06. Wild Berries

Alina POV

This guy will be the death of me, I thought to myself as I watched him run off. He sees some random creature from a deadly enchanted forest, and his first instinct is to go chasing after it. Perhaps I should just leave now and make my own way out, I’d likely have more luck than I would sticking with him. I’m starting to wonder how he even got the job as a guard. My father and his team are notoriously strict with vetting their recruits.

He made his way back towards me, waving his arms around. His brows were pinched and his strong jaw tensed.

“Why didn’t you follow me?” he shouted.

“Because I’m not a puppy dog,” I replied, resting one hand on my hip. My other wrist was still incredibly sore, and I was almost positive it was actually broken rather than just sprained.

“We need to follow whatever the heck that was. They might know the way to the exit.”

“I thought you said you knew the way back to the exit?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. He was full of it. I knew it, and now it was just a matter of time before he admitted it out loud.

He was obviously annoyed, but the way he pinched his lips together caught me off guard. It was cute. 

“Seeing as you won’t trust anything I say, I was hoping they’d prove I was right, Princess.”

Raincheck on that. I think I actually hate him.

“So, just to clarify: your plan is to follow a creature that you don’t know is friendly, further into the forest… just to confirm your directions to the exit are correct?”

“Maybe it can help us,” he said, standing his ground. I had to give it to him. At least he backed himself and his dumb ideas.

“Faeries are known tricksters. We could be following it right into a trap. I think it’s better if we just stick to our original plan and try to retrace our steps from last night.”

“Fine. Lead the way, Princess.”

“Stop! Stop calling me Princess.”

He smirked at me. “Sorry, Princess.”

Childish. He was absolutely childish. I pursed my lips and stalked off in the direction I hoped would lead us home.

The ground beneath my feet was soft and a little damp as I trudged through the undergrowth with bare feet. I tried my best not to imagine all the slimy, crawling bugs I was stepping on, but I think the look on my face gave me away.

“Do you want my boots?” Josh offered, as we found a small stream and stopped to rest and drink.

“They’ll be miles too big. It would make me even slower.” He rolled his eyes and I had to admit my tone was too harsh. It was a thoughtful offer. “Thank you though,” I added in a softer note.

He took two steps towards me, put pressure on my shoulder, then pulled. The fabric on one side of my dress’ cape ripped with a loud protest. I opened my mouth to complain, but he placed a finger against my lips to shush me. 

No one had ever been so bold with me in all my life. Part of me wanted to baulk and make sure he never worked for the guard team ever again, but for some strange reason, I quietly complied.

He folded the fabric, then shimmied it under my injured arm, pulling the ends up to tie them at the back of my neck in a makeshift sling. The relief was almost instant. It still hurt, but took the edge off the pain with my arm stilled. He had wanted to do this for me last night and I’d stubbornly refused.

I wanted to thank him, but I could still feel the ghost of his finger on my lips, and the words just wouldn’t form.

“Does it help a little?” he asked, waiting for a reaction.

“Mmhm,” I mumbled, averting my gaze.

I half expected him to make a jibe along the lines of ‘I believe thank you are the words you’re looking for’, but thankfully he seemed to realise my total awkwardness and spared me on this occasion.

“I don’t remember hearing a stream last night,” he said, changing the subject and running a hand through his unruly brown hair. It was shorter on the sides and longer on top, but he looked as though he was due a haircut, as it hung just above his eyes. Those eyes. I recalled the first time I saw them at the packhouse and how lost I’d gotten in them. It was easy to do.

“I don’t either,” I admitted, diverting my attention away from his face. “Maybe we need to try a different route.”

“Do you get the feeling we’re constantly being watched?”

“Yes! Ever since we set foot in here. It’s unnerving.”

He looked past me, over my shoulder, and jumped up excitedly. “Look, berries!” He raced over, picked a dark purple berry off the bush, and popped it straight into his mouth. “Oh man, so good. Come get some.”

“Are you for real?” I screeched, running towards him and knocking it out of his hand before he could stuff his face further.

“What’s your problem?” he yelled, his nostrils flaring in anger. “I’m starving!”

