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“Technically, he attacked me outside the campground,” I point out. Four sets of eyes turn to me in bewilderment. Sailor, especially, can’t seem to process this.
“Heattackedyou?” He shoves out of his chair to stand as if he can do anything about it right this second. The few eyes that had turned away after Ian’s outburst turn right back around, and I can just spot the one tired waitress ambling in our direction from the other end of the diner.
I wave my hand, wanting to clear the judgment from the air. And to maybe get Sailor to sit his ass back down before we get thrown out. “I know better this time. I won’t wander out of the safe area, and I won’t wander alone.”
Ian shakes his head again, and the ease with which he’d leaned back moments before and agreed that we could stay as long as needed all but vanishes. My heart aches at the deep lines creasing his forehead as he clenches his jaw and shakes his head at me.
“Come on, Quinn. Do you really think that’s the best idea?” Willem asks in a pained voice, and I glance in his direction. The worry in his eyes melts my heart but not my resolve. I can’t go home, and the campground feels safe. Or as safe as anywhere else, at least.
“Yes,” I answer stubbornly.
The campground is close enough to home to give me a chance to really consider,before Idecide, whether or not to return. But it offers the comfort of there being enough distance from Cupid’s Pack land to let me get far, far away at a moment’s notice if my presence seems like it’s going to make my family unsafe.
Besides, it’s where I met Mason, Ian, and Willem, so the cabins give me warm and fuzzy feelings that I desperately want to reconnect with. Especially after the tension of the past couple of days adjusting to a new member of the group. A new, extra-surly member who I can’t quite figure out. I don’t regret allowing him to join us, but…
It’s been days since I touched the guys for anything more than a stolen, chaste kiss. And Iachefor the feeling of their hands on me. I wake up yearning. I go through every day on the edge. And I go to sleep feeling like I might combust. It’s a holding pattern I can’t accept.
“You said anywhere,” I remind Sailor. I have a feeling if I can get him on board, the other guys will defer to my choice too. “I want to go back to the campground. We can stay in an actual cabin instead of out in the woods, and we’ll be around other shifters instead of vulnerable in the middle of nowhere.”
I hold his eyes even though this much eye contact really makes me want to squirm in my seat and rub my thighs together. There’s something about that frown that reminds me of the almost-smile I pulled out of him at the training grounds, and that’s the image of him that I hold onto. Though, I hate what he does to my hormones. He leans even further forward, as if to lean toward me, before rocking back on his heels and shoving his hands deep in his pockets. I see the exact moment he decides to cave to me, and I guess the others do too.
“Fuck,” Mason mutters.
And despite the trepidation my mates are feeling, I feel relieved. And energized. And honestly just a little bit excited. We’re going back to where things started.
TWENTY
QUINN
Golden rays of early morning sunlight glint over the lake, reflecting in the blue expanse with near-blinding light as we crest over a hill. The sight of the campground looming in the distance, the rows of cabins hidden amongst the pines peeking through as we walk, drives me forward. My shoulders relax at the sight, tension draining from me as we push forward.
We finish the last bit of our journey in human form after a solid amount of prodding from me. After Sailor’s assessment of my fighting skills at the training grounds, I find myself feeling more comfortable with the prospect of having to protect myself in human form. Apparently, all my wolf is good for is a vivid imagination of things she’d like to do with our mates.
Hey, I resent that,she protests as we close the distance between us and the campground that feels a little bit like a home away from my pack.Those daydreams last night about Sailor and Mason, though…
Stop,I plead. I was a mess for hours last night after she vividly described to me all the ways she thought the two men could be of service together. I could barely look either of them in the eye afterward. Just the reminder of some of the more creative scenarios leaves me with weak knees and the urge to press my thighs tightly together.
My wolf thankfully stops when my voice turns pleading, saving me from more inner embarrassment. I’m somewhere in the middle of thanking her for her mercy when Sailor’s gruff voice filters through the internal conversation and pulls my attention back toward the men.
“This is the place?” Sailor’s voice is thick with judgment, and I can feel my brows pinching together at the tone.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?” Willem’s tone is defensive. I’m not surprised considering he chose to stay here for months before I came along and dragged him away.
There’s silence for a second before Sailor mumbles, “Nothing at all.”
Grumpy is finally learning to get along, it seems. Traveling with him, figuring out how he gels with our group, hasn’t been easy, and more than once, I found myself thinking maybe I’d bitten off more than I could chew with him and the other three. I haven’t thought about wanting to ditch him once this morning, though.
Small. Freaking. Miracles.
“I hope they have an open cabin,” Ian says.
“I, uh, still have my cabin,” Willem admits sheepishly. He tucks his chin, staring at the ground when I glance over at him, and my heart aches. “I figured I shouldn’t get rid of it in case I needed to have somewhere to go back to later.”
I grab his hand and lace my fingers through his, squeezing tightly. I’m glad to know we have a cabin to come back to, but I hate his reason for keeping it. I don’t know how else to show him that I’m not planning on getting rid of him. When I told himfor keeps, I meant it. He squeezes my hand back, and I lean against him.
We make our way wordlessly back to Willem’s cabin, Sailor trailing behind since he’s the only one that hasn’t been here before. I only release Willem’s hand when he has to dig in his bag for the cabin key.
An awkwardness sets in as we enter the cabin. No one settles, especially Sailor, who walks the cabin twice, eyes taking in every inch of the space as the rest of the men mill around in the living room, glancing back and forth between themselves as I stand in the doorway to the kitchen. This is as far as we planned, me wanting to come back here.
