Chapter 45

Rose

Later that afternoon, I find myself outside, helping Amber set up for the pack pool party. Cade, Eli, Mav, and some of the other shifters left after lunch to track down some leads. It took a lot of convincing to get Mav to go, but he finally left with the others. Well, first he threatened the guys on my security detail within an inch of their lives, and then he left. It ends up being a surprisingly good time. Sara and Sabrina help us as well as Leah, another shifter I haven't had much contact with. She's good friends with Amber. I find myself laughing and truly enjoying myself as we decorate for the event.

"Exactly how many balloons did you order?" Sara asks Amber.

"There has to be five hundred," Sabrina says, sinking into the pool chair next to where Sara and I are blowing up balloons. She's not lying; there are literally hundreds of balloons.

"What? I can't help it. I love balloons," Amber says.

"It's going to look amazing when we're done," I add.

"You're just trying to be nice," Leah says. "You don't have to be; we all know how Amber is with decorations. She always goes over the top."

Amber laughs. "You girls know me too well."

"I take it this isn't the first time you've done this," I say with a glance at the other three girls.

"Nope. She does this to us every year for the pool party and the Christmas party," Sabrina informs me.

"Christmas party?" I perk at the sound of that.

"Oh, it's amazing. You'll love it! We decorate the entire training gym to look like a winter wonderland, complete with fake snow, a Christmas village, at least thirty fully decorated Christmas trees, and a hot chocolate fountain." Sara looks over at me and wiggles her eyes. "And hundreds of balloons." Sabrina and Leah groan as Amber grins widely.

"What? I love Christmas," Amber says with a laugh.

"It sounds amazing," I can't help but add.

"Well then you can help me decorate since everybody else here is giving me a hard time," Amber says giving me a high five. We get back to decorating, and a deep peace fills my soul.

"All right," Amber says a few hours later. "That's as good as it's going to get."

I look around at the work we did and can't help but feel pride. Tiki torches line the perimeter of the entire outdoor area, as well as the extra lights we hung up. There's a huge balloon arch right when you enter and several balloon bouquets placed strategically between the pools and chairs. Bright colored beach balls and pool rings float in the pools. There are several tables decorated with tablecloths and fresh flowers that are ready for the food. The grills are set up and ready to go. At one end of one of the pools, there's a huge screen set up for a movie later on. Several bright colored bins are just waiting to be filled with ice and drinks. There's even a table set up with a homemade ice cream maker that I can't wait to try out. The table is lined with every kind of topping that you could think of for an ice cream sundae. I take a few pictures of everything we decorated.

"Hey, let's all get in," Sara shouts from the other side of the pool. She comes around the side, bringing Sara, Amber, and Leah with. They all gather around, and I take a selfie of us. When I look at the photo, I stare at myself. I look so...happy.

"All right, ladies. Time to suit up and meet back here for a party!" Amber shouts as she starts back on the path. We follow her back to the main house and split to get changed into our swimsuits for the night. Once I'm in my room, I quickly change into my swimsuit and pull a pair of shorts over it and slip on flipflops. I braid my hair and put on a splash of perfume and more deodorant. After a glance in the mirror, I decide to add lip gloss; but that's it. Everything else will get washed off in the pool. I stare into the mirror a moment and try to steady my nerves. "I will enjoy tonight," I say out loud. "This is my pack now. They love me and accept me, and I am going to return that love and enjoy myself." A real smile forms. I'm actually excited about tonigh t. On the way to the door, I snag my phone. There's a text from Ava.

Ava- Miss me yet?

I smile.

Rose- Yes!

Not wanting her to feel bad, I quickly add more.

Rose- But I'm doing really well here. Tonight's the pack pool party!

Ava- you're going I take it

Rose- I am and I'm actually kind of excited about it

Ava- you're just excited about seeing all those sexy males in just swim trunks

Rose- well, maybe at least a certain male

I can't help the grin that slides across my face as I text those words.

Ava- you're officially smitten

Ava- can't say that I approve of your choice, but if he's good to you and makes you happy...

Rose- he does

I text her a heart, a beach ball, and a bikini emoji.

Ava- groan

Ava- you and your emojis

I can practically hear her groan through the phone, and it makes me smile.

Rose- love you

I pocket my phone and head out into the hall, almost running into Amber and Paige. "Wose!" Paige says excitedly.

"Hi, Paigie." I take her free hand.

"I love your swimsuit," I tell her, and she giggles.

"You need anything?" I ask Amber.

"Nope. We are good to go."

"Are Cade and the others around?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant.

She shoots me a grin. "Mav's not here, since we both know that's really what you're asking. But Cade knows how important this party is for our pack; he won't miss it. Now Mav, on the other hand...Normally, I wouldn't count on him to make it back." I can't help the disappointment that creeps in at her words. "But I have a feeling this year will be different," she adds. "I'm thinking our beta will make it back in time for this party." And just like that, my heart skips a beat.

