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“Only when you were showering. Better?”
She cracked up. He was so fun and always had a retort, and he brought out the joker in her too. No man had ever been able to do that. “I guess that’s a little better,” she said sarcastically. “When are you going to give me my present?”
“Oh, now you want it?”
“You have spoiled me into being high maintenance. You created this monster.”
“It’s not quite done. Give me a few days.”
She hid the blush in her cheeks as she thought about the real reason she wanted whatever he was making her. In some of the Crews of Damon’s Mountains, the avian shifters—the ravens especially—gave each other presents to lay a claim to a mate. Kru wasn’t a bird shifter, but she still liked the idea of the present, especially now that he was open with his intentions. Who knew if he would ever be comfortable with claiming marks after his history with Sasha, but he was doing well letting Cadence know he was invested. He wanted her, and she was growing less scared of how big he felt.
She was falling hard for him. Last night she had been so scared she would lose him, and it opened her eyes to some important things—life was short, and she wanted to spend as much time getting to know Kru as she could.
Cadence was going to get him a present too. Even if he didn’t know her unsaid reasons for exchanging gifts, it would secretly mean something to her.
Chapter Thirteen
“I messaged Gunner three times with no answer,” Lucas muttered, pacing the halo of light that flickered around the firepit.
“Five bucks says he doesn’t show,” Jenna said.
“I’ll take that bet,” Kru said.
“What is the point of this meeting?” Lucia asked in a bland tone from where she sat on a wooden bench ten yards away.
“Because we need to set ground rules, apparently,” Lucas growled. “And because we’re all off doing our own shit, and nobody knows what anyone is up to!”
Kru leaned forward and dragged Cadence’s neon-pink camp chair closer to him, then lifted her legs at the ankles and draped them across his lap. “Hiding my boner,” he announced.
“Dude,” Lucas muttered as Cadence laughed.
Even Lucia cracked a smile.
Lucas sat down heavily into a rocking chair beside Jenna. “I didn’t know you were logging,” he said, his eyes wild.
Kru shrugged. “So? You showed up when I needed you to.”
“I didn’t even know you and Gunner were on the same logging crew!”
“This sounds like a you problem,” Lucia said as she snipped the dead ends of her dark hair with a miniature pair of scissors. Where had those even come from?
“Look, I know everything about everyone,” Kru announced.
“Oh yeah?” Lucas challenged him. “Tell us all about ourselves.”
He pointed to Lucia. “You live mainly in the woods in a cabin you built with your dad because you have commitment issues with the Crew and you enjoy your solitude. On Thursdays you play bingo in town because it’s something your mother likes to do with you. You always sit at the back table with her, and you both drink a glass of cheap wine. Your favorite color is charcoal gray, you hate your visions, and you have no clue why you can’t Change anymore. And all day today you thought about Landon Fuller, wondering if you want to kiss him or kill him.”
Lucia had frozen in place, the miniature scissors still lifted. She just blinked several times, but didn’t say anything to argue.
Kru moved to Jenna next. “You used to feel like you didn’t belong anywhere. Lately you are absolutely blossoming as you’ve gained friends in this Crew and began to feed your protective side. You’re still building a nest in the woods, and Lucas gives you sticks for it. Your favorite food is pizza rolls, and your favorite activity is Bash’s pizza roll barbecues because you get to play with all the little kids and catch up with the people you love. You are an exceptional welder, your favorite time of year is summer because that’s when you fell for Lucas, and you punch like a girl. That’s a compliment.” He looked over at Lucas. “Our fearless Alpha. You would kill for us, but sometimes you don’t pay attention and that’s understandable because you didn’t really sign up for this job. It was shoved into your lap after a lot of years of solitude, and you wanting to have bonding time for the Crew says two things. One, you are feeling guilt that you don’t know enough about our personal lives, and two, you care. Both are signs of a good Alpha, but you are going to struggle when everything doesn’t go perfectly. You don’t understand the emotional side of people, but you do understand solving problems with your fists and that makes sense because…Warlander Silverback.” He grinned at Cadence, and she readied herself for something mind-blowingly insightful. “Cadence likes it from behind, and Gunner is on his way with food.”
She pursed her lips as her cheeks heated. “I feel like you could do a little better than that.”
Kru exhaled a put-upon sigh and said, “Fine. She doesn’t like butt-stuff.”
Lucia gave an evil-sounding laugh from outside the firelight, and then coughed to try and cover it up.
“I’m not giving away information about you. That’s mine,” Kru said lightly. “They can figure you out themselves. No helpsies.”
