“Scared?” Nicky asked, still enjoying himself.
“Not scared, no, but Hunters are in the woods, and we won’t last long without wolf blood. They said they’d feed us before we left. ”
Nicky nodded. “We’ll find Rory and feed from him. It won’t taste as good, and you won’t enjoy it much, but it will nourish you. I’ll swear Rory to secrecy. Let Marco and Ian worry about us going feral. It will serve them right. I just might plant a little idea in Rory’s head too, in case they manage to break him down. One that will have Marco eating out of my hand. ”
Nicky led Logan to Rory’s quarters, assuring Logan there would be no one there that time of day. Once there, Nicky went into Rory’s closet and found shirts, jeans, and boots that would fit them and coats for both. He included a second set to provide them both with a change, grabbed a few blankets off the shelf as well, and handed some to Logan.
“Now we need to slip away without being seen by too many people and take off to the woods. We’ll figure out where we’re going once we get safely out of here and find Rory. ”
They accomplished the first task without too much difficulty, but finding Rory was a different story. They went to three different work sites before they saw him on the north side of the compound chopping wood. Luckily, he was off by himself, with only a few other workers around. Nicky called softly to him from the tree line, and he looked up in surprise. Putting down his axe, he went over to him.
“What are you two doing out here? I thought Marco was keeping you in jail. ”
“Marco decided to get cute and try to force me to obey him. He banished us for thirty days if we refused tojoin a work detail,” Nicky explained.
“What? You must have really made him furious, Nicky. One day you’ll push him too far. ”
“Hmm, that day may have come. We’re leaving Mountainwood. ”
“What?”
“Oh, stop saying what, Rory. You knowI won’t let Marco force me that way. He needs to learn a lesson once and for all. I’m not his damn little slave or his child. We’re leaving for the full thirty days. If Marco and Ian are worried, oh well. ”
“But what about your feedings? You can’t last thirty days without—oh no, sothat’s why you’re here. I don’t want to get involved in this!”
“So you’d rather see us starve? Rory, you have to help. ”
“Damn, Nicky, feeding two of you will make me so weak I won’t be able to work the rest of the day. ”
“So say you’re sick and go home. ”
“Shit!” Rory rolled up his sleeve and bit down into his wrist. Nicky went first, drinking deeply.
He finished and looked up at Rory. “Do you need to rest?”
“No, go ahead, Logan. ” He held out his arm to Logan.
Gingerly, he put his mouth on Rory’s wrist and sucked. Nicky was right. It didn’t taste anything like Ian’s. It wasn’t as unpleasant as he thought it would be, but he still had to force himself to keep sucking until Nicky touched his arm.
“Enough, Logan. That should last us for two weeks. Rory, we’ll need to see you again in a couple of weeks to feed. Will you meet us back here? Same place?”
Rory, little pale and weak, nodded his head. “Okay, but be careful, Nicky. The Hunters are in the woods. ” He glanced over at Logan and shrugged apologetically. “Sorry. ”
“It’s all right. I’m not a Hunter anymore. I’m Werekin. ”
Rory smiled,and Nicky squeezed Logan’s hand. “Remember, Rory, you haven’t seen us. Don’t give them the comfort of knowing we’ve fed. Oh, and one more thing. We’re thinking of asking the Huntersfor asylum if something can’t be worked out. Then they’ll have to send blood in to us on a regular basis if they want to keep us alive. If Marco and Ian don’t value us anymore and want to banish us, we’ll go to the Hunters for help. They might even have discovered a synthetic blood by now. ”
Rory shook his head. “Damn, Nicky, you’re talking crazy and you can be so cruel to Marco. You know you don’t mean any of that!”
Nicky blushed. “I might! Okay, of course I won’t. You know I’m crazy about Marco, but he’s so stubborn. He can be pretty cruelhimself, and he has to stop treating me like I’m a disobedient kid. Just look at how Ian has treated poor Logan. You’re welcome to come with us. ”
“No, Casey has finally started acting almost normal again. It’s been a rough couple of days for me. You know how he gets. I’ll stay and tough it out—I’m used to working anyway. If I wasn’t doing this, it would be some other chore. No, just be careful. Please. Forget this shit about the Hunters, Nicky. You’ll get yourself and Logan into some serious trouble. ”
Nicky shrugged and gave Rory a hug.
“I thought you couldn’t touch another wolf,” Logan said.
“He’s related to Marco so it’s allowed between us. Besides, I don’t much care about wolf laws right now. ”