Bronze

Chapter 20 pt.2

Leah

When I got up, I hugged Lander goodbye. After that, I went inside to get myself a snack before heading upstairs. My stomach was rumbling, and I wasn't about to deny myself food. 

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.

.

The door to the kitchen was wide open when I got there. Not a soul was there, not even a mouse or insect. The house was almost empty. The inside was much like a scene from the Twilight Zone. 

Looking outside, I could only see the retreating form of Lander's back as he rolled the mat back up and put away all the equipment left out by the other groups. I wanted to help him, but I was unsure of when I'd get another opportunity to roam the house without getting spotted.  

I also needed to collect supplies for my trip. 

Sighing, I grabbed a woven basket from a shelf near the door. Along with it, I also took a small cloth to hide the contents, a knife, and matches that I found in the drawer beneath one of the sinks. 

I twirled happily, smiling because I finally felt some semblance of freedom. After taking the food upstairs, I would take a nice steaming bath, prepare a backpack with clothes, and find a hiding place for it. I was still debating on whether or not I should take the spellbook. I was leaning more so on the not side, but I had to weigh in all my options.

"Oof!"

I crashed into a large mass in the middle of the kitchen. I was hoping it was a support pole but realized quickly that it wasn't. It was fleshy and solid, wide with a curved front. It also smelt distinctly like misty rain within deep pine forests. 

He grunted with the impact, gripping my shoulders to keep me from falling on my face. Startled, I slammed the back of my thighs against the long dining table that stretched from one side of the room to the other. Vases wobbled but, luckily, didn't topple over. 

"I knew I smelled you," Kane grumbled. 

I gaped, feeling my heart thud in my chest. "What? Do I smell bad?" I asked. A bright shiny apple on the other side of the room caught my eye. Its red skin looked like stained glass from afar. 

"Not really?" he said as more of a question. He sighed, his hands twitching at his sides with the urge to touch me- I could feel it, just as I had the same urge. "You smell like a freshly baked cinnamon roll, but with an aftertaste of sewage."

I pushed past him, careful not to touch. "That's great. Glad to know I smell like sewage."

I made my way over to the apple and placed it in my basket. Then took another down and took a bite out of it. The juices filled my mouth wonderfully, replenishing the water I had lost while fighting with Lander. 

His eyes bore into the back of my head, next going down the length of my neck to my healed mark on my right shoulder. He paused, breathing slowly as a rush of heat entered his body. 

"Leah, in the eyes of Alla, you're still a rogue. I've done everything I could." 

I stayed rooted by the apples, trying to ignore the hurt in his voice. I needed to stay strong; I needed to get away before I was pulled to him. 

"So, I still smell like a rogue? Is claiming me not enough?" I was more so talking to the sky, secretly thanking the Goddess for allowing me the freedom of still being a rogue. If I were a part of Kane's pack now, I'd then be counted as a traitor for two packs if I ran again, except this time I knew Kane could track me down.