Chapter 38

38

M y girlfriends are the sweetest. The cyberattack Cam launched on The Guild has given us a temporary reprieve where we can actually breathe for a second, and while my friends could've done anything they wanted with this rare moment of peace, they decided to surprise me by putting together an impromptu ‘spa day' at the local hot springs.

Sloane packed my favorite swimsuit. Cheyenne and Lo brought several bottles of wine. Andie passed around a joint the moment we arrived, and River put together a killer playlist for background ambiance, which is currently bumping from a portable speaker propped up on a rock at the pool's edge. It's just the six of us, and after the craziness of the last few weeks, I can't think of anything better than an entire afternoon of getting buzzed on wine, having girl talk, and relaxing.

Well, as much as any of us can relax, with a fight looming on the horizon. Cam keeps reminding me of the possibility of negotiating a ceasefire with The Guild, should his potential ally on the inside respond, but I'm decidedly less optimistic about his former colleagues suddenly seeing the light and laying down their weapons. I mean, the moment they found out what he is, they turned on him, tortured him, and shot at him. If that isn't an indication that they're far too entrenched in their beliefs to see reason, I don't know what is.

Thankfully, we've all been careful to avoid the topic of the inevitable war to come. It'd only bring down the mood. That doesn't mean I'm off the hook as far as Cam is concerned, though- my girls love spilling the tea, and my tale of sleeping with the enemy is too piping hot to resist. I also might've let it slip that he had me dicknotized from the start, and Andie Raines' morbid curiosity knows no bounds.

"So exactly how big is it?" she questions, bringing her palms together in front of her then slowly moving them apart. "Just say when."

I roll my eyes, kicking a leg toward the surface to splash water in her direction. "My cousin's here!" I remind her, throwing a thumb over my shoulder toward where River's stretched out on a towel, drying off.

"So?" Riv chimes in from her spot on the bank behind me, propping herself up on an elbow. "I'm eighteen now, it's not like I've never seen one."

I choke on the sip of wine I was taking, coughing and spluttering as I turn to look back at River.

"What?" she asks with an innocent shrug.

"We just still think of you as our baby cousin," Lo says, taking the words right out of my mouth. Her mom is my Uncle Theo's sister, so Riv's her cousin, too.

Andie waves a hand dismissively. "If I knew we couldn't talk about dicks, I wouldn't have invited her."

"Hey!" River protests, twisting at the waist as she curls up to sit.

"Oh that's right, you basically invited yourself," Andie teases, sticking out her tongue at her. "My bad."

River pushes up from her towel with a huff, eyes sparkling with devious intent as she starts around the edge of the pool toward Andie.

"Don't you dare," Chey warns, pointing a finger at her as she advances closer, no doubt angling to jump on Andie and dunk her underwater. "We're supposed to be relaxing today, remember? No roughhousing."

"But what if that's what relaxes me?" Riv asks sweetly, batting her lashes.

"Save it for squad training," I laugh.

My cousin heaves a sigh, easing down to sit on the edge of the pool. "Yeah, if that ever happens," she grumbles, dangling her feet in the water.

"It will," Sloane pipes up. "Just as soon as this mess is behind us. You're not the only one chomping at the bit to start training camp."

"Javi said Seb was grilling him about it the other day," Lo adds, leaning back against the rocks and allowing her feet to float out in front of her.

I furrow my brow, turning my gaze on her. "What was Javi doing hanging out with Seb?"

"He wasn't, he was working with Seb's mom to hone his tracking skills."

"Ah," I nod. Luna Vienna's the best tracker the squad's ever had, so it makes sense that Javi would go to her for some pointers. We're all curious to see how much of her tracker DNA was inherited by her son, but Seb's only eighteen, so he hasn't had a chance to go through summer training camp with the squad yet. He'll be in the same class of recruits as River once we can put this hunter situation behind us and get back to business as usual.

"Anyone need a refill?" Andie asks as she pushes up out of the water, climbing onto the bank and heading for the nearest bottle of wine.

"I'll take one," I reply, holding up my plastic cup.

Chey and Sloane do the same, and Andie works her way around the edge of the pool with the wine, tipping some into each of our cups before upending the rest of the bottle into her own. Then she slides back into the water, turning to set her cup on the stone edge and swiveling back around to face me. "Okay, so say when," she deadpans, holding her hands in front of her again and slowly spreading them.

"Andie!" Lo laughs, splashing water in her direction.

"What? Don't act like you're not wondering the same thing!"

I raise my cup to my lips to cover my giggle.

"Where's Cam at today, anyways?" River asks.

"I left him with Madd," I mumble between sips of wine.

She hisses in a breath through her teeth, wincing. "Ouch. Still torturing him, huh?"

I shrug, smiling slyly as I lower my cup. "Only a little."

"So have you decided what you're gonna do?" Cheyenne asks as she hops up to sit on the edge next to Riv.

I give a little shake of my head. "Still trying to figure that out," I murmur, staring down into my cup. "I mean, it's not like I can actually mate with him, right? Everyone knows who he is. That he used to be one of them ."

"Since when do you care what anyone else thinks?" Andie snorts.

I lift my head, cutting her a glare. "I don't , but it's not that simple. He can't stay, and I'm not leaving. This is my home."

"You really think Madd wouldn't let him stay if that's what you wanted?" Lo asks, cocking a brow. "Your brother would do literally anything for you, Aves. You should've seen the way he was when you were captured."

Sloane pales, bumping her arm into mine. "She's right. I've never seen him like that."

"I have," Lo says solemnly. "Only once, after the accident."

I can't help but cringe at the reminder of the time Sloane and Madd hijacked the ski-lift at the old lodge as teenagers. Sloane almost died when she fell from it; that's how she got her scar.

