Chapter 25

I handed him my dirty clothes, he bunched them a threw them at a far distance opposite from where we stood.

“to keep them confused and I occupied, " he answered my unasked question.

“Let’s go,"  he took my hands and we crept out of the campsite.

"why_”

I start to say, but he turned sharply at me “shhh!" he hissed and that shut me up real fast.

*

We must have ran miles since the sun was already risen in it’s horizon.

“they are far behind." he said the moment we stopped for me to catch my breath.

My breathe was running away from me, so I laid to catch it before it runs to a far place.

“How can you be so sure?” I raised a brow. 

he looked smug “best tracker remember?”

right I actually forgot about that.

“What are you going to do if the find out about your betrayal?

It’s going to be really ugly for you, if they find you."

he waved a hand in nonchalance “ I’ve got myself covered."

he rose up "  let’s proceed, who knows we might be in Haji pack before night fall if we quicken our steps."

I rose with him “let’s be up and done with this, am really tired of this rollercoaster life put me on.  it’s time to leave this godforsaken forest for good." he nodded in agreement, holding my hand in his, he took off.

If you are somewhere watching our progress, you would have laughed at clumsy slow me.

Mond is as agile as a fox and I with the clumsiness of a hippo.

“Did you grow up in this town?” I asked him.

the silence was too consuming to me, am not the type of person that dwells in silence.

I prefer to have a little noise in the background and if I don’t fill out silent escape with a little talk, I will die of boredom.

“No we’re not from this pack. Our parents were murdered on the eve of their twentieth anniversary, that was when we were ten years of age, our parents gave birth to I and my brother 20 years after their mating ceremony.

My uncle Shobaha took us out of the pack before my parent’s murderers can do away with us and brought is to Akuru pack where we lived after his death, six years later.

My twin was more traumatized by everything that happened and his greatest fear is losing me his only living relative.

He might not have  shown it, but am that perspective," he smiled.

“ when he left, the Alpha decides to keep me based on my tracking skills.

if not for that I wouldn’t have seen the light of the day after my eighteenth birthday."

I stopped to take a deep breathe slowing him down “why is it I haven’t seen you exhausted since we started our run?

 you’ve not stopped to have a rest on your account, anytime we stop, it’s all for me and never for you." I accused “it’s not fair for a person to have the looks, skills and stamina, it’s truly unfair_” my breathing escalated

oh God please not here, when I escaped, I was afraid my health problems will catch up with me, but when it didn’t, I was grateful for small mercies, but I  know it’s back with a vengeance.

The run coupled with the cold floor I slept on are its trigger this time.

Mom’s worst nightmare is already taking taking place, but not with her in attendance.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening to you?!” Mond frantically looked at me. His face holding his fear hostage.

my heart grew faint as I gasped for breathe.

I flayed my hands in a bid to get a little control of the situation, but I couldn’t. Instead it made it a bit worse.

I held my nose, my chest hurts.

My inhaler.

I thought.

I need to have it right now if not am dead.

I recalled touching it when I changed clothes.

I never fail to take it wherever I go in case something happens, until today.

Mond looked down at me with worry “tell me what’s wrong so I can help!"

I tried to get the words out, choking on my breathe, my nose felt is blocked and my mouth, my only form of temporary breathing.

I give myself five minutes before my untimely death, my greatest regrets are , not telling my parents” I love you” for the last time in my life.

not having my dream men with me and not forgiving Mond.

I tried once more to get the words out, “M….y….in..in…ha….lee….” the pressure was so much.

It would have choked me to a painful death.

He stood up and rummaged frantically in his pockets “is this what you are asking for ?” He held my life in his hands, my inhaler.

I can’t nod from the intense pain, I raised my hands in a give me gesture.

“let me”, he opened and thankfully inserted it into my nostrils.

My first breathe after an eternity of choking was refreshing, so this is how a drowning person feels when they are rescued.

He breathed out a sigh of relief

 “thank the goddess you’re alive," he hugged me with tears in his eyes.

“thought I’ve lost you." he smiled in relieve “don’t do that to me again." He frowned.

I don’t reply to his words since I was busy feeding oxygen to my oxygen depraved body.

since I was diagnosed with Asthma, I haven’t had a fit this bad.

My mom does everything in her power not to trigger it, this was  her anger when she learnt I walked home from school.

I guess those exertion are what helped this incident.

“how did you come to be with it? Last I checked, my smelling clothes as you referred to them as was chucked into the forest together with all in it."

“I shagged it up when you weren’t looking, I thought it might be of importance to us on this journey and I thought right."

I smiled gratefully “thanks for your help, without you I don’t know what would have become of me.

Thanks so much for not abandoning me when I was almost at death’s door, am also sorry for doubting you earlier."

he shrugged “your doubts and lack of trust are justifiable, I betrayed you when you put all your trust in me, a mere stranger. What’s to stop me from betraying you again?

The fault is all mine not yours, you were a victim in this context. Thanks for believing in me once more."he smiled brightly.

“Your smile can lit up a dark sky, you know?Your brother is a damn bastard if he fails to see how awesome you are."

he shrugged "his lost, my gain”