Chapter 56: 56

NADINE’S P.O.V

The most frustrating part about hunting was the wait.

I set the traps the way Rowan told me. I set it far enough from the cave that the monsters wouldn’t accidentally stumble on us but close enough that I could find it again. Once it was set, I left it to search for anything edible.

I found a few fruits, but nothing substantial. We couldn’t live like this, not for long anyway so I walked further. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, I just kept moving in the hopes that I would find something or someone that could help me.

The odds weren’t exactly in my favor, but the only other choice was starving to death out here. It was a no brainer which one I chose.

I didn’t find anyone, but I found a small cave. It was no more than a few rocks stacked over each other. It was the perfect place to roast game. It was far from our cave, it was secluded and hidden.

It was already getting late when I made my way back to the traps and I felt the sharp sting of defeat when I found it empty. I wanted to scream and pull out my hair in frustration.

Fuck Jennifer and her self-righteous bullshit. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be in this position.

With a heavy sigh, I trudged back to the cave and I found Rowan a few feet away from the mouth of the cave. There was sweat on his brow and his arms strained from the effort of keeping himself up. He leaned against the wall for support, trying to force his legs forward but it wasn’t easy considering he couldn’t put any weight on his left leg.

“Hey,” I whispered and he looked up at me. “How’s the physical therapy?”

“Terrible,” he groaned, lowering himself to a rock. “I can barely stand.”

“I wasn’t able to catch anything. I got some fruits but that’s about it.”

He sighed. “It’s your first day, princess, cut yourself some slack.”

“We’re going to die of starvation.”

He shrugged. “It’s not the worst way to go.”

I rolled my eyes, lowering myself to the ground. “I’m not kidding, Rowan. This is serious. I don’t know what the fuck I am doing. We have no food, and I can’t go back to the town because it’s too far. You’ll die before I get back. I don’t know what to do.”

“Just take a deep breath and we can figure it out tomorrow.”

My voice was low as I spoke. “That’s not good enough.”

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.

I wasn’t sure if he just couldn’t see it or if he was trying to be positive for my sake but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t pretend that we weren’t dying right now.

I heard him shuffle closer to me until our legs were brushing and he easily pulled me into his lap.

“Your leg!” I began but he ignored me, lifting me over his hips until I was straddling him.

“You’re doing a great, fucking job,” he whispered, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “We’re not going to starve here. Tomorrow will be better.”

“That’s if there are any animals left here. Who is to say that the monsters haven’t killed them all?”

“They don’t touch the smaller creatures?”

My head snapped to him at that. “How do you know that?”

“I spent a lot of time outside, princess.”

“But I saw it attack a hare once, remember.”

“Yes, but they’ll ignore a smaller creature unless they’re hungry. You won’t find a large deer or mountain lion in these woods, but you’ll find a squirrel or a hare. You’ll catch something soon enough, I know you.”

I wanted to believe him, I truly did, but I couldn’t bring myself to be optimistic right now. The odds weren’t in our favor.

We had no food, we barely had enough clothes, we didn’t have enough medical supplies either or antibiotics and I was silently praying to anyone who would listen that Rowan’s leg wouldn’t get infected.

We weren’t even looking for the bunker anymore because right now, the most important thing was survival and we were failing at that.

Rowan grabbed my arm. “We will be fine.

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can, because I’d put a knife through both our hearts before I watch you die.”

I snorted. “That’s not romantic.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.” He cupped my cheeks so I was staring at him. “We will get out of this the way we get out of everything else… together.”

We should have been conserving our energy. I should have nodded and pulled off him like a normal person, but instead, I leaned down and kissed him.

His fingers tangled in my hair, our breaths mingling, our bodies fusing against each other like we were made for one another. He was hurt, we were starving and yet, nothing else mattered in that moment. There was no torturously slow pace, it was just two people absolutely feral for each other.

My pants went off but that was it.

There was a flurry of hands; he pushed my panties to the side, I pulled him out of his pants and slowly slid down on his length. He filled every inch of me, his hot breath by my ear whispering sweet nothings and telling me just how good it felt.

I clung to him, my fingers scraping his back as our bodies and minds connected in more ways than one. Our mouths fused together, our tongues battling for dominance despite the thick tension surrounding us.

It was terrifying, it was exhilarating, and when I came, his tongue slipped into my mouth, swallowing every sound that I made. He came soon after but didn’t pull out, and I felt him slowly soften inside of me.

We stayed there for what felt like hours after, merely basking in the comfort of each other. I didn’t want to pull apart, didn’t want the moment to end. Even when we curled up together to sleep, my heart hammered in my chest and I hoped that he would forgive me for what I was about to do.

I waited until he was fast asleep and his breathing was even before placing a soft kiss to his forehead.

It was a miracle that he didn’t stir as I pulled myself out of his embrace. I grabbed the daggers, strapping them to my sides as I snuck out of the cave. I wasn’t sure where I was going but if there was one thing I knew about the forest, it was that the animals came out to play at night.

I wasn’t going to catch anything during the day, and if I wanted to live, I was going to have to take some very big risks… risks that Rowan would kill me for taking. But it was for our benefit.

I cast one last fleeting glance at the cave before disappearing into the darkness.

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