Chapter 115 Rogue packs.
Rogue packs
Milo pov
At the mention of food, my stomach grumbled loudly inside me, as if reminding me that I have not eaten for close to 8 hours and still counting.
Shoving away my hesitation and paranoia, My fingers closed around the apple. It was warm, as though someone had just held it.
With a sigh, I took the apple from her, watching her smile brighten like the sun.
“Thank you.”
I raised it to my mouth, biting into the flesh, and the sweetness burst across my tongue. But then another taste together with the sweetness registered in my brain. faint and rooty like medicine, For a breath I paused, my heart thudding. But one look at the girl who was looking at me with that same trembling expression, made my face flush red. Embarrassment flooded inside me. I have unconsciously judged her again, I swallowed, forcing a smile that felt too thin. “It’s… good.”
“Good?” she echoed, hopeful. “I’m glad.” She tucked into the hollow between my elbow and forearm, as if she’d been waiting for that answer.
Relief loosened my chest. My tense body relaxed as I ate more of the fruit. See? Harmless, just a gift. Just kindness.
The apple’s taste lingered on my tongue, sweeter than it had any right to be, even as I swallowed. The girl watched me until I finished the bite, then turned her eyes away as if she was relieved.
I stared down at the half-eaten fruit in my hand. Something about the moment didn't sit well with me. But then my ears twitched —the sound of twigs breaking snapped me out of my doubts.
“Milo, where are you?”
My eyes widened in alarm, but it was James that was calling me, and from the sound, he was getting closer. I didn't want him to see the little girl. As I was not sure how he would feel that a girl escaped the heavy security of the pack to sneak out in the middle of the night.
“You should go back now,” I whispered in urgency, “Before anyone notices.”
She nodded quickly, already sensing the urgency in my voice. She pushed the rest of the apple into my hands, suddenly shy. “Keep the core,” she whispered, ridiculous and earnest all at once. “For luck.”
I nodded slowly,
Giving me one last glance, she skipped off into the trees, blending so well with the darkness, so quickly and effortlessly that before I could blink, she was gone —leaving me gawking like a fool at the direction she just disappeared to.
“It's just a child” i told myself, nothing more
I pocketed the half eaten fruit, At the same time, the surrounding bushes quaked and James emerged, his face filled with worry and concern. His gaze snapped to me at once, with faint glowing red eyes under the moonlight, sharp and almost frantic, like he’d been searching for me for hours.
“There you are,” he breathed, his tone caught between relief and irritation. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? You just vanished into thin air.”
My body tensed. The apple’s taste still clung faintly to my tongue, bitter beneath the sweetness, and I clenched my jaw, forcing myself into a calm neutral state. “I… I’m fine. I just felt tired and bored, so I decided to take a little walk away from all the noise.”
His eyes narrowed, suspicious. “Out here?, very close to the border.” His voice was rough, and low.
My throat bobbed, but I forced everything down, shrugging casually, hoping the shadows of the trees covered how guilty and unsteady I felt. “You know me. I just wanted to clear my head. Nothing happened.”
For a moment, he didn’t look convinced. His sharp gaze swept the area around me, lingering on the disturbed dirt by my feet, the faint rustle of leaves, exactly the direction where the girl had disappeared.
My stomach tightened.
Finally, he exhaled sharply and dragged a hand through his hair. “You shouldn’t wander off tonight. The party is already over.”
Something cold coiled in my chest. “Why? Did… something happen?”
James’s expression darkened, his jaw ticking before he answered. “I just got word from the border patrols. That a rogue pack was sighted very close to the pack borders.”
The words slammed into me like someone just punched me hard in the guts. My breath stopped for a second.
The little girl!!
She had gone home alone. What if she ran straight into them? Or the worst, what if she is caught by the patrol?
My body trembled even harder.
James didn’t notice the reason for my reaction, he mistook my reaction for me being worried.
“Don’t worry too much. The commanders have already sent out commands. Patrols have been doubled as we speak. Nothing will slip through. You are safe here, with me.”
But is she?
I swallowed the question, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper. If I told him… no. I couldn’t, it would cause more harm than good to the girl.
It is a punishable offense to sneak out of the borders without permission.
. I forced myself to meet his eyes with a thin smile.
“You look pale,” he muttered, his sharp eyes scanning me, “Go back to the pack house. Get some rest, for tomorrow is going to be a hard day for you.”
My body jolted like I was zapped by electricity.
“The death match,” a strange warmth spread in my chest, like a fire was moving through my veins. My body hummed with an energy I couldn’t explain.
I tried to steady my hands by burying them into my pockets, brushing the core of the apple that still sat there. Cold dread and unease coiled deep in my stomach, mixing with the faint burn of the fruit that was still running in my system.
If James noticed my restlessness. He didn't point it out. He turned, motioning for me to follow him back toward another path leading to the pack. His steps were steady, confident, while mine felt like I was being dragged along.
I cast one last glance over my shoulder, toward the dark forest where the girl had vanished. My chest squeezed painfully.
Please… let her be safe.
And without another word, I followed James back into the pack, the unfamiliar feeling still lingering in my body.