Ella’s POV
“Let’s move.” Kevin said as we got back to where the others were.
“We have been waiting for you.” Liam said as he moved forward.
I ignored the looks the men gave me and Kevin and snorted, shaking my head at them. What did they think happened between us when we were together? We were barely alone for five minutes and they thought we could have gotten down and dirty in that moment.
I shook my head again at them, hating how predictable men thought, male werewolves especially.
We moved in silence, with only Kevin talking once in a while as he read through the map and directed us on where to go.
We got to the river not quite long and all stared in amazement. Due to how huge the mountain was, I had assumed that it would be a wide river as well but it seemed like I wasn’t the only one who had assumed wrong from the looks on the faces of others.
“I’m relieved it is not wide and deep. We can easily walk through.” Augusta chuckled. “For a while, I was afraid that we might have to battle with huge torrents and be washed away.”
I smiled. That was a huge relief indeed.
“Let’s go in.”
Someone’s stomach rumbled and we all looked at Loki. He blushed and shook his head.
“I’m not the one.” He said, chuckling.
The rumbles got louder and I smiled, knowing that couldn’t have been Loki alone. The men had shifted and fought, it was expected that their appetite would be heightened even though they naturally eat much.
“I thought that we would find some fishes in this river to eat for breakfast.” Kevin sighed.
“Should we unpack and have some food? I have some canned food in here.” Augusta asked.
“We don’t have to do that.” Kevin said. “We will get to the second river soon and hopefully, we would get fishes there.”
“The key word is hopefully.” Liam chuckled. “What if the river is like this?”
“Then we have no choice but to eat from our reserve. Until then, we have to keep moving forward till we get to the second river. I know we can do it.”
The men grunted but they didn’t defy his orders. We kept moving forward and it wasn’t long till we all got out of the river. We got out safe without any issue except that we were wet.
I grimaced as I glanced down at my clothes, hating how wet I was. I was grateful I was wearing a pair of trousers instead of gown. I would have hated myself as wet fabric swished all around as I walked.
Kevin noticed where I was looking at. “It will get dry soon.” He said.
I snorted. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better.”
He shook his head. “I’m not lying. It shows on the map that the wind around here is higher.”
“We ought to be grateful for the map.” I teased.
He glanced at me as if he was trying to figure out what I meant. I sighed, hating that Kevin was acting anxious around me. We still had a long way to go to cement our strained relationship and I hoped that with time, we would be able to get to how tight we were five years ago.
We were once best friends who fell in love with each other. I hoped it wouldn’t be hard to get back to how we were before the fall out.
He was still looking at me instead of the path he was walking on and I smiled as he stumbled and bit out a curse.
The men chuckled behind his back and he glanced at them, glaring in annoyance. Some of them kept quiet while others kept on snickering without caring that he was angry.
“You should have looked at where you were going.” I admonished him.
“It isn’t my fault that I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.” He smiled.
My face went hot at his words and it didn’t help that the men made cheering sounds behind us. What he did he think that he was doing? Trying to be sweet with his words?
He was a horrible player and even though I pretended to not care about what he said, I knew that it struck a chord in me.
“Oh! We are here.” Augusta shouted in excitement. “I can see it.” He said, running forward.
He stopped suddenly and we all wondered what was going on. “What happened?” We asked but he didn’t answer.
I sighed, hoping it wasn’t disappointment that made him pause. I knew the others expected the second river to be bigger than the one we had seen because of fishes we could eat but I had different reasons. I hoped it would be wide and deep so I could bathe myself. My skin felt itchy and clammy.
“Oh!” The gasp escaped from my throat and my heart sank in disappointment as I moved closer and saw the river. It was no wonder that Augusta had paused when he saw the river. He had been disappointed as I hoped not.
The river was the same size as the one we had seen earlier. I waved goodbye to my dream of having a bath as I knew the others were saying to the hope of eating fishes.
Kevin should have let us eat the canned food when it had been suggested. There was no way the men could work another distance without eating and by now, their hunger would have doubled up.
I glanced at Kevin and knew he already regretted his decision from the look on his face.
“I don’t think we can find any fish here.” He sighed.
I sighed and gasped suddenly when I saw a ripple over the surface of the water. A fish bobbed up and down into the river followed by another. They seemed to be having their own fun without an idea that predators were near.
I turned to the men with a smile and their expressions mirrored mine. Everyone was happy. I guessed miracles actually do occur.
I laughed as the men rushed to the river to catch fishes and make breakfast.