“Are you close with him?” I ask, not wanting to pry but curious.
He shakes his head. “I barely know the man. I see some of the guys in my Clan with their dads and …” he exhales a breath. “It’d be nice to have that, you know? To have someone to teach me how to be a man. To provide for my future mate. My father is more concerned with manipulating business deals and keeping my shifter status a secret from his investors. He never really did things with me growing up. I was always with a nanny or spending time on my own.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugs. “It’s cool. I’m used to it. And there are perks. He bought me this car. If I want anything, all I usually have to do is ask. He rarely says no.”
“Ah, a sugar daddy for a daddy,” I tease.
He snorts. “I wouldn’t go that far but sort of.”
We spend the rest of the drive singing off-key to 90s punk rock music and for the first time in over a week, I feel myself relaxing. The wind blows tendrils of my hair loose and I can’t help but smile wide as Zheng navigates us down the winding roads, both of our windows rolled down, the sun shining through, and the smell of cypress trees wafting to me.
There’s no pressure here. No hate-filled stares. Zheng is surprisingly funny, and despite having a horrible singing voice, he has no problem belting out the lyrics toI Write Sins Not Tragediesright along with me.
Before I know it, the asphalt road turns to gravel and we’re pulling into a clearing ringed with cabins. Dozens of teenagers—some I recognize from school and others I don’t—are milling around, chatting and drinking beer. Some are pitching tents and another group is getting a bonfire started in the center of the clearing. There’s a small cluster of pale boys near the tree line, and I suspect they’re vampires, but I don’t ask Zheng for confirmation. To be honest, it’s better not to know.
As soon as we get out of the car, I close my eyes and breathe in the forest around me. I can smell the soil, the fire, traces of a natural coyote that must have passed through here not long ago. My shoulders lower, my breathing slows. I exhale and it’s like all the tension from earlier this week melts away.
I catch Zheng grinning at me over the top of his car.
“Glad you came?”
I nod and grab my bags, following him as he leads the way to the first cabin on our right. “Yeah. This place is really cool,” I say as he unlocks the door and we step inside. He drops his own bag just inside the doorway and I take in the rustic yet clean A-frame cabin. It’s simple and screams shifter hangout with the mismatched sofas and red Solo cups already set up on the dining table. A game of beer pong is definitely in our future tonight, which is always perplexing to me, but even my packmates enjoyed playing the occasional round or three.
Shifters can’t get drunk. Not that I’ve ever seen anyway. The lycanthropy virus—Lyc-V for short— burns through alcohol at too fast a pace for us to feel its effects. We have the same issue with caffeine, though I still drink coffee for the flavor. Beer … well … let’s just say I’m not the biggest fan so it always seemed pointless.
There’s a surround sound system set up in every corner, and an old school boombox with mini subwoofers built beneath the speakers resting on a cherrywood entertainment center. I spot the CD booklet sitting next to it and can hardly wait to rifle through it. MP3 players and streaming are so overrated. Mixed CDs are where it’s all at.
“Thanks. Clan Cat owns this one. The cabin right next to us belongs to Clan Bear so be on the lookout with that one. The bears tend to get rowdy. Oh, and just a heads-up, we’ll probably have some crashers here on the sofas later tonight. Usually, we leave our cabins open to whatever Packmates decide to stay, but there’s a bedroom in the back so we’ll have some privacy.”
Oh.
We?
I bite my lower lip as Zheng gives me the full tour and try to quash my sudden uneasiness. It’s an open floor plan. There’s the kitchen to our right. The living room area to our left and between them is a wide hallway leading toward the back of the cabin. Zheng leads me down the hall and I spot two doors on either side.
“This here is the main bathroom. People will come in and out all night to use this one but in here,” he opens the second door that leads into the lone bedroom. “There’s an attached bathroom that will be just ours. Everyone knows to stay out of bedrooms unless you know the cabin owner and have permission, so you won’t have to worry about anyone barging in on you.”
I nod, eyeing the single bed in the middle of the room. A queen-sized wooden sleigh bed. But there’s just the one and I don’t know Zheng that well.
Sensing my apprehension, he reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?” His brows pull down and a small crease appears on his forehead.
I nod. “Yeah. I was just wondering … ummm … where should I sleep?” I could shift and sleep in my wolf form. That would probably make things easier.
He clears his throat and shuffles his feet before saying, “I kinda figured you’d crash here, with me. I mean, if that’s okay.”
I flick a glance toward him and then back to the bed, twisting the teal corded bracelet around my wrist.
“I’m not expecting anything to happen between us,” he rushes to add. “I figured you’d take one side and I’d take the other.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry. I’m so used to everyone in the Pack kind of dog piling together like it’s no big deal. I didn’t really think this through.”
It makes complete sense. I’m mature enough to share a bed with a cute boy. And he’s not wrong, if I’d been in Star Valley, Arizona, with anyone else from my Pack, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash. I can do this. Right? No big deal.
Shoving my apprehension aside, I say, “Yeah. That’s fine. My Pack is like that, too.”
He grins. “Alright, cool. Let’s go out and grab a beer. I don’t know about you, but after the drive, I could use one.”
7
