Everything Anew

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three

Lila

When night approached, I tended to stay inside. Nathan would bring me food, and I found it endearing each time he went to get me more when he thought I wasn't eating enough. I made sure I was though, despite how unsettled my stomach felt. I made sure to eat everything on my plate to keep my strength up.

To keep warm, I kept myself bundled in my jacket for most of the day. Whenever I was offered new clothes, I rejected it. I wouldn't bathe, wouldn't do anything that meant I had to take my clothes off, and it wasn't entirely because I was afraid. The gun was still hiding beneath my jacket, waiting to be used when or if the time came.

My wolf eagerly pushed for me to shift, but I promised her once these days passed, she'd be able to run free in the forest again. Just a little longer. I promised.

Nathan was beside me, sitting with his legs out in front of him, squinting in the dim light of his flashlight as he scanned through papers. I glanced over curiously, but realized the text wasn't in a language I understood.

"What language is that?" I wondered.

"Latin."

I arched a brow, and when he looked at me he laughed. I hadn't heard that sound in days. "I can't read it, if that's what you're thinking. The others are in English, I was just told to read what I could."

Nathan moved closer to me, my skin prickling when his hand rested on my knee and he drew imaginary circles against it. "The Rebels say that there's a shipment coming through tomorrow. Since the attack, they lost a lot of their pack, so this will help them."

My stomach felt heavy, and I wondered what was being shipped. I wished he could see how horrible this reality really was, that the Frosted Fangs also lost some of their pack, that in the next few days, they'd lose more, but Nathan was only worried about what the Rogue's were interested in.

I stilled his hand with mine, making his entire focus shift to me. "What if they kill the Shadow Pack Nate?"

Grey eyes shone, and his pupils sharpened at the thought. "They won't."

"They already tried." I said as patiently as I could. "If they use them against us, what will we do then?"

Nathan watched me, the look pained, but he turned back to the paperwork and continued to look it over. "They won't touch my...the pack." His lower lip caught between his teeth, the battle within him going back and forth. "If they want me to stay they won't."

"But they can touch me?" I whispered.

The papers were tossed to the floor, and Nathan scowled at me. His gaze made me hold my breath, but I didn't look away. "They can't touch you either."

"They can Nate. Any day now you can turn your back, just like you did at the river, and they can take advantage. What'll happen next time? If it's two men instead of one? I couldn't go up against that."

A fury lit Nathan's eyes, but it wasn't towards me. He closed them and shook his head, knowing all too well he was communicating with his other half, trying to understand the emotions welling up inside him. When they opened, he looked so much like his old self that I let out a shaky breath and felt my chest ache.

"It won't happen, I can guarantee it." Before I could ask, he continued. "You trust me." He said, not as a question but as a statement, but I nodded my head anyways to verify it. "Then stay still."

Nathan moved to kneel in front of me, the flashlight facing the other side of the tent, making his entire face and body cloaked in shadows. I barely tracked his eyes moving to my lips, down to my neck and freezing in place. I wanted to say something, to ask what he was going to do, but he lowered his head towards my neck instead.