Hello!
Here's another chapter! Thanks for all the support!
~ Lissa
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I marched through the forest with Temp, crawling over fallen trees, ducking underneath low branches, stepping around trees, and swatting away insects. My brown hair blew softly and sweat rolled down my forehead, despite the cool breeze. My combat boots crushed the muddy earth, snapping twigs and crunching decaying leaves. Temp hiked in front of me, his broad shoulders shifting back and forth, his back wet from sweat. Every once in a while, he tripped and swore under his breath, giving me a nasty glare when I laughed afterwards. Like me, his cheeks were red and his breathing had increased, becoming heavier. The forest was extremely humid and honestly, a little creepy with suspicious sounds coming from all directions and clouds moving above, shifting the sunlight. "I-I need a break," I blurted, taking a deep breath. "Temp, slow down."
He stopped and reluctantly, whipped around. "We need to keep moving."
"If they were here, we would've ran into them already," I told him, my voice raising. "Maybe when their Alpha disappeared, they ran-off."
"I doubt that," he argued, approaching me. "Wolves, especially werewolves, never leave one of their own behind. Not even if a fellow member is injured or slowing them down. They hunt for them, care for them, until they're back to health." I knew this, but a part of me just wanted to leave and return to the truck where there was air-conditioning. "With their Alpha missing, they wouldn't just runoff. They'd stick around, search for him, and take care of each other - they don't have orders right now. Besides, with the government, where else would they go? It's too dangerous for them to be moving areas, Blue."
I exhaled loudly. "Yeah, they'd search for him, somewhere else."
"They don't have orders right now," he repeated, narrowing his eyes. "They can't do anything - they can't leave - without an order from their Alpha and since he's missing, they can't do shit, understand?"
"The Beta has probably taken over," I bickered, placing my hands on my knees. "He's probably giving the orders right now and he could've - "
"That's not how it works," he interrupted, sourly. "For someone with a GPA as high as yours, you should know these things." With that, he whipped around and continued hiking through the forest, not sparing a glance back at me. Reluctantly, I trailed after him, feeling myself becoming stinky and itchy. "If we don't find them before dark, we'll leave, I promise."
I stepped over a fallen branch. "What are we even going to say to them?"
"Leave that up to me," he responded, seriously. "I've got this."
"You know, it isn't safe for us to be here," I warned, glancing around, nervously. "Not because of the werewolves, but because of Torments. They live in forests, Temp, and they're probably watching us right now." I scanned the branches above, searching for their dark, bouncing figures, leaping from tree-to-tree. I started tracing the mark on my wrist, nibbling on my bottom lip. "Who knows what else wanders this forest. . . "
"Gypsies," he replied, calmly. "They're known to hide among trees."
"Great," I muttered, sarcastically. "And, you're not worried at all?"
"No, not really."
"Why hasn't the government started studying them?" I asked, suddenly spooked by the question in my head. "I mean, they're only focused on werewolves, but why not the rest of the Supernaturals?"
