Page 9

T he following morning, after a quick ration of something this place called cream of wheat , we were back in the Blackhawk. Wes was awake, but heavily medicated for the pain. As a result, he spent much of the ride gazing out the window, silent as the dead.

Apparently, his surgery went well. The bullet was easily removed, missed all the important stuff in his body, and he was stitched up.

He was low on blood though, so a unit was ordered for him.

I asked him earlier if he was in pain, but all I got was a macho grunt and a shake of the head to indicate no .

I called BS on that one, but I wasn’t going to argue with him about it.

I figured let him have his tough-guy exterior.

It was the least I could do for him since he helped me…

and against his parents’ wishes, might I add.

That was going to be a thing, no doubt about it.

The flight took all day, and by the time we arrived back in the North, the sun had already set. I watched as the city below twinkled with lights, and marveled at how different the world was outside of Telvia. I hadn’t been here long…two months, maybe?

When the world burned down back in May, the few survivors of the camp had been whisked off to a hospital in the northwest, on the border of where Telvia ended and the North began.

And that’s where I woke up, discovering that I had been in a coma for weeks, fluttering in and out of the world of the living and hanging out with the dead.

Once they released me, I was sent to live with Edith to finish recovering.

Her family lived out in the boonies, apparently far away from the bustling cities of the North.

And I stayed there for two weeks… bored .

I had little to no contact with anyone except for Edith and her family.

Her parents weren’t the military type. They preferred the quiet solitude of the plains, tending to livestock.

Like real cows and goats, horses, and one mean bull.

It was the nuttiest thing to me. I had never in my life seen real farm animals before.

We had no need for livestock in Telvia since we never ate actual food, just nourishment pills all the time.

But they were cute. Smelly , but cute. And they were always so excited to see you once they figured out who you were.

..except for the bull. Turns out, he wanted to impale you with his horns. Apparently, that was a thing.

Go figure.

So I spent the month learning to care for animals, just Edith and me and her bazillion siblings. I asked her about Chelsea and learned she was at the Mental Health Institute in the city, being looked at and heavily medicated. No one understood what was wrong with her.

I asked about Wes. She shared she hadn’t heard from him. Since being released from the hospital, he’d been sent home and was MIA. And then, I asked about Matias. The look she gave me said a thousand words and then nothing at all.

He was “dealing with stuff,” according to her.

They moved him to one of the military barracks, but being the closest thing Chelsea had to family, he was her main emergency contact and considered the only “living relation.” He spent most of his time divided between training and living at the Institute trying to help with her recovery.

The whole thing was messed up, and it all felt so crazy and foreign to me.

I just tried to stay focused on the cows.

That’s when I was summoned. Once the doctor cleared me to resume training, I received notice telling me to report back to the city. That was over a month ago, and that’s when things got really weird.

Fort Warren was a military base that belonged to the North just on the outskirts of the capital, to the far north.

That’s where I went to meet Sasha. I was assigned my new mini-tab, which was a HUGE relief since the lack of technology and communication with anyone while at the farm was driving me a little cuckoo.

Like, I was talking to the animals. I had given them all names.

I was seconds away from having a tea party with them, which I was given a prompt education on by Edith’s five little siblings.

At any rate, I was assigned a barrack, a bunk, and orders to begin training the next day.

I was even given new dog tags.

This time, however, I wasn’t being trained privately like before.

I was added to a squad of twelve other faces, none of whom I recognized, and none of whom had any interest in knowing me.

In fact, I was pretty sure they knew exactly who I was, and they were biding their time before they planned to lynch me in the middle of the night.

Needless to say, it really wasn’t going that well.

But then, everything shifted, and I was called in to meet with Sasha after being at the barracks for nearly a month.

The meeting was comprised of her and a few other individuals, namely Gary Fisher—who I recognized as the First in Command of the North from my Review a few months prior—Sergeant Major Anthony Giza, and Wes.

My heart just about stopped when I saw him. It had been almost two months. His hair had grown longer, neatly kept in a short, low ponytail. He was clean shaven, and he smelled so damn good. I didn’t even know how to describe it, but it was sweet and deep and… masculine .

I had no idea why he had been included in the meeting. It seemed weird, and no one really explained it to me, but I slowly put it together. Since Chase died, Wes had now inherited the responsibilities of the First Son of the North. Apparently, that involved being present in these meetings.

It was then that she brought up our agreement—she would help me rescue Jacob from Telvia if I helped her secure a rebel force and encourage the people of Telvia to dissent and rise against the Telvian government.

Everyone heard it. Everyone knew what I had agreed to.

There was going to be no backing down. I would agree to whatever crazy plans Sasha came up with to build up the rebel forces, and then she would do everything in her power to get Jacob back.

Done.

Locked in.

Bought and paid for.

And then it all changed after that… again .

Sasha agreed to the mission Wes and I had just barely survived, and I was reassigned to train with Wes to prepare for it.

When Edith found out, she volunteered to help too, and she would pop in and train with us from time to time.

Everyone thought we were crazy, risking everything for the general of the REG, but I didn’t care.

Jacob risked everything to save me— twice —and I was hellbent on returning the gesture.

“Hey, you ready?”

