Not Just an Omega

"Pain is gain."

Chapter 13

   Traveling slower than Max would've liked, my ankle still hurting, we get to the cave around late noon. Tapping her finger, Max says the chant and motions me to step in. She quickly comes in after and seals the entrance. Wordlessly, Max trudges to the back of the cave and lays down onto the pile of blankets, curling them around her, and facing the wall. I sit on the same flat rock I sat on last time and pick up a book with a wrinkled and creased cover.

   "Is this a good book?" I ask Max, trying to get her to talk to me. She doesn't reply. I keep trying and add, "It has a cool cover. A bulky brown dragon flying over water, wings spread out. He looks really happy."

   "Wings of Fire: The Dragonets Prophecy. By Tui T. Sutherland. That's book one, and the dragon on the cover is a Mudwing named Clay. He's nice," Max says, still curled up. "I've read the book twice, but I haven't managed to finish-or find-the rest of the series."

   "Where did you find it? This doesn't seem like a book the pack would keep around-even if they kept it."

   "I took it from one of those book stands at the corner of a road. But not your town, the one to the north of us," Max pauses and then continues. "It's a good book, I highly recommend it if you like dragons."

   "I'll give it a shot. I don't usually read about dragons or mythical creatures. More of the realistic fiction genre. But this sounds interesting," I compliment. Max makes an 'mhmm' sound and falls silent again. Tapping the book, I debate whether to keep talking to Max. But she obviously doesn't want to talk right now, so I don't say anything else.

   I decide to crack the book open and start reading. I'm pretty sure Max fell asleep because her breathing sounds slow, but she may just be staring at the wall. Though even if she's still awake, she doesn't talk to me for the rest of the day. Ignoring the fact that I haven't eaten in who knows how long, I let Max stay there as I read A Nightwing Guide to the Dragons of Pyrrhia and beginning of the book.

The Dragonet Prophecy:
When the war has lasted twenty years...
The dragonets will come.
When the land is soaked in blood and tears...
The dragonets will come...

**********

   It's been a week since the run-in with Laney. My ankle and side are feeling much better, and Max doesn't cradle her arm as much. We've fallen into a routine of waking up, going out and foraging for food, avoiding other wolves, finding more food, and going back to the cave. But foraging for good is harder than I'd thought, especially since we continually have to dodge other wolves doing the exact same thing to do it. There's a constant twinge in my side and my clothes fit a lot more loosely around my figure than I'd like. Every stash of berries or unsuspecting animal caught in Max's snare that we find helps dull that ache, but it still won't go away. No wonder Tree-Dweller was so skinny.

   Max has been pretty distant lately, not talking more than she has to. I try to strike up a chat, ask about things, but after a while Max just falls quiet. I think she's shaken up about whatever she and Laney went through. Which gives me a lot of time to think about an endless amount of things, besides the fact that my health is declining. Like the pack, my life before, Reily, LeAnne—

   On second thought, I don't like thinking about my life before.

   Though I've known Max for weeks, I realize I don't actually know anything about her. Since Max acted so off when we were at Laney's den, questions have been swirling in my mind. Who was she before she became an Omega? Who were her parents? Did she have any siblings? And anything about Max's life before I came to the pack. I don't want to bring up any unnecessary past pains and I want to help Max if I can. But not when Max disappears in the woods every day, leaving me to find stuff that won't kill me.