Bronze

Chapter 22 pt.2

Leah

"So," I started as I felt the numbness from lack of blood flow spread to my toes. "Where did you get the tattoo?"

He grunted; it was his way of telling me he wasn't going to talk about it. 

We had been walking for hours, stopping periodically so I could use the bathroom, and then he would pick me back up and continue walking. 

I mentioned once how easy it would be the shift and carry me in his wolf form, but he scowled at me, made a weird type of grunt in the back of his throat, and carried on in the direction we had been going. Always straight. 

I was contemplating going to sleep but was too afraid of being vulnerable around this guy. I was already outmatched as it was, but being asleep meant being even less defended. While I was awake, I could fight. However, being tired didn't help me either. 

"Can you translate the words?"

He didn't respond. 

My body bounced on top of his shoulder as he walked, moving with his long strides. Up, down...Up, down...Up, down.

"Not even going to talk to me, huh?" I asked slightly annoyed. The numbness reached the tips of my toes, so I wiggled them awake. Pins and needles jabbed at every muscle in my feet, but I tried concentrating on the grassy floor below me rather than the discomfort. 

We were headed south, that I knew for certain. And we would be in Markus's pack very soon. An hour maybe? 

A large hawk flew overhead. It's massive talons flexed as if it were imagining capturing a mouse. Its beady yellow eyes zoomed in on me, head robotically tilting as he inspected. He swooped down, only to fly back up and repeat the process two more times. Then it flew away. 

"You smell very different," the guy commented after another hour of silence. Startled out of my thoughts, I didn't respond right away. "You have differing scents. Did you know?"

I almost laughed, but then was reminded that I was being carried off to my death. "I've been told I smell like a cinnamon roll mixed with sewage," I said, biting my lip distastefully. 

"That's true." I could hear the smirk in his voice. "But there's something else, too. You smell like a male, a very powerful male, and then your scent shifts to a more pleasant, commanding one like cinnamon, but more potent. Powerful. You have alpha blood, do you not?"

I shrugged as best as I could while hanging upsidedown. "Not that it's any of your business," I said through clenched teeth. "But my mate happens to be an alpha."

"Ah, that explains it," he said as if he had some great epiphany. 

I wiggled my toes again, discomfort winning the forefront of my mind. Sensing my irritation, the guy grunted with a smile, bounced me once roughly, and placed me on my feet before him. I stood barely to his shoulders while on my toes. 

"Walk," he commanded sternly. Taking me by the elbow, he guided me through the forest, yanking me every time I couldn't keep his pace and grumbling threats in my ear. 

"You're not what I expected," he mumbled softly as we passed the border. The smell was the same as I remembered. Thick. Pungent. Woodsy.

"Same goes for you," I replied back with a glare. 

His grip on my arm tightened slightly, enough to warn me to watch my mouth. Biting the inside of my cheek, I stopped myself from another insult. 

Three searchers that had been patrolling the line saw us coming. One came up to us while the others ran off signaling to prepare a 'chamber' for me. I assumed they weren't talking about a nice parlor for me to rest in.