Solum

Chapter V

Sitting ever so peacefully on the forest floor, it never ceased to amaze Aria just how calming nature could be. The trees surrounding her on either sides, their leaves swaying, dancing to the soft breeze. The sound of the nearby stream flowing over rocks was enough to please her senses.

Reagan's myriad of tales hadn't quite prepared her for such an alluring spectacle.

She adored the birds in the trees, singing their melodic songs to anyone who would listen. Loved the occasional breeze that would gently nip her skin and bring forth a light shiver through her body.

Even enjoyed the feeling of the bugs that ate away at her legs. They made her feel alive, made her feel something other than the numb, empty state she was currently in.

But what she didn't like was the abrasive brute whom she was forced to ride this rollercoaster of survival with. The past couple days consisted of him grunting and grumbling each time she would attempt a conversation. So much in fact, that Aria was beginning to wonder if those were the only syllables he even knew.

Eventually her efforts came to an abrupt halt, deciding that his aloof behavior merited no such exertion on her part. So as to spare her sanity, she did what any person in her situation would and delved herself deeper into her thoughts.

It only proved to be more troublesome for her because each time she did, her subconscious wouldn't allow her any piece of mind. Reagan's face would relay in her head time and time again.

By the fourth day, yesterday, she'd given up any hope of a serene sleep. Here she lay, eyes rimmed red from sleep deprivation, wishfully thinking that the forest could somehow ease her discontent.

Aria was convinced, whatever mystical beings watching from above must surely have taken a strong disliking towards her. It was the only explanation she could think of for the succession of tragedies that was her life. Other than her surmise that she'd somehow been placed under a curse.

Whatever the reasons were, luck just wasn't on her side; there was no denying it. So she cursed and she damned the gods and was fairly confident she would continue to do so, even at her deathbed.

But no amount of damming could change anything, Aria knew this of course. As a substitute, she'd settled on projecting her frustrations towards the -as she so kindly put it- pompous jerk in front of her.

With his nonchalant attitude and the mocking smirk he would taunt in her face. She'd already deducted that confronting him would prove to be more disastrous than she could handle. Instead, she resorted to doing the only thing she could do: huff a breath and throw daggers at him from behind.

Unbeknownst to him of Aria's pointed looks, Gage stealthily hid himself amongst the foliage of shrubbery that covered the forest. He'd shown repeatedly that her disdain for him did little to faze him so this time would be no different.

Even so, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Such as the cunning hare that was presently eluding his capture. The clever animal had managed to escape his grasps many times now. Because of this, Gage chose to forego his direct approach and wait for it to come to him.

With his head in between his paws that were crouched to the ground, while his tail and lower body pointed upwards; he did just that. He waited, rather impatiently actually. His glowing brown eyes stalked the animal as it hopped around teasingly. Gage licked his sharp teeth, seeing the hare's protruding belly. He could almost taste its meat and his stomach protested in hunger.

Using his snout, he nuzzled a berry forwards, sending it rolling towards his prey. The hare leaned its head slightly as it stared cautiously at the fruit. It's tiny nose twitched mockingly as beady black eyes stared towards the bushes where Gage was lurking. It was apparent that the creature wasn't even the slightest bit fooled by his trickery.

Gage's mouth pulled back into a snarl, baring his teeth at the animal's inability to be deceived. He'd had enough. He pounced, releasing a series of wolf-like noises along the way. His paws hit the ground as his teeth snapped at the hare, only a mere inch away before it took off.

Gage's head collided into the mud and he growled in irritation. He'd been outwitted again by an animal no bigger than his left paw. The hare stopped, spared one final glance at the sulking wolf, wiggled its fuzzy tail then continued on its way.

Aria looked on, she couldn't help but snicker and cheer the animal on. For such a "skilled warrior" as he'd told them, his hunting skills were certainly mediocre at best. Even his fighting skills were questionable.

She'd concluded that his claims were merely a poorly constructed lie, nothing more. After all he'd failed to help Reagan. What a fraud, she thought.

"Some warrior," she mumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

Gage shifted, having given up on his hunt. Fur shrunk back revealing his light brown skin, clothes remained in tact, claws retracted into rounded out nails and he resigned to his habitual spot against a barren pine. Hearing her snide comment, his head snapped towards her. "What was that?" He asked calmly but the chilling look in his eyes told a different story.

Aria looked to be taken back but she soon recomposed herself. She'd forgotten all about his sensitive hearing. "If you're the best your pack has to offer, it's no wonder they're all dead," she spat coldly, barely giving her words a second thought.

When she'd first met Reagan he'd told her how his pack were attacked and only a handful of them were taken alive. Aria could only assume that the same was true for Gage.

Her theory proved correct when Gage's hands balled into fists and his body shook in anger. Aria didn't notice this for her head was kept low to the ground. Digging her fingers violently into the dirt she continued, "You did nothing to help him." The light pang in her heart at the mention of him sent silent tears down her cheek.

Gage appeared to have calmed down, though it didn't mean he showed any ounce of remorse for her. His face held a smug smirk that was not by any means foreign to him. "And what did you do?" He pressed, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Aria rose her head. Her mouth hung open as she struggled to form a rebuttal. "I-I..." She looked back down in shame as the realization dawned on her. She bit her lip, he was right, she had done nothing. Only sat there, terrified to move or do anything for that matter.