After checking in to see if the kitchen staff needs any help, we head out the back door and towards the path that will take us to the pool party. I can tell it's already in full swing before we even get close. The music is cranking. I hear the sound of happy voices long before I see them, and I can smell the meat cooking on the grill. When we step into the opening, my breath catches in my throat.

"Amber, it looks so good."

"You helped," she reminds me. She gives me a second glance. "Is this the first pool party you've ever been to?" I nod. "Well, let's make it memorable then."

Hesitancy hits me as we get close to the first pool. It's already full, as are the chairs all around the pool. I take a deep breath and push my anxiety down, refusing to cower in fear. I will enjoy tonight . "Rose!" My head jerks at the sound of voices, and I'm suddenly caught in a group hug that I think is made up of Sabrina and Sara. I shriek because they're both soaking wet.

"You got me all wet," I say, pulling back.

"That was the plan," Sara says, grinning wickedly.

"She wanted to push you in, but I thought that this was a little less traumatic," Sabrina adds.

"Thank you for not shoving me in," I tell them, shaking my head.

"Come on. You're all wet now. Come jump in with us. It's so fun!" Sara says, tugging my hand forward.

"Do you need anything?" I ask Amber as the girls pull me away.

She waves me off. "Go have fun."

They tug me down to the deep end to the diving board. "We'll all jump in together," Sara says, taking the lead.

"How deep is it?" I ask, looking down cautiously.

"Can you swim?" Sabrina asks, looking at me with worry.

"Enough not to drown, but I'm not like good at it or anything," I admit.

"Let's just start with jumping off the side," Sara suggests. We line up three-across. "Don't think about it," Sara says. "Just jump." They both jump off the side and into the pool. I take a deep breath and plug my nose. I refuse to be a coward and miss out on life anymore. And with that, I take the leap. I plunge into the water and let myself sink for a moment before I start swimming up to the top. When my head breaks the surface, I can't help the laugh that bubbles out of me.

"That was amazing!"

Sara grins back. "Right? I told you! Come on. Let's go again." I follow her lead and swim over to the side of the pool. My movements are rusty, because I haven't swum much in my life. But I make it to the side just fine and follow the girls out.

"The water feels so good," I tell them as we walk back to the end.

"I know. It's so refreshing in this heat and humidity," Sabrina agrees. We get to the end of the pool again.

"One, two, three..." I hold my nose and make the jump into the pool at the same time as the other girls, laughing when I resurface. They help me with my stroke for a little while, and I'm soon swimming with a whole lot more confidence. Then we try the diving board. "Okay, now it's time to try out the water slide," Sara says with a huge grin. We swim over to the side and climb out, stepping gingerly on the hot pavement as we make our way to the waterslide. I'm pretty sure I scream the whole way down.

"Can we try the lazy river next?" I ask. I never knew what I was missing in life until I experienced the lazy river. We float round and round in the lazy river for nearly an hour before Sabrina convinces us to go back to the other pool.

It's Sabrina that counts us down this time, and then we all plunge into the pool. Sara does some ridiculous form of something that was maybe supposed to resemble the splits in the air. I come up out of the water laughing. "What was that?"

She's laughing as water runs down her face. "I messed it up."

"No kidding," Sabrina laughs.

"I want a redo," Sara demands and swims over to the side. I follow them over to the side. When I get to the edge of the pool, I grab the sides of the ladder and pull myself up on the first step. I'm about halfway out of the water when I see him. "Mav," I say breathlessly.

He gives me a soft smile, the one I'm pretty sure nobody but me gets to see. He's obviously not dressed for the pool party; he must have just gotten back from his mission. He looks like it anyway in the black t-shirt that hugs his biceps and the cargo pants and black boots that make up the rest of his intimidating outfit. I'm completely tongue-tied. Oblivious to my distress, he reaches out a hand and pulls me up and out of the pool. He towers over me, and it feels weird to be in a swimsuit while he's fully dressed.

"You're not dressed for the pool." I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.

He gives me his trademark smirk. "No. I just got back."

"Did everything go okay?"

"We ran some leads down. Nothing concrete yet."

Whether or not more happened, I know he won't say anything right now. It's supposed to be a pool party, so I give him a bright smile. "Well, I'm glad you're back now. Are you going to get changed so you can come swim?"

He glances at the pool. "I'm not the swimming type. My wolf prefers dry land, and we have that in common." A tiny bit of disappointment fills me, but I push it down. "But you go swim; have fun. I'll be around."

I nod. "Yeah, I was swimming with Sara and Sabrina."

"I saw." His lips turn up into the hint of a smile.

I'm not really sure how it happens. One minute, I'm standing there talking to him. The next moment, Mav is shoved forward. Everything happens in slow motion. He stumbles into me, and I fall backward, unable to hold his weight. Strong arms wrap around me, and then the water comes rushing over my head.