26 FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, CONTINUED
You know how in adventure movies, a party of explorers go deep into a jungle, and only the hero and maybe the pretty girl makes it out alive? Thank goddess, real life didn't play out like that.
So even though reality did bite, ants and mosquitoes didn't actually kill anyone off. All it did was serious p*** all my wolves off.
Remember all the good attitude they had during the escape from the Warlock's Dungeon? All gone now.
"S***!" Ben punched a tree. Nothing happened.
I pointed speechlessly.
"What now, Sam?" He growled at me. Was that anyway to speak to your Alpha?
"That was weak." I told him. What happened to his power punch?
"Its not worth it." Ben shrugged.
Oh. I thought his one punch might clear a path for us.
Nothing good had happened since we got to this floor. First it was the dark depths of the jungle, but now that we were semi out of it, we had to contend with being jabbed and poked by every kind of low growing leaf, vine, and branch.
On the bright side, Barry and Ink were taking the front now. They took turns to hack at the foliage in front of them with short swords and a healthy dose of cuss words.
I pretended not to hear them.
Even Ki had stopped telling the wolves to check their language. I think he gave up, either that or he was too damn tired to care anymore. I knew I was.
"When I get my hands on that f***ing old geezer!" Ben seethed.
Ben had been seething like that since we got to the jungle. If I were the warlock, I'd take every precaution to avoid Ben.
I mean, his bad***ed attitude wasn't anything new, but Ben was drenched in sweat. His face was flushed, his short crop of black curls were damp, and there were beads of perspiration on top of his lip. Nothing like his usual cool nonchalance. Even his monotone sounded tired and fed up.
EJ had exchanged his bouncy enthusiasm for a sulky whine.
"Go scout ahead." Ben ordered.
"What? Me?" EJ whined through duck lips. (I cannot explain how that was physically possible.)
"Who else is there?" Ben growled.
Cobra was somewhere ahead scouting the trail across the jungle, but we were at a fork now. Cobra had marked one way as a no go by drawing a chalk cross on a tree. He made another line at the next tree, but I guess Ben wanted to confirm if this was the right way before forging ahead.
"Are we still going the right way?" River worried.
Wilhelm checked his compass, "Yes, your highness."
"Why can't we just wait here for Cobra to come back?" EJ whined.
"EJ!" Ben snapped, "Go find Cobra and make sure this route is good to go!"
It's troublesome without mindlinks.
"Haizzzz!!!" EJ sighed, "EJ do this, EJ do that! EJ do everything around here."
"Grrrr..." Ben growled.
"Ahhh... I'm going, I'm going!" EJ said, he took one step forward and then stop to declare, "Scary beta will never get a girlfriend!"
How was that even related to anything?
"Just go, EJ." Barry gave the red head a friendly shove forwards, "Hurry up and see if this is the right way."
"Why do I always have to be the messenger boy?" EJ grumbled as he picked his way across the undergrowth, "This forest is weird. The flowers smell like s***. The trees smell like s***..."
Was he going to accuse all the items in this forest for smelling like s*** one by one?
The rest of us stopped for a short break so the humans could catch up.
"River, you're slowing everyone down." I scolded. I couldn't help it. I was in a bad mood too, and just seeing River slow down even his fellow humans ticked me off.
"Sorry, sorry." River apologized immediately.
"Apologies, Alpha." Wilhelm felt it was necessary to appease my irritation. It wasn't even his fault to begin with.
Of all the humans, Wilhelm was the only one keeping pace with my wolves, that is, he would be if he wasn't so preoccupied helping River and Keanu keep up.
"Even Keanu is walking faster than you are!" I ignored Wilhelm and flared at River.
Seriously! If he was going to be Savy's mate, he was going to have to walk faster than that!
"Sorry, sorry, Sam." River apologized.
"And stop apologizing!" For some reason that cheesed me off more.
"Sorry..." River answered.
Grrr.... Was he doing this on purpose?
"Ah, hahaha, okay, okay... " Keanu quickly stepped in, "River will walk faster."
"But I can't!" River argued, "If I could walk faster, don't you think I would?"
"Don't argue now, River. Can't you see Sam's in a bad mood?" Keanu hissed to his clueless friend. I don't think I was supposed to hear that, but I answered anyway, "I'm NOT in a bad mood!"
"It's true." Fluffy quickly asserted, "Beautiful Alpha is as calm as the sea."
Wth did that even mean?
"Shut up, Fluffy." Barry said, "Don't stir up trouble."
"Who me?" Fluffy smiled now.
Barry punched him. Fluffy stumbled backwards, but he straightened up again. Touching the side of his mouth where Barry's blow had landed, Fluffy smirked, "Just for the record, you threw the first punch!"
"So what if I did?" Barry shot back, "I'll punch that smirk off your face too!"
"Those without abilities are just dogs barking at the wind." Fluffy pulled back his fist... His very red hot fist.
