Nature is not a place to visit 11

Chapter 11
*“There’s none so blind as those who will not listen.”*
*Neil Gaiman*
It took us about an hour to properly set up camp and cram some food down our throats. By the time Marcus had come
back with the group he patrolled with and confirmed the clearing was secure for us to stay in, I was more than ready to
pass out. You’d think that I’d be wide awake knowing what was to come, but I’d been running on adrenaline since the moment I volunteered for this suicide mission.
Not even the threat of impending death or the bright sun beating down on me was enough to stop me from closing my
eyes and cocooning myself into a sleeping bag. Before I drifted off, the last thing I saw was Rae’s clothed back as she
pulled her sleeping bag next to mine.
When I fell asleep, I dreamed of tanned fingers. They ran down my bare arms, shoulders, my waist. I couldn’t see who
those tanned fingers belonged to, but the touch was electric – like nothing I’d ever felt in my life. If this was the last
dream I ever experienced, well…it was a damn good one.
And then I woke up to shouts and frantic voices.
With my heart hammering in my chest, I was on my feet before I’d even blinked my eyes completely open, scanning for
the source of the danger. My first thought was the Blood Moons. Had they found us? Had our location been
compromised?
But as I looked around the clearing, I realized there was no blood, no fight, nothing that signaled we were in real danger.
The sun was creeping below the horizon, which meant that I’d probably been asleep for several hours.
What I did see was about half of our warriors standing at attention and Marcus standing in the middle of them, looking more frantic than I’d ever seen them. When he caught sight of me, his eyes widened and I could’ve sworn I saw relief
flash across his face. “Olivia!” he barked, “You’re still here.”
I could only imagine how confused I must’ve looked as I made my way over to him. “Of course I’m still here,” I said, “You
said we were sleeping through the day. What’s going on?”
I cast another glance around the clearing. “Where is everyone?” I asked, “Did they go to the crypt already?” Something
akin to anger crossed Marcus’ face, and dread pooled in my stomach. Something was *wrong*, that was obvious.
Beside me, Luke looked even more frazzled than Marcus, his blue eyes wide with worry.
*There were twenty-seven of us when we fell asleep, but now, it looks like we’ve only got…thirteen?*
None of the remaining faces belonged to Rae, and that worried me more than anything else.
Marcus’ face twisted with anger. “It was Rae, I know it was,” he said, his voice barely above a growl, “She convinced half
the group that waiting and resting was a waste of time, that if they left immediately, they could catch the Blood Moons
off guard and kill their Alpha tonight. Luke was the first one to wake up, and they were already gone.”
My stomach dropped.
*No, no, no.*
*Rae wouldn’t be this stupid.*
But even as I thought it, our conversation before I fell asleep ran through my brain. Of course she would be this stupid.
She knew that she couldn’t convince Marcus to go along with her idea, but some of the other warriors had seemed
receptive to her plan before we left.
“I was the first one to wake up,” Luke chimed in, “They were already long gone by then.”
“How far ahead of us do you think they are?” I asked.
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “At least five hours, maybe six. They got a good head start.”
The pit in my stomach only grew larger. “We’ll never catch up to them,” I realized aloud.
“Not before they reach the Blood Moon pack, no,” Marcus said, his eyebrows pinched together in anger.
*There’s only fourteen of them. There’s no way they’ll survive a fight against the Blood Moons like that. We were already
pushing our luck with twenty-seven, and Rae cut that in half.*
Hot, pulsing anger rushed through me as I pictured my best friend’s face in my brain. How could she do this? She was
going to get herself killed. No, she was going to get them all killed. I was about to lose my best friend to her own
stubbornness.
*I should’ve smacked some sense into her when I had the chance because clearly, logic won’t get through her thick
skull.*
“We may not be able to catch them in time,” Marcus said, “But if we leave now, maybe we’ll be able to provide backup
before it’s too late. We can only hope that Rae’s original plan holds some merit…” He trailed off, and I could see worry
and fear lurking beneath his mask of anger.
