Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 10 - BIRDS OF A FEATHER

"Oh yeah?" Mam asked.

"There's a camp north of Pine Forest. Five guys, three girls. They smell rogue, but they're not Haven, so Ollie's pretty sure it's them."

If I was right, that would be the deposed Ember Alpha and his friends. It had been nineteen years. They'd smell rogue by now, especially if they'd been living rough. I turned off the tap for a moment. The black Sharpie looked a bit fainter, if only because I had stripped away a layer of skin.

My mam narrowed her eyes. "Only pretty sure? Hasn't Leo had a look?"

"He went with the Silverstones group. He's running down now, so he should be there by sundown," Fion explained.

"Alright, keep me updated. If it is the Fletcher kid, tell them to watch from a safe distance."

So they were indeed talking about the deposed Alpha. I was so busy patting myself on the back for making that connection that I turned the tap on too hard and got an impromptu shower. I heard someone snigger behind me, and that was when I noticed Bryn looming over me and watching me fail.

"Use some alcohol gel," he advised me.

I raised my eyebrows, but I did squirt a dollop of the stuff onto my hand. The black faded to light grey, and after a few more wipes it was hardly visible at all. The adults had all gone while I had been distracted — it was nearly dinnertime and they needed to round up the kids. Well, all of them except Cassidy, who was now scribbling on my sister's chart.

"Thanks," I muttered, more than a little surprised.

"Don't mention it," he said, a grin playing about his lips. "There was one year Eira did nothing but draw genitals on my arms. I sussed it out pretty quick."

That was such an Eira thing to do that I found myself returning his grin. It faded the second I glanced at her, lying in that bed and looking so fragile and pale. As I watched, I could've sworn I saw her eyelids flicker and her mouth twist into a frown.

"Reckon she's waking up," I told Cassidy, jerking my head at Eira.

"She's sedated now," she said. "She can't wake up."

Another flicker.

"Huh," I muttered. Of course, Eira didn't much like being that told she couldn't do something, and so she woke up anyway.

I was at her bedside in about a second flat, Bryn not far behind me. It took her a minute to realise that she was awake, and another minute to recognise me.

"Eva? When the hell did you get back?" she asked. Her voice was raspy and almost too quiet to hear, which was understandable, given that she hadn't had anything to drink since yesterday.

"This morning," I breathed.

"I missed it? Shit," Eira growled. "How long have I been out?"

"Just a day," Bryn supplied, a smile creeping across his face. "Hi."

"Hi to you too, shithead. I'm guessing it was a fit?"

We both nodded our heads, and Bryn held up two fingers. It was probably a blessing that she couldn't remember having the fits, because they didn't look like fun, and that was the understatement of the century.

"Oh," Eira mumbled. "Last thing I remember is downing some cranberry juice."

"It happened right after that," he told her.

Cassidy was hovering, of course. She had stopped the drip, and she was in the process of disconnecting Eira's cannula from the machine. She said, "Before you two start catching up, I need to check you over."