Chapter 46

46

I pull my faded blue tank top down over my torso, sliding a sideways glance in Cam's direction as he steps into his sweatpants and tugs them up his hips. The muscles of his bare torso ripple and flex with his movements, and while it's a major faux pas in shifter culture to perv on someone before or after a shift, I can't help it where Cam's concerned. The damn mate bond has me wanting to jump his bones twenty-four seven.

The feeling's definitely mutual. Cam never keeps his eyes down when I'm naked; he stares like a savage beast who wants to devour me. And I'd be lying if I said that feral look he gets in his eyes doesn't make me all kinds of hot and bothered.

"So, how'd I do this time?" Cam asks, adjusting the tie at the waist of his pants.

It takes a second for his question to register since I'm practically drooling at the sight of him shirtless. I snap out of my trance, jerking my gaze up to meet his and quickly composing myself. "You're becoming a natural," I reply smoothly, my lips curving into a smile. "By this time next week, you'll be shifting faster than me. Still won't be able to catch my wolf, though. "

He chuckles lowly, shaking his head as he stalks closer. "You wanna bet?" he growls, planting his hands on my hips. "I always catch you, Luna."

"Only because I let you," I smirk, lifting a hand and booping the tip of his nose with a finger.

He snatches my wrist, golden flecks igniting in his irises as he leans in closer. "Just admit it, you like the hunt as much as I do," he murmurs, fingers tightening around my hip.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip and bat my lashes coyly. "Maybe."

He rubs his thumb back and forth across my inner wrist, staring into my eyes with so much intensity that it feels like I might burst into flames at any moment. "Admit it," he repeats, the low, gravelly tone of his voice turning my blood molten in my veins.

"I like when you catch me," I breathe, heart hammering in my chest.

The corner of his mouth ticks up in a smug smirk. He abruptly releases my wrist and takes a step back, turning to snatch his t-shirt off the limb it's hanging from.

"Aw, leave it off," I tease as I watch him unfurl the fabric and start to slip it on over his head. It's a damn shame to cover a body like that up with clothing.

He shoots me another smirk as he tugs the hem down over his abs. "Thought you said sex was off the table?"

Damnit, why'd I say that again?

Oh yeah.

"It is," I grumble, stepping over to my barbie pink Birkenstock sandals and slipping my feet into them. "At least until we talk about how things went today. We have a bad habit of forgetting to talk and skipping right to fucking."

"Who says that's a bad habit?" he drawls.

I roll my eyes as I scoop my long hair up into a ponytail, frowning when I realize there's no hair tie on my wrist to secure it with. "You know what I mean," I sigh, shaking out my hair and smoothing it over my shoulders. "So, are you ready to talk about it yet?"

"About what?"

I fold my arms over my chest, cocking out a hip and hitting him with a hard look that says I'm not about to play along with his avoidance tactics.

As soon as Cam walked into the packhouse after meeting Cole, I could see the warring emotions written all over his face. So, rather than pressing him for information about how it went, I suggested we go for a run. When I've got a lot on my mind, shifting to my wolf and taking to the forest always seems to help me clear my head. I figured it might do the same for him.

The run's over now, though, so it's time for him to spill the beans.

He heaves a resigned sigh, raking a hand through his hair and averting his gaze. "It was cool, I guess."

"You guess ?" I scoff.

He shrugs a shoulder. "He seems like a decent guy. I mean, I still have to get to know him more."

"But you want to?"

"I think so," he murmurs, dark eyes flickering back to mine. "I don't know, it's just a weird situation. We're strangers. And it's not just him, he's got a family. He said his kids want to meet me."

"You should meet them, then," I say encouragingly. "They're your siblings, you should at least give them a chance."

"Yeah, I know..." he trails off, scrubbing a hand over his face. "It's probably weird for them though, right? I mean, they're this happy family and I'm just some random guy who happens to be related to them. Not to mention the fact that until a few weeks ago, I was actively trying to kill them off."

"They won't hold that against you," I insist.

"People around here still do. "

"Fuck other people," I snap, my inner wolf pushing forward in defense of our mate. "Besides, that was before you helped us take The Guild down. Has anyone looked at you sideways since then?"

He scoffs a laugh. "Your brother has."

"Madd's just… