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31. Crazy Ex

We’re cursed with rain the next morning.

Luke doesn’t surrender to nature this time and since its not raining cats and dogs, we continue walking.

“Tell me again why we have to keep going?” I say, steadying myself against a tree before I slip on the muddy ground

“We’re still closer to the witch territory than I’d like us to be,” Luke says “Our food supplies are limited and so are weapons. We have to hurry.”

Oh and did I mention that the only clothes we are wearing are the only ones we have? Yay witches.

“Damn that witch,” I mutter “Did she really have to burn all that? One of my favourite shirts was in there!”

“Maybe it would sting less if you weren’t so jealous of Everette.”

I pause while taking a step forward, my head snaps upward “What?”

Luke gives me a cool glance over his shoulder “You were reeking of jealously, Hazel.”

“I’m not jealous of anyone!” I snap at him, both of us have stopped walking “And the only thing that reeked was her crappy perfume.”

“Just admit it, you were jealous.”

I open my mouth to fire another sharp reply but then close my mouth. I shrug with an indifferent face.

“Fine,” I say calmly “I’m as jealous of her as you are of Ethan.”

In a flash, Luke’s cool demeanor is wiped off from his face and onto mine. His jaw tightens and eyes narrow a fraction.

“I am not jealous of anyone,” he says “Specially not that pup.”

“Pup?” I raise an eyebrow “What are you? Fifty-five?”

“Twenty-three,” Luke gives me a measured look “Parks is barely older than you.”

I let out a dreamy sigh “And yet he’s been handling a pack for so many years.”

I do an internal happy dance when a muscle in Luke’s jaw twitch. Take that! Only a moment later, he wipes away his expression and takes a deep breath.

“With continual support from us,” Luke looks down at me from under his nose “Most of the defense plans sent to Parks were made by me.”

My expression falters “Oh.”

“And if you’re done making assumptions, lets go.” Luke glances at the darkening sky before starting to walk again

“You started it,” I mutter under my breath before following him

We keep up a fast pace and though I wanted to complain, I didn’t. Ever since Luke told me the real reason why he’s hell bent on winning no matter what, I’ve made it my business to be as co-operative as possible.

Besides, the little detail that I will be free of my damn pack doesn’t hurt either.

Rain starts getting heavier and I feel my boots being swallowed by the moist earth, our pace slows down— partially due to the darkness, partially due to the muddy earth.

“We’ll have to stop,” Luke says with an irritated sigh

“Here?” I look around the muddy forest “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be covered in leaches.”

“We can climb,” Luke takes in consideration the tall trees

“Alright,” I squint my eyes to see the trees ahead “But something bigger than these, I don’t want to hear you yelping if your branch breaks.”

“I’m not the clumsy one here.”

I walk past him, keeping my eyes on one big tree a few feet away, it should provide enough shelter and stability for the night.

“I hope that blanket isn’t wet, because if it isn’t, I’m taking—

My own scream interrupts my next words as ground slips from under my feet but unlike what I had expected, I don’t fall on the earth, rather it swallows me.

In a distance, I hear someone shout my name. A moment later, I fall on the wet earth bed.

“Bloody hell?” I push myself up with one hand, rubbing my cheek with the other

Something crashes on me, knocking out the breath from my lungs. Over the haze of pain, the scent of coffee and pine trees waves over to me.

“Goddess, are you alright?” Luke quickly gets off me and helps me up

“A six foot something man just squashed me into the earth, but I am A-okay.”

I look up at the opening from where raindrops fall down, a patch of dark sky visibly.

“What is this?” I look around the small cave we’d landed in

“I have no idea,” Luke says “Nor do I care to find out.”

“Too bad, Winters.” A perfectly feminine voice purrs from above

A moment later, Rebecca looks down the rabbit hole, wearing the same red cloak I’d seen her wearing days ago.

“You might want to know where you spent your last moments.” She grins, the expression causes my stomach to roil “Goodbye.”

With a wave of her wand, the opening starts to close before my eyes.

“No!” I leap forward but a moment later, I’m tugged back as rocks start to fall through the Earth, blocking any path that was left

“Luke, let go!” I trash against him

“Calm down, will you?” Luke finally lets me go when the rocks stop coming

He walks over to where the entrance was, his face calculating.

“Lets see,” Luke rolls his shoulders, I see his fingers turn to claws

Calm down, Elise. I will my heart to stop beating so fast. The walls are not closing in on you, got it? everything is going to be okay. You’re not alone here, Luke is with you. You two can figure this out.

Luke pushes aside boulder after boulder, I stay quiet, air harsh against my dry throat. Finally, I see the path clear a bit, a silver of hope enters my heart.

Only to come crashing down with another wave of boulders. I hadn’t even screamed when Luke already moved out of the way.

Panting, he staggers back so we’re standing side by side. The silence in the cave thickens and stretches.

Finally, Luke’s gaze meets mine and for the first time, I see something in them that scares me.

Uncertainty.

I swallow “Maybe she’s still out there, keeping up the spell.”

After a moment, Luke nods “The spell will wear out eventually. We’ll just have to wait a while.”

A while later, he tries again. And again. And again. For hours, Luke— and me as well, try to pry the boulders away from the entrance. Panting, both of us slide down against the earthen wall of the cave. I’m not sure if my clothes are still wet from humidity or from sweat.

“Okay,” Luke huffs out “Either she’s still out there, or this spell is supposed to be this way.”

“That’s one crazy ex,” I crack a smile, breathing heavily

The corner of his mouth tugs up “To think we weren’t actually together.”

I feel a breathy giggle bubbling up to my mouth “Darcie would’ve done the same.”

“What can I say?” This time Luke smiles openly “I have a way of making women go mad.” 

Ignoring the aching muscles, parched throats and the looming certainty of death, we both laugh.

“They’re mad to begin with,” I say with a lighthearted smile 

“So are all the guys infatuated with you.” Luke says

I huff “No one’s infatuated with me. They’re all just lustful morons.”

Luke stares at me for a moment longer than necessary “Are you so sure?”

I pull my legs to my chest and wrap my arms around them, for a moment words seem lost to me.

“You know, in high school,” I don’t know why I say what I say, the words just seem to wretch themselves out of my mouth “Guys from our pack used to make bets about me. Who would fool the difficult omega first?”

I lean my head back, a small cynical smile tugs at my lips.

“I was young then, dumb and idiotic. Thinking I can be like others, like well-respected people. Important.” I say, reminiscence clouding my head

“Carlos told me about the bets before my first date,” I shake me head at my own past stupidity. Naivety. “I cried my eyes out, but I didn’t go. Maybe that’s when we became best friends.”

I turn my face to Luke again and shrug “Slowly, surely, I’ve tested every guy who’s been nice to me. And no one was ever truly interested.”

Luke watched me with his stormy blue gaze, as if seeing me for the first time, but he doesn’t say anything. A part of me was disappointed, but every other part of me was glad he didn’t try to offer sympathy.

“I’m glad though,” I say genuinely “It would’ve been fruitless when our mates would get involved.”

“You always talk about your mate, a man you have no idea about.” Luke says “What if he isn’t the way you want him to? What if he has had relations with a lot of others?”

“I can only hope he isn’t like that.” I say, though a string of uncomfortableness coils around my heart. Then I grin at him “Even if he is, I’m going to change his player ways.”

For a moment we hold each others’ gazes, I feel my face starting to warm up. Goddess, what am I doing? I’m telling Luke, of all the people, about my past and my future hopes. This Hunt is getting to my head.

“What about you?” I perk up “Don’t you want to find your mate?”

The comfortable air vanishes in an instant, Luke straightens, his features turn into taut blankness.

“No.”

My eyes widen “Why?”

Luke turns his face away from me “Somewhere in this world, a girl might be thinking about her mate the way you are. I doubt she’s hoping him to be a half monster, on the path of becoming a full one.”

I stare at him blankly, unsure of what to do. Lay a comforting hand on his arm? Tell him she wouldn’t think that?

Instead I do what I can do.

“You’re not a monster,” I say, Luke snorts disbelievingly. I press on “And you’re not going to be one. We are going to win this Hunt, and you’re going to leash the beast back and everything will be better.”      

“How can you think like that?” Luke shakes his head

“With my brain?”

