Wild Hunt - Kali Argent Page 0,38

might suggest. He just sounded tired. “I used to hate them. I used to think they were just these disgusting monsters that needed to be put down. Now, I kind of feel sorry for them.”

Mackenna felt sorry for them, too. It wasn’t fair what had happened to them. They hadn’t asked for it. This had been done to them, and they were just doing what they had to do to survive. Feeding, fighting, and…

“Oh, shit,” she breathed. “What happens if they have pups? Do you think they’re born feral as well?” Would Ravagers even have the capacity to raise and care for their offspring?

“I have no idea.” Cade pressed his lips into a grim line and shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about that, to be honest.”

He was right. There was no use torturing herself with questions she couldn’t answer and situations she couldn’t change. “Do you think they could be cured?”

To his credit, he didn’t outright refuse the suggestion. After a few moments of contemplation, however, he shook his head. “I don’t think so. The virus didn’t make them feral, not directly, so I don’t think curing it will change them back. I think if they could shift, it would just make them more deadly.”

Mackenna winced at the mention of shifting. She knew she needed to tell him, and soon. She could trust Cade. He’d never let anyone lock her in a cage again, no matter the circumstances. At the same time, it was a big secret, one that could potentially put him in danger if anyone ever suspected her. She wanted to trust the people she’d met at the safe house, especially when they’d all been so good to her.

Were they all as honorable as they claimed to be? Probably, but she wasn’t willing to bet either of their lives on it.

“Where exactly are we headed again?”

Grateful for the change in subject, Mackenna brushed back a few stray hairs that had escaped her braid and smiled. “Cuna Mundo. It’s this little ranching town out in the middle of nowhere.”

A lot of people claimed to live in similar places. She’d heard it a lot in Colorado, but in her case, it wasn’t just hyperbole. The only things worth noting inside the town limits was a feed store and a hole-in-the-wall diner with a limited menu. The residents of Cuna Mundo had to drive at least half an hour in any direction to even buy a gallon of milk or a pack of cigarettes.

Neither of them spoke for a long time after that, and Mackenna used the quiet to reflect on her current emotional state. She probably should have been freaking out, at least a little. They’d just been attacked by a pack of rabid wolves, and she’d watched a man—well, he’d been a man at one point—die right in front of her.

She didn’t know what it said about her that she felt nothing beyond a vague sense of relief. After another few minutes, she decided it was probably better not to consider it too deeply. It had happened. It was over, and they had survived it.

Shit happens. Then you die.

It wasn’t just a funny T-shirt anymore. It was kind of a mantra.

“So, if this is where you’re from, what were you doing in Colorado?” A frown tugged at his lips, and he snorted derisively as he shook his head. “Damn, I guess I never even asked you what it is you used to do.”

In fairness, two years felt like a lifetime ago. They weren’t those people anymore, and that past didn’t even seem real, let alone important. She knew Cade had been in the military, but if he hadn’t volunteered the information, she honestly didn’t know if she would have thought to ask.

“I was a student at Colorado State University in the Veterinary Medicine program.”

“Damn.” He whistled. “Impressive.”

She sat up straighter in her seat and preened a little. It had been one of the top-rated vet programs in the country, and the competition for admission had been fierce. She was proud of what she had accomplished, even if she’d never been able to complete the final year of her graduate degree.

“I was on my way home for winter break. Everything was madness. Traffic was basically at a standstill on the interstate, so I pulled off to take the backroads.”

“And you got lost.”

Mackenna huffed. “I was not lost.”

Cade shrugged, clearly not believing her. She opened her mouth, prepared to defend herself, even if they both knew anything