“Do we not need kindling, Zeke?” A fit redheaded woman wearing a black tank top and camo-print cargo pants threw a bundle of sticks down, adding to the pile.
“Kindling is great for starting a fire, but it might be nice to also have something that’ll actually keep the fire going.” He took a drag off his cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke in her face before flicking the butt into the leaves. “Good thing you got nice tits, ‘cause you’re dumb as a fucking stump.”
She fanned the smoke out of her face and stubbed out the ember with the toe of her scuffed up black combat boot.
“You flick your cherry into a pile of dry leaves, and I’m the stupid one?” She grumbled under her breath.
The dark-haired woman sitting off to the side tensed up, her eyes darting around with a whisper of panic.
“What was that?” Zeke stopped dead in his tracks, his body stiffening as he clenched his fists.
“N-nothing.” The dark-haired woman shook her head. “She was just talking to herself, babe.”
“What have I said about defending that dumb slut?” He pointed a grimy finger. “Sticking up for someone who disrespects me means you’re advocating what she said. Do you agree with what she said?”
“Leave your old lady alone, Zeke.” The chunky redheaded man looked like he could have been related to the girl. He was busy hammering a tent peg with a rock. “She’s not the one with a smart mouth.”
“You’re right, Abe.” Zeke’s face reddened as he paced back and forth. “She is my old lady. I don’t need your two cents on how to deal with her.”
The brunette’s shoulders scrunched up, and she lowered her head as Zeke crouched down, gripping her jaw to force her to look him in the eye, but her eyes looked off to the side.
“Do you want to fight Vixie’s battles for her?” He hissed through clenched teeth as she swallowed hard. “Do you want to stick up for her even when she disrespects your alpha?”
“Don’t pick on Steph to get at me.” Vixie furrowed her brow. “I’m the one that pissed you off; leave her alone.”
“I have no shortage of people giving me advice on how to deal with you, do I?” Zeke’s red-plaid shirt was open in the front showing his bony chest that was covered in thick gray hair. The sleeves of his shirt were cut off at the shoulder, and his jeans had holes in both knees. Jillian gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth at the loud smack that reverberated as the back of his hand connected with Steph’s cheek. He stood back up.
“Nice one Zeke.” The third man chuckled, showing a row of brown, rotten teeth. He was bald with faded-blue tattoos on his neck and arms. He was just as skinny as Zeke but not as tall. “Keeping those bitches in line.”
“I only see one bitch around here, Rottie.” Vixie kicked a face-full of dirt at the bald man who was going through a backpack.
“Don’t call me that!” He rubbed the dirt out of his eyes. “That’s not my fucking name, you fucking whore. Call me Ronnie or nothing at all.”
“Hey!” Abe stood up.
“What?” Ronnie shrugged. “You call her worse shit than that all the time?”
“That doesn’t mean you can.” He raised his eyebrows and pointed with the same hand he was holding the rock with.
“Guys.” Steph stood up and forced a brittle smile. “I think we’re just all really hungry, okay? Baby, when do you think we can go hunting?”
“Look at you, taking charge.” Zeke paced back toward Steph who’s smile dissolved as she looked down. Her knuckles turned white as she wrung her hands. “No, no, no, baby. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m proud of you.”
The lines in the woman’s face relaxed as she stood up a little straighter.
“Yeah, Steph’s right.” Zeke beamed as he nodded. “Only I already told you fuckers that we weren’t hunting until the camp is all set. Do we have a fire going? No! So how about you get off your fat, lazy ass and find me some fucking firewood?”
Steph nodded fervently and headed off with Vixie to look for more satisfactory firewood. Steph wasn’t fat by any definition, though she was a little healthier looking than Zeke and Ronnie.
Vincent nodded to Finn and Jillian, who army-crawled backward. When they were a reasonable distance away from the ledge, they got to their feet and stepped lightly, heading back to the cabin. Jillian had no problem walking barefoot in the woods now. She preferred the feeling of the earth on the soles of her feet.
Finn gained ground quickly without hardly making a sound. Soon he was far ahead, and Jillian sensed that he was upset by seeing her and Vincent together at the river’s edge. That old familiar guilt welled up inside. That voice that told her she should be ashamed of herself. Though she didn’t want to acknowledge it, she knew she would have to address it sooner or later. They walked in silence for a long time before she could bring herself to speak.
“Who were they?” Jillian croaked, glancing at Vincent before looking at Finn’s black shirt that was still barely visible ahead.
“Other shifters,” he answered flatly.
“Are they here because of me?” She held her breath.
“I think so.” Vincent tied his hair back into a ponytail. “We haven’t had another clan pass through here in the entire time we’ve lived here.”
“So, what do we do?” She had to take twice as many steps as Vincent did, and still, Finn was somehow faster than both of them.
“Generally, when two clans find each other, they decide if they want to combine into one tribe. Sometimes, only
