Her Wild Mate

Chapter 3

"Why is the engine light on?" I asked, furrowing my brows, and sent Xavier a dirty look.

He made a face and shrugged.

"It's nothing. The temperature of the engine is fine, the dashboard too."

Mikah groaned from the backseat and I glanced at him.

"You didn't take it for a check-up as Casey asked, did you?" He glared at my boyfriend, his dark skin making his teeth look even whiter than usual. His braided locks fell over his forehead as he leaned forward.

I smirked at him and turned my attention to Xavier. We were going to have a talk after we reached the hotel. He never listened to me and I was always right. But his stubbornness was starting to get to me and I wasn't going to keep silent. Lately, everything about him was annoying me. The way he talked, looked at me in displeasure, like now, and the way he never listened when I confronted him about our problems.

"Trust me, the car is fine. I've been using it for years and-"

His words were cut off by the smoke coming out of the roof. The jeep started coughing and shaking us with its (I hoped not final) efforts.

"Really?!" I exclaimed and bent forward, my irritation on the brink of an explosion. "What were you saying about the engine and the temperature?!"

Xavier pulled over on the empty, full of trees road, and slammed his fist on the wheel.

"Damn it!" he cursed and jumped out of the car.

I clenched my jaw, tracking him with my eyes.

"Is he ever gonna learn?" Mikah sighed behind me and opened the door.

I followed.

"So, what's the prognosis?" I put my hands on my waist, staring at the open engine compartment. Smoke was still coming out of it, so we had to step back and keep our skin away from it.

Xavier looked at me, his blue eyes shallow. His shoulders slumped.

"We'll have to continue on foot." He turned to the forest on our left. "And if we want to reach our destination faster, we'll have to go through the woods."

"Woods?!" Mikah exclaimed. "Are you crazy, man?! We came here to investigate the human disappearances and if they were really caused by the turned! What if our assumptions are correct and they are hiding somewhere in the forests?! We are only three, we won't be able to handle a whole pack, or packs, for that matter! You know what these beasts are capable of!"

Xavier rubbed his palms on his face.

"Casey, you say what you want us to do. You're the scouts' leader."

I nodded in thought. I knew what my boyfriend was suggesting was risky, but we were in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of winter, with an almost dead road. We usually used these roads to avoid humans because some of the werewolves had started holding a deep grudge against them. They were guilty our kind was nearly extinct.

I took my phone out of my jeans' pocket and glanced at it. No signal. It had been like this for more than two hours. If we had to walk by the road, the possibility we'd get noticed by the wolves was much bigger than it was if we were in the woods. And also, if we took the more dangerous route, we would reach the hotel faster.

"Let's take the shortcut." I nodded, examining the thick trees on my left.

"Casey!" Mikah exclaimed in horror and pulled at some of his braids. He was dramatic, as usual.

...

Only if I'd known how his concerns would turn out to be true. My heart ached for my lost friend... And Xavier...