My attention snapped back to the present, my head whipping around to see Wes leaning toward me, his eyes clouded from his meds. “What?” I asked.

He lifted a brow and then tipped his head toward the door behind me. “We’re here.”

I looked around and realized that we had landed. “Oh.” I had been completely lost in thought, thinking about the insanity and complete lack of familiarity of the last few months. It was truly wild to reflect on how much my life had changed in less than a year.

“Are you planning on living here, or are you going to get out?”

I gave him a quick glare and then turned away from him, crouching in the helicopter to get out.

Stepping into the night, I breathed in the balmy air, feeling the humidity stick to my skin, making me feel as though I had just been wrapped up in a blanket of my own sweat.

I ran the back of my hand across my forehead, feeling the perspiration gathering there.

Wes walked past me, stepping away from the slowing blades of the chopper toward a group of decorated military officers. I followed.

“Mr. Calvernon, sir. How was your flight?” The officer asked.

Two silver stars decorated his lapel, letting me know he had to be a major general or something like that.

I still hadn’t quite learned all the ranks and the fancy little buttons and symbols that went with each one. But I was learning… slowly.

“Fine, Major General.”

Nailed it.

“Miss de la Puente,” the man tipped his head at me. I gave a little wave. I think I was supposed to salute though, because he grimaced at me before returning his attention to Wes.

“President De’vor has asked for a meeting first thing tomorrow morning to review the information gained from the mission. She would like a report from both of you STAT.”

Wes nodded as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “Got it. Is the car here?”

“Yes, sir. Your driver is waiting for you.” Wes gave another nod. “I’m glad you arrived safely, sir.” He tipped his head and then glanced at me. “Miss de la Puente.” He turned on his heels and walked away.

I blew out a breath, rubbing my hands against my thighs. “Well, I guess you better get going before the driver thinks you bailed or something.”

Wes turned to me, his eyes liquid gold with hues of rich green mixed in, holding me in place.

Despite the heat, a little shiver ran up my spine, and it took everything within me to keep from literally trembling.

He kept silent, and the silence made me self-conscious, nervous.

So I did what I did best when I felt uncomfortable… I looked for an exit.

“Yeah, so I won’t keep you,” I said as I turned on my heels and began walking in the general direction of my barrack. “Have a safe drive home,” I tossed over my shoulder before returning my gaze to the floor in front of me.

“So that’s it?” His voice came in so close to my ear, I literally jumped from the surprise.

“Crap!” I turned to look at him and, sure enough, he was right there, right at my back, right in my personal space.

Just a wall of rippling muscles in the standard issued olive green t-shirt that we all wore.

“You scared me, you jerk,” I snapped. He drew his chin to his chest, amusement playing on the lines of gorgeous face.

Ass.

I hated when he did that. “Why do you always do that to me?”

“Do what?”

I took a step back. “Get all up into my personal space and stuff. And you do it like a ninja. Just all stealth mode, and it scares the crap out of me.” I was just blubbering now.

I knew it. I could feel the collection of nerves, anxiety, excitement, and uncertainty tossing themselves about in the pit of my stomach like a stampede of wild horses.

Thank god he didn’t match my steps. He allowed me to keep the space I had placed between us.

I needed that space. When he was too close, it messed with my head, and it left me confused.

I didn’t know what the hell was going on with me or what I felt about anyone anymore.

And, in the end, I had to keep my head on straight.

I needed to stay focused on saving my brother.

“Sorry,” his words came out soft and genuine, but the very right corner of his lips tipped upwards, just barely.

Almost as though he was trying to hide a smile.

But it was almost worse this way because that little hook on his lips gave the impression of a devious smirk, the grin of a delicious devil enjoying the reaction he got from his intended victim. And it was freaking hot.

I turned around to face away from him. I wasn’t very good at hiding my emotions, and the last thing I needed him to see was me getting ready to drool all over myself.

Oh no…that was for me to know and for no one else to find out.

I turned back around to face him, but not before taking another step away to give me just a smidge more breathing room. “What was it you wanted?”

He stared at me. His eyes flickering in the night as the smirk fell softly away from his face. “Nothing. Never mind.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He shifted his gaze down to the ground, putting his hands in the pockets of his tan cargo pants. “How far is your barrack?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know. It’s that way though,” I motioned with my hand.

“I’ll walk you.”

“What?”

“I’ll walk you,” he responded, eyes lifting back up to me.

“Um, no…no, that’s okay. You’re hurt and you probably need to get home. I’m sure your driver is waiting for you—”

“He can wait. Besides, we’ve been in that chopper for hours. It’ll be good to stretch my legs.”

Oh jeez. “No, really…I’m sure your family misses you and wants to see you.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to see them.” The words fell from his lips, cold and somber, as his gaze unfocused.

“Oh.” I felt uncomfortable suddenly, but it only took a moment for me to realize that I felt uncomfortable for him. “Um, okay. Yeah, sure.”

Our eyes met once again, and heat swirled within me, making me feel as though I needed a fan and an ice shower. But I turned away from him, using the movement to help shake out my arms and legs. Wes came up beside me, hands still in his pockets while his eyes watched the ground before him.

And we walked.

And I didn’t think it was possible, but things got just a little weirder.