Those In The Forest

Epilogue: Reagan

Fifteen years later

"Andrea!" Lennox yelled after her daughter.

          She and I hid behind a tree, trying to hold in our laughter. Her perfect brown eyes shimmered when she peeked around the tree, trying to locate her sire. She combed her short black hair behind her ears. A style she had me convince her parents to do for her.

          Her brown skin was glowing in the spring sun. She looked just like Avha, save for her eyes. She got those beauties from her sire.

           Andrea turned 14 today. Since she was five, she has wanted to play hide-and-seek on her birthday every year. She always chose me to be on her team. I knew it was because I could deflect my mates' and Alpha's senses.

          "Shh!" I put my index finger to my lips, trying to stifle my own laughter.

          She giggled, and I knew it was going to give us away.

          "Hiding with a teen probably wasn't the best idea, Little Fawn." Hazel teased through the bond.

          I rolled my eyes. "I think you are just jealous me and this teen beat you all every year," I said, grabbing Andrea's hand and pulling her away from the tree.

          We use the same tactic every year, and it works every time: we scent where we are hiding and move to a different spot. The goal is to stay hidden until the timer goes out.

          "I can hear your little heart racing, beautiful girl! I will find you!" Avah said, coming in closer to our scents. I could hear every step. Andrea and I were now trying to climb a tree. Going up high would be best this year.

          "They are getting closer!" Andrea mouthed to me. Teaming up all the time, we perfected reading lips so we could communicate without being caught. I told her we should try something less risky like sign language. So, for the past few months, we've been practicing.

          Rose and Iris are trying to corner us. I signed to her. Unlike her, I actually practice on a daily basis.

          She turned to where she heard them chattering with Hazel and Ivy.

          Don't know up. She signed back.

          I had to suppress a smile. I'll get on her later about not practicing more. I knew what she meant though.

          My mates and her parents were still looking down for us. They didn't know we climbed up a tree.

          We had five more minutes until we won. We just had to sit tight until then.

          The game is supposed to last thirty minutes. One year, she and I extended the game. We managed to stay hidden for an hour. We shifted and found a creek to hide near. The rushing sounds of the water muffled our noises. It was the best place.

         There's going to be a year when they find us. Then we lose our winning streak. I signed.

          She smiled.

          We need to make the best of this year.

          My eyes widened a grammatical sentence. I was proud of her.

          You got it. I signed back.

↞ ↞ ↞ ↞ ↞ ↠ ↠ ↠ ↠ ↠

The timer went off, and just like that, Andrea and I won. Racing back to the cabin, Lennox grumbled with Iris by the front door.

           "Every fucking year!" Lennox snarled.