Chapter Two
Raven
We didn’t stop moving for quite some time. Ahead of us, the jungle was quiet and peaceful aside from the occasional rodent scampering to get out of our way. Behind us, the screams eventually quieted, and I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing the ramifications of such encroaching silence. The entire security team of my expedition was dead and only Alix and I had survived. At least their deaths had been quick. In that aspect, it was merciful, and I held onto that fact to keep myself from falling into a pit of shock and despair.
Eventually, Alix stopped running and gently put me back down on the ground, but I just swayed back and forth in disbelief. I felt numb, overwhelmed by what I had just seen with my own eyes. The memories of the awful deaths of my friends remained, playing over and over again in my head.
“I think we’ve gone far enough for now. I don’t think we were followed. Let’s just stay hidden for now, until we can come up with a plan for what to do next,” he murmured softly, his tone heavily concerned for me. I tried not to show that I noticed.
Looking around, he spotted and pointed to a massive evergreen tree. I looked up, hardly even able to see the peak, it was so tall. Absentmindedly, I thought that a tree that big must be positively ancient. I hadn’t realized that they could grow so large. He took my hand in his and pulled me forward toward it, breaking my train of thought. The feel of his skin on mine was comforting and I found it easier to draw in one breath after another. Slowly, he approached the giant tree and pushed one of the heavy boughs to the side, and I gasped in wonder when I saw what was beyond.
Inside was a huge, tent-like shelter created by the limbs of the tree. The branches were covered in fresh green needles, providing just enough light to see inside. I marveled at the little sanctuary, formed by nature as though she knew we needed her protection right now.
I allowed Alix to pull me forward. Once inside the natural refuge, I breathed low, heavy with relief, as if the tree branches took everything away, leaving just the two of us hidden and safe, at least for the time being. Alix released my hand and I sat down on a rather large rock. My fingers pressed against the cool boulder and I allowed myself to relax just a little for the first time in hours.
This whole journey was turning out to be far more than I ever bargained for.
I was a well-respected research doctor in Tharia, one of the best, and Genwell Technologies knew it. They paid me well for both my intellect and my work, and I’d always taken pride in that. I was on the cusp of success, posed to change the world with this single discovery, and now, it was all for nothing if I couldn’t gather the last required ingredient. I’d never finish my work without the help of my security team. This mission was doomed to failure. I knew that now.
Alix sat behind me and took my hand in his, squeezing it gently.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
“They took my bag. All of my notes. Everything gone,” I replied numbly.
I closed my eyes, feeling my body sway just a little bit. I breathed in the air, and it smelled too sweet, too natural and wild. Not like the clinical, purified smell of the city.
And then it hit me.
We didn’t have any of the injectable suppressant that we’d brought along with us.
Not even a single dose.
My heart skittered to a stop.
I knew how the drug worked. Without a constant supply, our bodies could not maintain the threshold dose to keep it functioning. Once the dose was interrupted, it broke down rather quickly, its half-life consisting of only about twenty-four hours. When it began to decay, it would no longer keep our primal behaviors at bay. I’d be vulnerable.
I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth and sucked in a harsh, unsteady breath.
Fuck. This couldn’t be happening.
My mind raced, trying to come up with a solution before it was too late.
“Alix, we have to go back to the airship. There will be more doses of the suppressant there,” I whispered, my voice hoarse with fear. I shivered, remembering that I had taken some doses and stored them in my backpack, but the man who had attacked us had taken that too. He’d taken my entire life when he had stolen my bag. My notes, my plans, but most important, the drugs we needed to survive.
Alix just shook his head.
“You saw what that beast did to our campsite. That kind of explosion would have destroyed the airship and anything in its path. There won’t be anything left. Plus, you know that with excessive heat, the drug deteriorates into inorganic elements almost immediately and then it’s completely useless. Even if there were a few injections that escaped the fire, that much heat would have destroyed whatever was left,” he said calmly, but I could hear the tenseness building in his tone.
“We have to check,” I replied, my desperation readily apparent in my own voice.
“It isn’t far, but the chances of finding intact suppressant are slim,” he said. I saw his jaw twitch, setting firmly as he stared back at me. A hint of sad acceptance came over him and I began to panic. This wasn’t good.
“Then we need to get back to the city. Right away,” I countered. There had to be something we could do.
“It will take us days to travel that far. The airship took us over a hundred miles from the city,” he answered, and my stomach dropped straight down to my toes. At once, I couldn’t pull in enough air and I felt claustrophobic. I jumped to my feet and paced back and forth, trying to figure out some kind of solution to the problem at hand, but nothing came to mind.
If we couldn’t find any usable doses of suppressant or get back to the city in time, we’d be defenseless against our instincts. I chewed my lip, beginning to panic. I would be so helpless and exposed. An unclaimed omega in the wilds...