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“Sorry,” he murmured when she was out of earshot. “She won’t listen to me when I tell her it isn’t going to happen.”
He turned to glare daggers at his amused packmates until they got back to work with unapologetic chuckles.
“Not that I wouldn’t want to go there, of course,” he continued awkwardly, looking everywhere but directly at me. “I mean, you’re gorgeous, obviously. Any guy would be lucky to have you. I just, you know, um…”
I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks start to flush as he fumbled.
Awkward much.
“Please stop,” I cut in, ready to slap a hand over his mouth if he didn’t.
He eyed my raised hand warily as he fell quiet, and I snorted a laugh at the embarrassment written all over his face.
He shook his head, his mouth pulling into a sheepish grin. “Fuck it, you know what I mean. You’re very much taken and off limits, I’ve always known that, so I’ve never thought of you in that way.”
I chuckled. “I get it. Thank you for attempting to protect my dignity.”
“Anytime,” he replied, his grin widening as the awkwardness fell away and we both relaxed.
We sat in silence for several minutes as we watched the others work on the cabin. A light wind tugged at my hair, the sound of the nearby stream filtering through with the light noise of the guys’ conversation as they worked. There weren’t many people in sight, seeing as we were at the opposite side of the large clearing to the main firepit area, and the warm sun shone down on us.
It was blissfully peaceful. Or else, it should have been, but the constant tug of emptiness in my gut was always there. The sense of wrongness and that something essential was missing.
Closing my eyes, I felt inside myself for the connections that bonded me to Liam and Noah. It had been a long time since I had let myself search them out like this, knowing that the bonds would be whisper thin and useless, but I knew they would be there.
Emotion filled my chest as I found the buried threads and felt the expected emptiness of the connection. I knew they were alive, or I wouldn’t be sitting here, but that was all I had now.
“I can’t stay here,” I rasped, my eyes still squeezed shut.
Spencer hummed thoughtfully. “Where will you go?”
My eyes flickered open to meet his, surprised he wasn’t fighting me on this.
“I have no idea,” I answered honestly. “But when I gave up all I did was crumble. I either fight to get back to them, or I waste away.”
I sniffed, wiping my dry cheeks. “I refuse to drag them into an early grave with me. There must be a way home.”
He gave me a sad smile. “I’m glad to hear it. Can you reactivate the portal?”
“Not without the right rituals and a token,” I sighed, letting my head roll back on my shoulders. “My only idea is to try and find one of the other portal gateways and highjack a delivery truck. The problem is, there are only two others that I know of, and while I know where they are in my world, they could be absolutely anywhere in this one.”
I groaned and let myself fall onto my back in the soft grass. “I don’t know what to do, Spence.”
He reached out to pat my leg supportively. “You have the pack on your side, Cor, we’ll figure something out.”
“Damn right we will,” called Linc, making me smile.
I dragged in a calming breath and pushed aside my worries, standing up and brushing myself off. “Come on, let’s get this house built. Unless you really did want that picnic?”
Spencer narrowed his eyes at me in mock annoyance before darting a look toward Linc and Hawk as they lifted a plank between them.
“If any of us are up for a romantic picnic in the forest, it’s those two.”
Linc grinned at us, eyebrows waggling. “Trust me, if we’re heading into the forest, it’s not for a picnic.”
The beams of the cabin were fully in place by the time the pack gathered for the evening meal, leaving me enough time to shower off the dust and sweat before heading down to the main firepit.
Flames flickered happily inside the stone circle of the pit when I arrived, the scent of warm, rich food in the air as low music played through the loudspeakers that lived out here almost permanently.
