Thorin.”

We continued along for several hours, stopping once for lunch. The guys killed some bigger game, but I wasn’t about to eat it raw and I wasn’t going to shift to eat it, so I made a small fire and started cooking it while Thorin and Jonas went ahead to scope out the trail.

“Jaguar, yum.” Emmett said, taking a seat next to me.

“It will be soon.” I smiled.

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay…I actually wanted to talk to you about my meds.” I said, clearing my throat.

I learned over the years that I hated these conversations. My bad news usually meant going back to the drawing board, which was a total mood killer.

“What about them?” He asked, concerned.

“I just um-“

“The water around here is loaded with stuff that even our wolves shouldn’t drink. But Thorin said he brought some special purifying straws we could use.” Jonas said, tromping back up to our mini-camp.

“I have more on the plane, not to worry.” Emmett said, totally misreading my meaning.

No matter. I could talk to him about it later. Maybe once we have stopped again. But then again, why should I even bother? It’s not like he could do anything to help from the middle of the rainforest. It might even distract him from the more important mission at hand.

“Ooo cooked Jaguar.” Jonas said, licking his lips as I took the cooked meat off of my spear.

“You had yours.” I said, pointing the spear in his direction.

“Hey, you still owe me half a sandwich.” He pointed back.

I looked him in the eyes as I took a bite of the meat, a smirk creeping up on my face as his face dropped.

“We should pack up soon, nightfall will be here before we know it,” Thorin said.

“Lets get moving.” I nodded, stomping out my tiny fire while I finished eating.

We continued for a few more hours before Thorin stopped us in a small clearing around sunset. The trees were insanely tall and we were so far from any civilization, the stars would be beautiful tonight, I’m sure. If only it were less humid. I felt like I could cut the air, it felt so thick.

“We make camp here. We take shifts watching.” Thorin grunted, already starting to pick up some branches to make a fire with.

I dont know how successful our fire would be here though. Everything felt wet now that we were really far in. Traveling with our wolves did shorten the journey by at least a day if I had to guess. Hopefully, we can find the flower tomorrow night or maybe early the following day and get out of here. And dad said this trip was hard. Ha.

“Should we draw straws or…?” Jonas began to ask.

“I’ll take the first watch,” Emmett said.

“Second,” I added.

“Third,” Thorin grunted.

“I guess I’ll take the fourth watch.”