“How can you hope for all that when we’re stuck in a hole, out of options?” he gestures at the boulders

“Hope is the only thing that has kept me going,” I say “I believe it will even now.”

In the dark, moist, uncomfortably small space of the cave I feel the air shifting around us, weighted down by something I cant quite understand.

Luke leans closer to me, I feel his warm breath on my face, causing my throat to parch in a very new way.

“I hope you’re right, Hazel.” He brushes his fingers across my cheek

The tip of his nose touches mine and I feel my eyes flutter shut.

“Me too,” I whisper “Because I really didn’t survive everything else only to die in a watery ditch.”

Suddenly, the warm hand against my cheek and the breath on my face is gone. I open my eyes and blink.

Luke has pulled away from me, staring wide-eyed at somewhere in oblivion.

“Watery ditch,” he murmurs

“Umm, Luke?” I ask hesitantly “Are you okay?”

“Of course!” he snatches up our bag and starts rummaging through it “Why didn’t I think of it before?”

He pulls out our slightly drenched map and lays it on the earth. I squint my eyes to see properly.

“We were here,” Luke points out our location at the map “And only a few feet away, there’s supposed to be a lake.”

My eyes widen, realization hits me hard “We must be close to it!”

“And if we dig in that direction, we can get out.” Luke says, a dazzling grin on his face “You’re a genius Hazel, a bloody genius.”

“This genius wants to get the hell out,” I quickly get to my feet

Luke walks towards the other side of out one room large cave and puts his ear to the wall, probably trying to hear the water. Soon, he stops at one place and points directly above it.

“We need to dig there,” He says “I’m guessing we’re almost under the edge.”

“But you cant reach it, neither can I.” I say, my brows furrowed

“I might have an idea.”

…

“Hold still!”

I balance my feet on Luke’s shoulders, my palms flat against the cool earth above me.

“I am holding still,” Luke snaps “Hurry up!”

Right. I hold the gun with the muzzle in my hand and slam its butt at the earth. The moist earth offers little resistance, but even though I’ve already dug a hole, I cant be sure if we’re close. Soon enough, I’ve dug a hole so high I can barely reach it anymore.

“Are you sure?” I ask Luke yet again

“Yes,” he says “Keep digging.”

“I cant reach it,” I huff out “Its too high.”

“Try, Hazel.” Luke says, a hint of urgency leaks in his voice “You can do it. Or rather, you have no other choice.”

I try to reach It but curse my short height, I cant!

I suppress the scream of frustration that builds in my throat. I raise the gun again but stop. An idea hits my head.

Click!

“Hazel, what are you—

Bang! Bang!   

A heavy spray of water makes me fall off from Luke’s shoulders and land roughly on my back, but when I sit back up, I don’t care about the pain. A wide grin comes on my face as the water streams down the hole, already pooling at our feet.

“We did it!” I squeal as Luke pulls me upright

“Almost,” Luke slings the bag across his neck and shoulder “Hold on,”

The water carries us up and up. Luke meets my gaze and I nod, already moving towards the water gushing out of the drain I made.

I plunge upwards, fighting the heavy current. My eyes clench themselves shut and though the hole isn’t too big, I manage to shove myself up, breath already limited in my lungs.

I open my eyes a little, searching the dark waters for Luke, but then the dreadful realization hits me.
The hole is too small for him.

Reaching towards the vaccume, my arms look around blindly and then I feel it, the warm tingly feeling I get whenever our skins contact. I pull him up, probably detaching his arm, and pull again.

Water tries to rush into my mouth, my lungs beg for anything to put inside. Then the thing I was pulling is suddenly pulling me upward.

When we break through the surface, an uproar of sounds reach me, my hungry lungs steal all the air they can.

Luke and I swim to the bank and flop on our backs, breathing heavily. The clouds have disappeared, leaving a chuck of moon in the clear sky.

Finally, our breaths even out. I turn my face toward Luke at the same time as he does toward me.

“We’re alive,” I say “We’re bloody alive!”

“Come on,” Luke pushes himself up “I don’t want to be anywhere near water.”

I take his offered hand and get up.

“Lets get the hell away from here.”

…

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