Taking her silence as a victory, Gage let out a laugh. He leaned his head against the tree. "As far as I'm concerned, he's dead because of you," his smirk never left his face. He spoke each word slowly, knowing the longer they lingered in the air, the more damage they would cause.

Aria narrowed her eyes at his complacent demeanor. "Shut up, he's still alive," she gritted enraged.

Gage's next words only added more fuel to her already unstable emotions. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," he mumbled.

By now, her body pulsated with anger. She stared at him with all of the hatred she'd kept pent up over the past few days. Everything in her wished for his death at her hands. She balled her hands into fists, feeling the fiery sensation slowly returning to her fingers and toes.

Even saw the faint cloud of smoke rising from her body before disappearing into the air. Unlike the day before, this time the tingling was soothing. It gave her a rush of power that she'd never felt before. She gritted her teeth as she glared at Gage, wishing she could burn holes through his skin.

Almost like her wishes had been answered, the torn jacket on his back erupted in flames. At first it was a spark but as she concentrated more on the the spark, it grew into full on flames. He yelled sharply, jumping to his toes.

She watched in confusion as Gage violently ripped the jacket from his body and toss it into the stream.

Aria blinked, her mind unable to collect what had just occurred. It had to be a coincidence, that was the only reason she could think of. Gage's eyes turned to her as his chest rose and fell. She quickly looked back down at the ground, feeling as he studied her wearily.

He stopped, turned rigid and gazed out at the surrounding bushes. Sniffing the air, he growled, "Someone's here." The rustling of leaves, though low, could not go unnoticed by him. He picked up the backpack that was sitting undisturbed. "Get your things. We're leaving," he barked.

Aria knew better than to argue. She hadn't felt any other presence than

the two of them but Gage's werewolf senses were never wrong. It was what had kept them alive these last few days. She carefully picked herself off the ground, trying her best to stay as quiet as possible.

She wasted no time in running towards the stream. Once there, she stood and listened. Following Gage's orders, they took off on the dirt trail behind the stream. Aria falling behind Gage due to him being much faster.

Nearly tripping over a fallen tree branch, Aria looked behind her. A part of her was hoping that said person was actually Reagan who'd managed to escape and find their whereabouts.

The rustling of the leaves continued and she pushed her legs to move faster. If it was in fact Reagan, he would have made his presence known by now. Now, the thought that perhaps it was the guards come to take them back, seemed much more indisputable.

Not that the idea didn't appeal to her. If they did take her back, at least she'd see Reagan again. But there was no telling if she, along with him and Caleb would be killed for escaping. As much as she felt like a coward, her only chance for them surviving was for her to construct a foolproof plan and then come back for him.

Aria wasn't sure where they were running to nor if Gage had a plan as to how they were going to hide from whatever was chasing them.

She was simply following his orders. Why? She wasn't exactly sure on that either. She hated him, there was no doubt about it, but he'd managed to help her survive all this time so she didn't question his methods.

Even when he suddenly stopped in front of a field, she followed in suit. He stared wearily at the number six that was ingrained in black on the grass then scoped the area for the unidentified stranger. Once again sniffing the air, he settled down on the grass.

That's when Aria decided it was time to pose her questions. "Shouldn't we keep going?"

Gage searched the ground and grumbled obscenities, realizing that he had left the bag and their only source of supplies behind. "Whoever is chasing us know better than to continue," he stated. The whole time he busied himself with watching the set of trees behind the seemingly out of place number.

Aria folded her arms, "And why is that?"

Gage sighed but continued staring out at the trees, watching, waiting. "You talk too much," he bluntly stated through the air of silence. The disgruntled Aria huffed in response. She readied herself to leave. There was no guarantee that the guards would just allow them to live. If Gage wanted to die then so be it but she had to stay alive in order to save Reagan.

Before she could, Gage interrupted her mid-way. "Not. Another. Step." He gritted through clenched teeth. "You see that six on the ground?"

Aria looked down, she hadn't noticed the strange number branded onto the field until he mentioned it. The number looked to have been somewhat scorched onto the ground by flames. The four moons circling the six were tinted a light gray color.

"That means we're on pack territory. Step over it and we're both dead," Gage informed with a scowl on his face.

Aria's eyes widened into saucers. She was sent tumbling to the floor as she tried to prevent her foot from stepping over it. "So we're just going to sit here and wait to die?" She asked scrunching her facial features, "What kind of warrior are you." Her eyes turned into slits as she looked at him with disapproval.

"If we leave we're sitting ducks to who ever's chasing us. This is our best option." Gage made no effort to look up at her, all but affirming that his days of entertaining her insults were over. "As long as we don't cross that number we should be-"

Gage didn't have time to complete his sentence before the pounding of feet sounded. He sat composed as a group of men emerged from the trees he'd been watching so diligently.

Aria on the other hand was anything but. She bit her lip -a little too hard. Her history with packs hadn't exactly left a pleasant taste in her mouth about them.

The leader in front, a middle aged man looked between the two of them. It was what he said next that sent a chill down her spine.

"Kill them both."

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Gage can be such a jerk am I right? But still there's just something so......mysterious about him that I can't bring myself to hate. Me and him have a love hate relationship. Vote if you enjoyed the chapter.