A Fox Among Wolves

Chapter Twenty- Nine

Leaving the bunker is hard. It had been warm down there and relatively safe, so it takes a lot of effort for me to force myself back out into the cold drizzling rain. At least we were able to sleep in peace for once, the lock on the door assuring us that no one could get inside.

Alex had made a large bowl of porridge for breakfast, some dried fruits and honey mixed in to make the mush a little more appealing. After handing out medicine to everyone, we had decided to head out. No matter how much we all wanted to stay, we don't have much time left to get to the safe place. We are already struggling to make it there before the baby is due.

Once we had cleaned the place up, making it look better than we had left it, we trudged back out to the cold fall air outside. Link had taken a few minutes to cover the hatch with leaves and dirt, making it invisible to anyone who isn't looking for it.

"I'm tired already," Quinn grumbles, wrapping his arms tightly around him.

We are all still pretty sick, feeling slightly better from a good night's sleep, but being out here again makes the aches and pains so much worse. Quinn leans into my side when I grab his hand, both of us taking comfort in the other's proximity.

We have been through a lot together, both of us being without parents from a young age. This has made us cling to one another, me being a mother hen to Quinn and my best friend offering me the love and comfort I had gone so long without. Lena's death is hard, still makes my heart ache when I think of her. But if Quinn had been the one to die, I don't think I would have been able to heal.

Maybe that is wrong, seeing as Lena was my friend just as Quinn is, but I can't help the fear coursing through me at the thought. The possibility of losing my best friend is just as scary as the thought of losing my mate.

Braeden and Link walk ahead of us, eyes ever vigilant as they look around the forest. In the beginning, we had been careless, not knowing how important it was to keep an eye open to the forest around us. We learned our lesson, though, after Quinn got taken by that beast. Now, all of us are on high alert, tense in anticipation of an attack.

Alex follows silently behind us, a knife strapped to his waist and a large stick in his hand that he is using to help him walk. I know he is only keeping it in case another creature tries to attack. He has surprised me over the last few weeks. Gone is the scared person whom we rescued all those months ago. Ever since leaving our home, he has blossomed into someone else. It seems as if he is becoming what he was before he stumbled into our back yard.

I'm happy for him. He struggled so much, but now he is thriving.

We walk for hours, stopping every hour or so to take short breaks. As the sun starts to set, Braeden finds us a place just a few feet off the path for us to sleep for the night. He helps to unfasten the straps of my pack before taking it from me.

Quinn and I immediately sit down once we are free from the packs. My feet are aching, and baby has had the hiccups for the last thirty minutes. Both are driving me crazy. Quinn seems just as irritated as he stretches his back, looking like he is trying to relieve some aches in his back.

Alex gets a fire going easily enough, fashioning some kind of device with a hook in the center that rests above the fire. It is far enough away from the flames that the sticks will not catch on fire, but close enough that it will be warm to the touch. Once that is situated, he pulls out a small travel kettle that he is so fond of, filling it with water before hanging it on the hook.

He starts to dig around in his pack then, and I turn my attention over to my mate. Braeden is helping Link to lay out the sleeping bags over an unbound tarp, protecting them from the muddy ground. Another tarp is strung between three trees, creating a sort of protection from the ever present rain. Now that I think about it, I try not to groan at the thought that I am sitting in mud. My pants will be caked with it.