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While Cole undressed and argued with anyone willing to listen to him, Nolan came to stand next to me. His mouth was set in a deep frown as he watched Declan whisper to Raven.
“Think she can do it?” I asked. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in Raven. I did. I was just one of the few people aware that she still struggled to control her shifts. Sometimes she could, sometimes she couldn’t. We wouldn’t know until she got to the second starting line at the edge of the forest where they were supposed to shift for the race.
“She’s got this,” he replied. “She’s fast and knows the forest like the back of her hand. Plus, she’s competitive as shit. Declan said he’s offering her some extra motivation. I didn’t ask him what that was.”
“That’s probably for the best,” I said.
“Let’s kick some wolf ass!” Finn screamed and threw his head back in a loud howl. See? Dramatic.
Even still, I smiled. The excited energy in the air was infectious as Cole joined the other three at the starting line. The race itself was simple. The four had to run across the lawn to the forest edge, shift, and then run the designated path through the woods. From start to finish, the race would take a half hour at most. Several wolves were scattered along the path to howl as the racers passed.
Meanwhile, the party would officially start here at the pack house. The Byrne leg of the partying was always less intense. There was still drinking involved, but for the most part, it involved a lot of snacks, grilling, music, and hanging out.
In a heartbeat, the four were off. I clasped my hands together, holding my breath as I prayed my heart out that Raven would make the shift. I wasn’t the only one, either. Nolan was as rigid as a board beside me while he tracked her across the lawn, and Declan looked stressed out. So did Cade. Even Sam, Finn, and Lucas were hanging onto one another as we waited for Raven to hit the tree line. We were the only ones privy to her struggle.
When she hit the trees, her shift was flawless. It didn’t matter to any of us that she wasn’t the first to shift. The screaming and cheering from us as she did was met with a loud howl that faded into the woods.
“Jesus fucking Christ she’s huge!” Killian exclaimed. I glanced in his direction, taking in the shock on his face. Oh, he hadn’t seen her shift before.
“And they’re off!” Lucas yelled. “Let the party begin! Drinks are in coolers around the lawn, snacks are in the kitchen, and Finn will get the grills going!”
“Well, now we wait,” Nolan said. He dropped an arm around my shoulders. “Come on. Let’s find a place to sit.”
“You’re with us,” Cade ordered, pointing at Nolan. “You and Declan can worry together.”
“I’m not worried,” Declan scoffed. He was worried. Granted, I wasn’t sure there would ever be a day that he wasn’t worried about her. That was just Declan. I gave him a small smile, which he barely returned. “She’s fine. She’ll be fine.”
Cade and Nolan made fast work of dragging lawn chairs—five of them—to our spot. As always, Cade and Declan stuck together with Holly wedged between Declan’s knees, staring at him as if she wanted his beer. When Killian dropped into the other seat next to Declan, my heart stuttered in my chest. Killian’s gaze briefly caught mine, but he said nothing.
“I’m going to… I’ll go inside,” I said quietly to Nolan. “Maybe your brothers need—”
“Sit your pretty self down. We get both of you in the divorce,” Cade said. An uncomfortable moment stretched between the group of us as Killian and I glanced at one another. Divorce had not been a conversation between us, but I had a feeling both of us were just waiting for the other to bring it up.
“Way to make things awkward, Cade,” Declan snorted around his beer.
“It’s what I’m good at,” he replied. “And drinking.”
“At least you know you suck at baseball,” Killian stated. That was a little harsh.
“I suck a lot of things,” Cade retorted with a cocky kind of pride. “I’m a fucking champ at it.”
“Suck at,” Declan corrected. “He said you suck at baseball. Baseball, Cade. That thing you do with the balls—”
“I do a lot of things with balls, Declan,” he interrupted with a cheeky grin.
“Wait… how many things can you do with balls?” Nolan stopped pacing to stare at Cade. Declan spit out his beer while Killian tipped back in his chair, laughing hard.
“Nolan!” I chastised through a giggle.
“What?” he demanded. “It’s for research!”
“You know, you say it’s for research, but I’m beginning to think you’re a kinky little fuck who likes seeing what you can get people to say,” Cade said. His head tilted to the side. “Are you a narratophiliac, Nolan?”
“What?” Nolan faltered, eyes blown wide in confusion. Oh, my sweet little smutty wolf writer had met his match. “No! I’m not whatever that is—we should look up what that is.”
“I’ll put it in your notes,” I told him.
“Nolan and his fucking research,” Killian snorted under his breath.
