The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 109 - one hundred and Nine

Chapter One Hundred and Nine

Alicia’s POV

The next morning came too early. I barely slept, too aware of Travis on the couch across the room. Too many thoughts racing through my mind.

Everyone gathered in the main hall after breakfast. Hunting gear was laid out. Rifles. Vests. Boots.

Sophie was staying behind with Cecilia, who couldn’t walk on her injured ankle. They’d stay at the estate while the rest of us went into the forest.

Pa Wood stood at the center, holding a list. "I’ve assigned the teams. Tom and Mario. Layla and Isabella. Sasha and Travis."

I waited for my assignment, already dreading whoever I’d be paired with.

"And Malachi and Alicia."

My stomach dropped. Of course. Of course it would be him.

I looked across the room. Malachi’s expression didn’t change. He just nodded like this was fine. Like spending hours alone with me in the woods wasn’t a problem.

We geared up in silence. I pulled on boots and grabbed a rifle. Made sure I knew how to use it properly. Pa Wood had insisted we all learn years ago. Said it was important for safety.

The groups split up once we entered the forest. Each team taking a different direction. Different territory to cover.

Malachi and I walked in silence. The only sounds were our boots on the forest floor and birds in the trees above.

After twenty minutes of this, he finally spoke. "We should hunt a boar. There are tracks here."

"Fine."

"You know how to track?"

"I know enough."

"Good. Then you take left flank. I’ll take right. We’ll corner it."

I didn’t argue. Just moved to the left like he’d said. Following the tracks through the underbrush.

The forest was dense here. Trees close together. Visibility limited. I had to watch every step to avoid tripping on roots or rocks.

I heard movement ahead. Slow. Careful. The boar.

I looked across the clearing and saw Malachi positioning himself. He raised his rifle slowly. Taking aim.

I held my breath. Watched him line up the shot. His finger moved to the trigger.

Then I stepped forward. My boot came down on a dry branch.

CRACK.

The sound echoed through the forest. The boar’s head snapped up. It bolted immediately. Crashing through the underbrush and disappearing into the trees.

Malachi lowered his rifle. Turned to look at me. His expression was somewhere between disbelief and anger.

"Seriously?" he said.

"It was an accident."

"An accident? You stepped on the loudest branch in the entire forest."

"I didn’t see it."

"How could you not see it? It was right in front of you."

"Maybe because I was watching you instead of my feet."

"Watching me? Why the hell were you watching me?"

"Because you had a gun pointed in my general direction! I wanted to make sure you didn’t accidentally shoot me!"

"I know how to handle a rifle, Alicia. I’m not going to shoot you."

"Could’ve fooled me. You looked pretty trigger happy."

"I was about to get us a boar. And you ruined it by being loud."

"Oh, I’m sorry. Next time I’ll make sure to tiptoe through the forest like some kind of woodland fairy."

"That would be helpful, yes."

I glared at him. He glared back. We stood there in a standoff. Both of us too stubborn to back down.

"You know what," I said. "Maybe if you’d communicated better, I would’ve known when to stay still."

"I did communicate. I said take the left flank. That means quietly position yourself. Not stomp around like you’re trying to scare away every animal in a ten-mile radius."

"I did not stomp."

"You absolutely stomped."

"You’re being ridiculous."

"I’m being ridiculous? You just cost us our hunt because you can’t watch where you’re stepping."

"Maybe I wouldn’t have stepped on the branch if you hadn’t been making me nervous with that gun."

"The gun wasn’t even pointed near you!"

"It felt like it was near me!"

"That’s not how guns work, Alicia!"

We were almost yelling now. Standing in the middle of the forest arguing about a branch and a boar that was long gone.

"Fine," I said. "It’s my fault. I messed up. Happy now?"

"No, I’m not happy. We’ve been out here for an hour and have nothing to show for it."

"Then maybe you should’ve been paired with someone else. Someone who knows how to hunt properly. Someone like Cecilia."

The name came out more bitter than I’d intended. Malachi’s expression changed. Something flickered across his face.

"Cecilia has a sprained ankle," he said quietly.

"Obviously. I was being sarcastic."

"Were you?"

"Yes. I was suggesting you’d rather be with literally anyone else. Which I’m sure is true."

"You don’t know what’s true."

"Don’t I? You made it pretty clear who you’d rather be with."

We were veering into dangerous territory now. Away from hunting and into things we shouldn’t talk about.

"We should keep moving," Malachi said. "Find another target."

"Fine."

We walked in tense silence. Following new tracks. Looking for anything we could salvage from this disaster.

"There," Malachi said after a while. He pointed to deer tracks. Fresh ones. "If you can manage not to alert this one, we might actually get something."

"I said it was an accident."

"Accidents have consequences."

"I’m aware."

We followed the tracks carefully. This time I watched every single step. Made sure I wasn’t anywhere near a branch or anything else that could make noise.

The deer came into view. A large buck. Beautiful antlers.

Malachi raised his rifle again. I held completely still. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t move.

He took the shot.

The buck dropped.

"Finally," he muttered.

We approached the fallen animal. Malachi checked it. Confirmed the kill.

"See?" he said. "That’s how it’s supposed to work. Quietly. Carefully. Without stepping on branches."

"I get it. I messed up the first one. Can we move past it now?"

"Can we?"

The question felt like it meant more than just the hunt. Like he was asking about something else entirely.

"I don’t know," I said honestly. "Can we?"