Her throat bobs with a hard swallow as she reaches up to brush her hair in front of her temple, as if covering the scar will also conceal the memory. "If that's what you really wanted, you know Madd would come around," Sloane says confidently. "As long as you're happy."

I slide my gaze between my friends, and they're all just staring at me expectantly, awaiting my answer. So I push off from the edge and dunk my head underwater. I can't tell them what I'm going to do about Cam because I still have no fucking idea how to handle this mess I've found myself in, and talking about the future won't change the past.

I let my body go weightless beneath the water's surface, not pushing up again until my lungs seize for air. As soon as I reemerge, I suck in a greedy gulp of oxygen, slicking my hair back and blinking water from my lashes as I glance around at my friends. "What?" I ask innocently.

"Girl, please," Andie laughs, throwing out a hand to splash me.

I dodge out of the way, splashing her back. "Hey, I thought I was here to relax, not get grilled about my situationship."

"Is that what we're calling fated mates these days?" Lo teases.

I wave her off with an eyeroll. "You know what I mean."

"Well, I like him," River declares, kicking her feet in the water from her perch on the pool's edge.

I turn my gaze on her, arching a dubious brow. "Spend one day with the guy and you come to that conclusion?"

Her lips peel back from her teeth in a grin. "Yeah, I'm good at reading people."

"Speaking of reading people," Andie cuts in, glancing over at my bestie, "Sloane, give us the real tea."

She smiles shyly, curls bouncing around her face as she shakes her head. "Even if I had some, you know I couldn't."

"C'mon, just a little something," Cheyenne urges, endlessly fascinated by Sloane's abilities.

Sloane blows out a breath, standing up in the pool and easing backwards to lean against the edge. Steam wisps from her bronze skin and beads of water roll down her petite body as she shuffles backwards, hopping up to take a seat on the smooth stone ledge while her legs remain dangling in in the water. "I like him too," she says with a shrug. "I think he's a good person who was born into bad circumstances."

"Spoken like Mother Teresa herself," I mutter.

Sloane darts me a look, clucking her tongue. "You can't honestly say you don't like him, Aves."

"Sure I do, but that's not the point," I sigh, twisting to grab my cup of wine off the ledge behind me. "Not everyone sees the world like you do, babe. Even if he singlehandedly ended this war, the pack wouldn't accept him." I bring my cup to my lips and tip it back, downing the rest of the wine inside.

"I don't think you give our pack enough credit," she replies as I lower my cup, wiping my mouth off on an arm.

"I mean, he fought on our side the other day," Lo offers.

"And we all saw how he saved Sloane, that has to count for something," Andie adds.

There aren't many problems that a little girl talk can't solve, but this might be one of them. I frown down at my empty cup. "Do we have more wine?"

"I think that was the last bottle," Chey says, glancing over her shoulder toward the cluster of empty wine bottles on the bank. "I should probably get going anyways, I told Iver we could cuddle up with a movie tonight."

"Boo!" Andie heckles as Cheyenne pulls her feet out of the water and shuffles backwards, pushing up to stand.

"We should all pack up, it'll be dark soon," Lo points out, climbing out of the water and grabbing her towel off the bank.

I kick out my feet, letting the back of my head dip into the water. "Ugh, this day went by too fast," I groan, blinking up at the dusky sky visible through the canopy of leaves overhead.

"You wanna keep this buzz going?" Andie asks mischievously, and I pick up my head, nodding as her lips spread into a grin. "You know what tonight is, right? "

I blink back at her, not following, but luckily Sloane's brain is working quicker than mine is right now. "Ladies night at the Stillwater Tap!" she exclaims, clapping her hands together eagerly.

My mood instantly shifts from somber to excited at the prospect of a night out with my girls. I push up to stand, gathering my long hair over a shoulder and twisting it to wring the water out. "I'm definitely in," I say, glancing over to where Chey and Lo are stripping out of their swimsuits and toweling off. "What about you two, up for keeping this party going?"

"Maybe next time," Chey chirps, rummaging in her bag for her clothes.

"Lo?" I ask.

She fakes a yawn, stretching her arms over her head. "I dunno, I'm kinda tired."

"Shut up, you just wanna get laid," Andie laughs, splashing out of the water and climbing up onto the bank. "Just come for one, tell Javi to pick you up there."

Lo cuts her a withering look, but nonetheless concedes with a nod. She knows as well as the rest of us do that it's pointless to try to argue with Andie once she sets her mind to something.

Andie grins in victory, turning to my cousin next and arching a brow in question.

"I'll have to catch you guys later," River sighs, brushing the dirt off her thighs as she rises to stand. "I won't even make it through the door before someone's texting my dad trying to earn brownie points."

"You're a legal adult now, Riv," Andie declares, sauntering over to River and slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You should just do whatever you want."

"You have met my Uncle Theo, right?" I laugh, stumbling a little as I wander around the edge of the pool toward my friends. Now that I'm on my feet, my wine buzz is even more intense, and from the way Sloane's wobbling beside me, I can tell she's feeling it, too.

"It's not worth the argument," River mutters, shrugging Andie's arm off. "Just hurry up and take those hunters out so I can move up to the squad complex, kay?"

"We're on it," I say, giving her a mock salute.

We get to work packing up our things, putting on dry clothes and cleaning up the cups littered around the edge of the natural hot springs. Lo agrees to drive us to the Tap in Sloane's car, since she's the most sober and Sloane's far too buzzed to get behind the wheel, while River hops in with Chey to catch a ride home.

As we all settle in and start for Stillwater, it occurs to me that I can't even remember the last time we all went out like this. And when Andie demands tunes and Lo flips on the radio to find ‘ Call Me Maybe' playing- which just happens to be me and my girls' unofficial anthem- I already know it's bound to be a memorable night.