Flight 118

Chapter Seven

A few hours later I was sitting on a log in front of a campfire. It seemed Jonah, after hearing the fact there were more survivors from the past waiting to be rescued, had somehow called a halt to our journey. I do not know how, as he had not said anything aloud, but we had quickly stopped moving.

When I stepped out of the buggy with Jonah's help, because it seems he is very protective of me no matter the circumstance, I saw men appearing around us in the dark.

Some of Jonah's men got busy starting the campfire and carrying over a fallen log for me to sit on. No one spoke to me and no one came to sit near me once I sat down. Some seemed to stand guard around us and some were sitting on the ground on the other side of the fire.

As for Jonah, he was standing a few feet away from me talking quietly to a man who was just as tall as him but slightly leaner. The man he was speaking to suddenly noticed I was watching them and met my eyes. A small, gentle smile graced his lips and said something to Jonah while still looking at me.

Suddenly Jonah turned towards me and came my way, with the man following.

Kneeling on the ground in front of me, Jonah took my hands in his. He smiled and said, "Emilia, this is Marcus. He is my Beta. This means he is like my second-in-command."

Marcus stepped forward and bowed a little, "Nice to meet you, Emilia. I'd shake your hand but it seems my Alpha here has a bit of a possessive streak and is claiming you anyway he can." He laughed loudly and shook his head, "Don't worry, he's still an alright guy and knows he has nothing to worry about from me."

I stared at him with a slight smile, glancing from him to Jonah and back. Marcus seemed much more approachable than Jonah, and even though he was attractive- he still was not as attractive as Jonah.

Licking my lips, since my throat was dry, I smiled at him and said, "It's nice to meet you too... um.. but if you don't mind me asking, what can I do for you?"

Both Marcus's and Jonah's eyebrows rose and a smile graced their lips, but Marcus was the one that laughed once again. Marcus knelt also and responded, "What makes you think you can do anything for me?"

Feeling a bit more comfortable and confident around someone who seemed so normal, I laughed.

"No one here has spoken to me other than Jonah and now you. So you must need something from me. And seeing as you were speaking to Jonah right after I told him about my plane crash, I would bet it has something to do with that."

Marcus looked at me with wide eyes and then chuckled and glanced at Jonah, "You have a very smart mate, Jonah. You are lucky."

Jonah grunted but smiled as he stared at me happily.

Marcus continued, " Well, Em- May I call you Em? It doesn't matter. I'll still do it, now. You told Jonah that almost all the survivors are still there waiting to be rescued. I am wondering what you can tell us about them?"

At first, I was slightly irritated. He already found a nickname for me without caring whether I was okay with it or not. But a part of it was so normal and comforting that I realized I did not really care.

My brows furrowed and I pulled my hands from Jonah's to cross my arms, "Well, if I remember correctly there are 48 people still there. Five of us went for help- three of us are female. I know another girl was caught with me a-and auctioned off. And- wait, wait, what does this have to do with anything? Are we going to help them?"

Marcus glanced at Jonah and this time Jonah spoke to me, "Emilia, mine. Of course, we will help them. But we must know what we are walking into and how many people we may need to help. And, you must understand, though we will still help them, this is a world where there are way too many men compared to women. Many men have never even seen a woman, and it will be easier to find more men to help if they know there may be something in it for them."