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I’d intended on heading straight to Marley after visiting the hotel that was looking more and more like the place my pack would call their home away from home. But after this, I had a fire burning in my belly that I wasn’t ready to snuff out.
When I climbed back in my truck, I didn’t turn back toward New Middle Bluff but went deeper into the lakeside town.
It was time to make more allies. My personal life would have to wait.
Chapter 11
Marley
Cole was avoiding me.
I tried to rationalize it by telling myself that he was just busy—we both were. Most of my time was spent helping Lana and Travis, and helping Sylvia recruit people for our pack. Cole was focused on getting the beach house finished so Travis could get the third dose of the serum in a safe, comfortable place that was familiar to him. Because of all that, Cole and I hadn’t had a chance to talk things out yet.
It wasn’t as if we hadn’t spoken to each other at all. We caught up in the evenings while we had dinner and took care of Noah, and we chatted for a few minutes before we crashed out of exhaustion. But it never seemed like the right time for me to bring up what we’d argued about. It never felt safe to do it. With everything going on, I didn’t want to risk making him so angry again. It had been hard enough to get to our tenuous peace without me bringing that up.
Everything felt precariously balanced lately, like it could tip over with barely a touch. As the days wore on, it became harder and harder to suppress the niggling feeling that something bad was waiting just around the corner. But as long as I kept moving forward, kept doing what needed to be done, maybe everything would work itself out. Maybe things weren’t as dire as they felt sometimes. Maybe it was just my anxiety playing tricks on me.
Travis’s next injection was the next day, and I was marveling at how fast time had passed as I drove to Lana’s place. When I got there, Lana was already waiting outside. She waved, smiling at me as she slipped into the passenger seat of my car.
“It’s nice to see you smiling today,” I said as she buckled in.
“Girl, I just got some of the best sex of my life,” she said. “Don’t let it fool you, though. I’m still a nervous wreck about tomorrow.”
“Ew,” I said.
“Oh no, you don’t,” she said pointedly. “I have to smell your man all over you all the time. You should be happy for me!”
“I am extraordinarily happy for you,” I said. “I just don’t like to think about Travis having sex.”
“Well, maybe you should. Because he’s only getting better at it with every single injection,” she said proudly. “And that is how I am trying not to implode with anxiety and dread about tomorrow.”
I laughed softly. “That sounds tough, Lana. Travis still seems excited, though. He keeps cracking jokes about it.”
She nodded and shook her head at the same time. “Trust me, I know excitement when I feel it. He’s just as anxious as I am. The only person who was more of a wreck than me over the complications with the last dose was, well, him.”
“He’s a lucky guy to have you there to support him.”
Lana gave me a grateful smile. “I’m lucky, too,” she said. “You have been so helpful this last couple of weeks. I appreciate you being here for me during this whole process. It reminds me that no matter what happens tomorrow, good people will stick around and support each other. Support Travis and me.”
“Good people always stick around. And after you literally saved me last year, this is the least I can do for you, Lana.” I gave her a small smile. “We’re both lucky to have met each other and become friends.”
As we pulled away from her home, I glanced at her. “What’s on the to-do list for today?
“Mostly just getting things to be comfortable tomorrow,” she answered. “I had Travis’s blankets professionally washed so we won’t mess up your sheets. And you mentioned needing some items now that the house has been put back into sorts, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We should probably do a big grocery run, too. There’s nothing in the house right now. Honestly, we should probably just buy whatever tickles our fancy. I know Cole got the furniture delivery covered a couple of days ago, but everything in the house smells like soot and mildew. So, I should probably just...restock everything.”
“Can you afford all that?” Lana asked.
“Cole kinda just gave me carte blanche. A while ago, I said I wanted to decorate our condo, and now whenever a choice like that needs to be made, he leaves it to me. It’s actually kind of nice.”
“Are you guys better now? I know you said you needed to have some big talk with him.”
“I haven’t had the talk with him yet,” I admitted. “We’ve been too busy.”
“What exactly was it that you needed to talk about, anyway?”
“Well...uh,” I said as I pulled up to a stoplight. “I haven’t talked to you about this whole thing yet, but I have been considering making the transition into becoming a shifter.”
