Chapter 14 - Outnumbered

• Author POV -
• Mark and Brian take up posts at opposite ends of the small camp while the others set about getting food and sleeping bags set up. Aria and Tasha set about gathering dry wood for the fire, Harry gets out the sleeping bags and Keith moves to help him lay them close to the fire. Georgina silently moves to take the food from the bags and Eric disappears, returning quickly with water to boil.
• Everyone settles in for the night, knowing none of them will sleep well with the threat so close to them. Brian and Mark share a look as everyone settles down, and an understanding flows between them as they both acknowledge that the pull of the bond has strengthened since Mark opened up to Brian, letting him see a side of himself that not many others have ever known even existed let alone seen. Their want for one another had grown, but they both knew they would have to wait before they could act on their impulses, they turned away from one another, facing the forest for the best possibility of spotting an ambush.