“You doing okay?” Jenn asked, touching his arm.
“Yeah.” Jason sighed, gaze still trained on Daryl. It took a lot of effort to make himself look away and face Jenn. “It’s gonna be hard, but . . .” He shrugged a shoulder. “It is what it is.”
“Yeah.” She nudged him with her elbow. “I’m still gonna beat you both though.”
Jason laughed. “Not a chance.”
“FUCK ME.” Jason walked next to Daryl as they took in the start of the obstacle course. Alpha Cornell had allowed them a quick walk through before the others arrived, in the spirit of fairness.
“I’m not sure if this is helping or making it worse.” He’d seen obstacle courses on TV in various human game shows, but he hadn’t appreciated how different a shifter one would be.
Daryl let out a low whistle beside him.
For now, with something else to occupy them, their proximity was acceptable. They weren’t each other’s sole focus.
They were also avoiding the topic like the plague.
That suited Jason just fine. He had no desire to rehash all the reasons Daryl didn’t want to bond with him.
Turning his attention back to the first obstacle, he shielded his eyes from the sun. “How high do
you think that thing is?” The wooden wall stretched up above them. It had hand and foot holds, but they were far enough apart you’d have to jump for them.
Daryl hummed. “I don’t know . . . maybe thirty, thirty-five feet?”
“Shame we can’t half shift. Claws would come in handy climbing that.”
“You worried?”
Jason heard Daryl’s soft laughter and turned to glare at him. “No. It’s just not what I was expecting.”
Daryl rolled his eyes, so Jason ignored him and walked to the next obstacle.
A rope dangled high up in the trees, over water that looked bloody freezing. “That looks fun.”
Jason eyed the rope with a grin. He didn’t fancy doing the rest of the course soaking wet, but he loved a challenge.
Daryl laughed. “Enjoy getting wet, do you?”
Shaking his head, Jason gave him a playful shove. “We’ll see who’s laughing soon enough.”
They quickly walked the rest of the course, stopping at the final obstacle—a slight incline on one side, leading into an almost vertical climb up a fifteen-foot wall on the other. They’d have to take a run at it and jump to reach the top. “So.” Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, toeing the ground with his boot. “I guess we’d better get back.” They hadn’t talked about what would happen when they got home. After he’d moved into the room next door, they hadn’t talked much at all. Would they avoid each other altogether? Was that possible with both of them being Cam’s betas?
“Yeah.”
When Daryl didn’t say anything more, Jason sighed and turned to walk back to the others.
“Wait.” Daryl tugged him to a stop, and Jason faced him, heart rate kicking up. “I know we’ve not talked since . . .”
“Since you told me you’d never want a bond with me and then kicked me out of our room?”
“That’s not fair.” Daryl’s expression hardened, a flash of hurt in his eyes. “You know why I can’t,” he said softly. “And we both agreed separate rooms was for the best.”
Fuck, come on, Jason. This isn’t like you.
“I know. Sorry.” He looked down at his feet, then forced himself to meet Daryl’s gaze. “I don’t know why I said that.” Glancing up at the sky, he bit back the bitter laugh struggling to escape.Get agrip.This sudden wave of self-pity was totally unwelcome. He tried to shake it off, wanted the easy banter they’d managed a few minutes ago. “I guess the whole thing’s still raw for me.”
“Me too, Jase,” Daryl said, surprising him. “I feel ithere.” He covered his heart with both hands. “And it hurts.” He cut Jason off when he went to speak. “I know this is my fault, and I’ve spent hours wondering if I’m doing the right thing, making the right decision . . .” Daryl looked broken in that moment, and it physically hurt not to pull him into his arms and comfort him. “But I can’t do it.