“I’m hungry too, but you didn’t even check to see what type of berry it was!”

“It’s a blueberry!”

“But how did you know that? You didn’t even take the time to study it, you just plucked it off the bush and shoved it in your mouth. What if it was poisonous?”

His eyes widened and a look of fear crossed his face. He clutched his throat with both hands, and his face turned red as though he couldn’t breathe. My hands began to tremble as a wave of panic hit me.

“Josh! Josh!”

He let out the breath he’d been holding and erupted in a fit of laughter. I clenched my fists to hide the shaking and walked back towards the stream. 

“I’m sorry,” he said between chuckles. “You should have seen your face though.”

“You’re a moron,” I said through gritted teeth. I sat back down next to the stream as I waited for my heartbeat to return to normal. Anger replaced every skerrick of worry I’d felt.

Before long, he returned with his white dress shirt rolled up to provide a substitute basket, which he’d filled with of berries. 

“You want some?” he offered.

“You didn’t even wash them,” I replied stubbornly. My stomach was growling with hunger, but I couldn’t bring myself to give in. He could have killed himself.

He gave me a look, as though he was warring internally with himself, but then knelt by the stream and washed the berries. He walked back and passed me a handful of big, juicy, delicious looking blueberries. My stomach growled in anger and I caved in, reaching out and taking his offering with a muttered thanks.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He actually sounded remorseful… until a small snigger escaped. I glared at him and he looked away, hiding his smile.

I studied the berry carefully and recalled what I’d read in my textbooks about identifying plants. He was right; it was safe to eat, but I still couldn’t believe that he’d be so hasty.

I popped one blueberry in my mouth and bit down. The thin blue skin broke easily and the juicy flavour exploded on my taste buds. A small moan of pleasure escaped my lips; the type of moan that only came with the sensuous taste of good food. Oh my Goddess, they were delicious.

“I mean, they’re good, but I didn’t realise they were that good,” said Josh, raising an eyebrow and smirking at me.

My cheeks instantly felt like they were on fire and I avoided all eye contact. I had never had a man speak to me the way he did. I’d never had a man affect me the way he did. Sure, Ellis annoyed me, but he’d never gotten under my skin quite like this, and he’d certainly never made me blush. Why do Josh’s words affect me so much?

“So, what actually happened at your ceremony?” he asked between mouthfuls. “Do you have a wolf that won’t shift, or you don’t have a wolf at all?”

“I don’t have a wolf at all,” I replied quietly. Great, now he wanted something else to make fun of. I felt the tears burn my eyes almost immediately. With everything that had happened since that moment, I hadn’t had a chance to sit with my thoughts and even process it.

“Do you think your dad will still give you the pack?”

My mouth opened, then closed again without any words. I didn’t know the answer to that. Would he?

“I’m still his only heir,” I responded lightly. I needed to change the subject. I wasn’t ready to think about or discuss this yet. “How long have you been a guard?”

“Not long. I only turned eighteen last month.”

“I guess that explains why I haven’t seen you before. What made you want to become a guard? Why not a warrior like all the other meathead boys want to?”

“You think I’m a meathead?” he asked, lifting his arm and flexing his muscles. I made a hmph sound and shook my head. “You may see guards as the lowest form of warrior, but who saved your butt last night when it mattered the most, huh? It’s an important job.”

“I didn’t say it was an unimportant job,” I replied through clenched teeth. “Mike has been my guard since I was born, and I respect him more than most people I know. I take offence that you’d think otherwise. The question I asked was, why didn’t you become a warrior instead? Most of the boys want the glory rather than being a silent figure in the shadows.”

“You’re so easy to wind up. It’s almost comical.”

Infuriating. I finished the last handful of berries, took another gulp of water from the stream, and started walking again. Josh followed me, almost gliding on air, looking so pleased that he’d annoyed me.

We trudged on for another hour, maybe two. There was no way of telling. But it felt like forever, and it still seemed as though we were no closer to the exit. Every tree and bush looked the same… unfamiliar. Josh stopped and put his hand up to halt me.

“Shh. Do you hear that?” he asked, paying attention to find the source of the noise.