chapter 50(3)

“Zane said some were still down the river washing laundry, but this is the first time I have been in the camp. I wanted to wait for you to come. They won’t recognize me,” Malik tells me, and I nod to him. Usually, Malik waits back or checks the outside camps surrounding this one, but I can see his excitement about new pack members. Jonah looks around with a huge grin on his face at all the children running around when a group of them stops and stares at him curiously. “Do you know him?” Asks a little girl with blonde ringlets, looking up at me. “Yeah, he’s my dad,” Jonah tells her. “I’m Lia. Do you want to play?” She asks Jonah. “No, I have to help my dad, maybe when we all get home,” Jonah tells her, and she nods, rushing off after the rest of the kids. “Ah, they are finally coming back,” Malik says, pointing to the trail leading off into the trees across the other side of the clearing where the river runs through. The wind shifts, the scorching breeze caresses us, and the trees sway