"Stop it you two, or I'll punch the lights out of both of you." Ben shouted at them.
"Don't stop us, beta!" Barry said, "I've had it with this guy! All he does is cause trouble."
Well, I could understand the feeling.
"Real men don't use their pretty face!" Barry continued.
Real men usually didn't have pretty faces to use.
"Real men use their fists!" Barry declared.
Ah... Was this real man logic?
Both men charged at each other.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson!" Barry got the second punch in. (Combo x2.)
"Brutes like you..." Fluffy tripped Ben, "Are nothing but background actors."
Combo broken.
"F***ing *** *****" Ben growled under his breath.
"I'll show you background!" Barry charged again.
"Please allow me, beta." Ki smiled tersely and reached into his jacket - because yes, when everyone put on their gear to shield them from the sharp leaves, Lorent Princes put on their suits.
Arugghhhh.... Everyone was p***ed off. It's like every resentment I had ever felt boiling over the moment I see their faces.
There was a gun shot, followed by absolute silence, as if the entire jungle was shocked stiff.
"Now children. If you want to live to adulthood, you shouldn't fight." Ki smiled darkly, "It p***es me off."
"Y..yes beta." Barry stopped.
But Fluffy didn't stop smiling, "You won't. You're just a dog barking too."
"Wanna bet?" Ki's expression, I'm not sure how to describe it, the smile didn't falter, but it looked scary.
If I really did bet, I'll put my money on Ki. Fluffy was dead meat.
"The Keys I knew before would've shot the both of us by now." Fluffy's smile didn't falter either, and unlike Ki's many changing smiles, Fluffy's smiles all looked the same, "You're losing it. Nevermind being number 1 in the fight cage again, you won't even survive it the way you are now."
"Nobody is going back to the fight cages!" I cut in.
"We should stop fighting." Torque said.
"Affirmative. Infighting will cause our chances of survival to drop by 64%." Ink informed our group.
"Shut up, Ink." Barry growled at Ink.
"Yes. The stupid ones don't understand you." Fluffy smiled.
"Shut up, Fluffy." Barry snarled. Barry was losing it. Hahaha.
Wait, why was I laughing?
And then suddenly, Torque snapped too, "Don't.call.me.stupid!"
Seriously? But no one was even talking to him.
Torque charged at Fluffy. Torque's fighting style was very much like a gyaara, "Graaaaahhhhh!!!!"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ki lift his gun. I reached out and gently pushed it back down.
"Enough!" That was me. In alpha command and full on alpha dominance. I don't know why. I just lost it for a second there... Okay, for more than a second.
WTH was happening? I thought this team was solid?
"Sam?" River was someone who really didn't know how to fear. Such a fool... Just seeing his face made my blood boil.
Buy how was it that he was still able to move normally under my full blown alpha dominance? Even Ben and Ki were struggling to remain standing.
"S***, Sam." Ben gritted, but his eyes was on Fluffy, who was the only other one standing. The other guys were on their knees, head bowed, eyes to the ground. My alpha dominance wasn't something anyone could just stand up under, but Fluffy had alpha blood after all.
"You idiot!" I pointed at the beautiful smiling blond, "Even if you don't say anything, nobody is going to mistake you for a mute!"
Fluffy simply smiled at me. Grrrr...
And then at Ben, "Don't s*** me. Don't you know any other bad words?"
"It's for efficiency. I took the most versatile two." Ben said.
Wth.
I turned to Ki, who managed to force a weak smile in response, but my mind came up blank.
Luckily, River stupidly interrupted, "Sam, you need to get a grip... "
"Don't tell me what to do, human!" I snapped.
"Ah... I'm not... Technically... I'm a... I mean, sorry! Sam don't be mad. It's all my fault!" River obliged.
Grrr... "What's all your fault? Do you even know what you're apologizing for?"
I was too much over the boiling point by now, the words just all came bubbling out, "Don't think I've forgiven you just because we're friends! How dare you drag Savy into the warlock lands with you?"
"But... but Sam..." River looked honestly at a loss, "Savy is safe..."
"Shut up, River!" I yelled in his face, "But what if? What if you really made it to this tower? What would you do if anything bad happened to her?"
I grabbed River by his collar, "River, I swear if you ever endanger my sister again, I'll grrrr...."
River responded by grabbing my shoulders and shaking me, "Sam! Snap out of it! Geesh! What's gotten into everyone all of the sudden..."
I swatted his hands away, but I was too angry to talk. Why was I so mad?
I took a step back. Wth was happening?
"Oh!" River seemed to realize something. He fumbled with his chain. Somewhere along the way, his stone had floated behind him. He had to tug on his chain bit by bit till he managed to twist the stone back in front of him.
"What are you doing?" I asked. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Sam... stop...him..." Keanu struggled to get the words out from his prostrate position on the ground.