Love in the wild

The storm within

The rain came hard that night, hammering the jungle canopy like a war drum. Lightning cracked the sky in jagged bolts, illuminating Ava’s pale face as she stared into the flickering fire. Leo sat opposite her, tending to his wounded arm, but neither had spoken in a while. The silence between them had grown heavy, taut with the things they weren’t ready to say.

Ava's mind was spiraling. Darren had betrayed her again—used her as bait to lure Leo out. He had lied, manipulated, even killed. And somehow, Mara was pulling the strings behind it all.

But what haunted Ava most was the truth Leo had confessed in the heat of that battle: he had once worked for Mara. Not as a soldier—but as a hunter. A tracker.

"I used to be like her," he had said. "Before I knew what it cost me."

Ava had felt her chest go hollow. All this time, she thought Leo was haunted by war. She didn’t know he’d once stood on the side of monsters.

Now, under the cover of storm, she glanced at him again. His brow was furrowed as he stitched up the gash across his bicep, his jaw clenched in pain.

"Let me do that," she said finally, rising and crossing over to him.

Leo looked up, surprised. "You don't have to."

"I want to." She knelt beside him and took the needle gently from his fingers.

As she worked, her fingers brushed his skin. His breath hitched, but he didn’t move away. The fire crackled between them, the thunder rolling over the treetops.

"Why didn’t you tell me about Mara?" she asked softly.

Leo stared into the flames. “Because I thought I could keep you away from that part of me. I thought… if I could protect you, maybe I wouldn’t have to face it again.”

"You mean the part of you that helped her?"

His jaw tightened. “Yes.”

Ava finished the stitch, tying it off carefully. She looked up at him, her eyes searching. “But you left.”

"I did," he nodded. "The moment I realized what we were doing. Mara didn't care about peace or control. She wanted chaos. She used people. Killed without blinking. I tried to walk away—and she made me watch them kill my sister."

Ava’s breath caught. “Is she really gone?”

Leo’s eyes were glassy. “I don’t know. They never found the body. Mara said she was dead—but she lies better than anyone I’ve ever known.”

A long silence passed between them. The storm was relentless, but in the stillness of the cave, Ava felt something shift. Leo wasn’t just a protector. He was broken, too. Hiding wounds even deeper than hers.

She touched his hand.

“You’re not that man anymore.”

He looked at her, a flicker of something soft breaking through his hardness. “You’re not the woman you were when you ran either.”

Ava felt her throat tighten. She leaned in, her forehead resting against his.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Me too.”

Their lips met, tentative at first, then fierce—like they were clinging to the only thing that still felt real. The storm raged outside, but inside the cave, they found a fragile moment of warmth.

When they finally broke apart, breathless, Leo cupped her face. “If we’re going to survive this, we need to end it.”

Ava nodded. “Mara?”

“She won’t stop. She wants me back—or dead.”

"And she’ll use me to get to you," Ava said bitterly.

“No,” Leo growled. “Not again.”

---

The next morning, the storm had passed, but the jungle felt heavier. Mist clung to the leaves like sweat, and the air was thick with tension.

Leo led them northeast, deeper into territory that Ava didn’t recognize. They moved quietly, Leo’s eyes constantly scanning. Ava had learned to trust his instincts—he moved like part of the jungle, cautious but precise.

"Where are we going?" she asked after an hour of silence.

"To the ruins," he said. "Old rebel camp Mara used to use. If she’s back in the area, she’ll go there first. It’s where she feels most in control."

Ava swallowed hard. “So we confront her.”

Leo nodded. “Or we get the proof we need to bring her down. Either way, it ends there.”

They traveled for hours, stopping only to drink from streams and check their surroundings. The deeper they went, the more abandoned remnants they saw—collapsed shacks, bullet-ridden trees, rusted crates of supplies.

Ava noticed Leo growing tenser.

“This place… it’s like a graveyard,” she whispered.

He nodded grimly. “It is.”

By late afternoon, they arrived at a ridge overlooking the ruins of the rebel base. Ava knelt beside Leo and peered through the scope he handed her. What she saw turned her stomach.

Mara was there.

And she wasn’t alone.

Several armed guards stood around a bonfire. At the center of it all, tied to a post, was someone Ava didn’t expect to see—Dr. Reyes, the conservation camp leader. Her face was bruised, but she was alive.

“She has her,” Ava gasped.

Leo cursed under his breath. “Damn it. She’s using Reyes to draw us in.”

“And it’s working.”

Leo didn’t answer. His jaw was locked, his eyes blazing with rage and calculation.

“We go in tonight,” he said. “After dark.”

Ava placed a hand on his shoulder. “We do it together.”

He looked at her. “You sure?”

“I’m not leaving another person behind to die. Not her. Not you.”

Leo gave a small, rare smile. “Then let’s finish this.”