It was familiar.
*It’s not too late.*
*It’s not too late*.
I repeated that like a mantras as I tried not to think about what might happen if we were too late.
*If Rae and the warriors she took can’t pull it off, they’ll wipe us out too. We won’t even have the element of surprise on
our side anymore.*
“Everyone, start packing up!” Marcus barked, “We’re already six hours behind the rest of our pack!”
I went to move toward my rumpled sleeping bag and tarp, but Marcus stopped both Luke and I in our tracks. “You two,”
he said, his eyes darting between us, “There’s something I need the two of you to do.”
We both gave him a questioning look.
“As you know,” Marcus started, “It’s tradition to pray at the Moon God’s crypt before battle, and –”
“Wait, you want us to pray?” Luke cut him off, “You said it yourself, Marcus. We don’t have any time left to waste, let
alone hiking to some temple while our pack gets slaughtered.”
“I’m with Luke on this one,” I piped up, “I’ll say a prayer and light a candle to the Moon God when we’ve completed our
mission. Alive.”
*No way I’m going to pray to some bedtime story while the rest of my pack goes off to fight.*
There was a grave look on Marcus’ face as he stared us down. “Do you two think I’m a fool?” he asked sharply. “Do you
think I’m just crotchety-old warrior who’d put my pack at risk to honor a few traditions?”
We shook our heads.
“That’s what Rae thought,” he continued, “And that thought may just get her killed. But I’m not a fool. I’m a seasoned
warrior, which is why your brother trusted me to lead this mission. I’ve seen more than I ever should’ve on the battlefield,
and while us wolves may have plenty of superstitions, praying at the Moon God’s crypt isn’t one of them.”
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complete story. Head over there to dive into the next chapter—it’s all free! Marcus’ eyes sparked to life as he spoke, and I felt something unfamiliar tug at my chest. “You’ve only ever heard the
stories,” he said, “But I’ve been to the temple, prayed to the Moon God. And I’ve left battles and fights within an inch of
my life, but thanks to him, I left them alive. You can call it a worthless tradition or a bedtime story or a superstition, but I
know there’s something to it. And I know that the only way we’re walking out of this fight alive is if we pray and ask for
the Moon God’s blessing. That’s what I need you two to do. You’ll pray and then you’ll follow our scent to the Blood
Moon pack.”
“What if we don’t catch you in time?” Luke asked, his voice much quieter than it had been before.
“Then you don’t,” Marcus said, crossing his arms over his chest, “But I’ll be damned if I walk into any fight – let alone a
Blood Moon fight – without a little good fortune.”
“You should send Luke to the crypt,” I said, “I can still go with you guys and fight.”
Luke whipped his head around to look at me with raised eyebrows.
“No,” Marcus said.
As much as I respected Marcus’ leadership, not even I was willing to go down without a fight. Or at least a good
explanation.
*Maybe it’s the Beta blood flowing through my veins.*
“You only need one person to pray,” I argued, “And you’ll need every warrior you can get in this fight. Besides, I have a
terrible sense of direction. If I go with Luke, I’ll definitely get us lost and off-track. We may not even make it to the
temple. Take me with you instead.”
Marcus looked unimpressed by anything I had to say. “You don’t know anything about the tradition of praying at the
Moon God’s crypt, do you?”
He didn’t even wait for me to reply before he continued, “For his blessing in battle, we always send two of our most
youthful warriors to pray. That’s the tradition. Originally, I was going to send Lucy and Graham to the crypt to pray since
they’re only nineteen…but they left with Rae. Which leaves you and Luke as our youngest.”
*Guess mom left that little detail when she was explaining werewolf mythology.*
While I couldn’t remember that part of werewolf mythology, I could tell that Marcus was telling the truth. There was no
getting out of this.
*Great. My pack is going to get slaughtered, and I’ll be sitting on my knees and lighting a candle when it happens.*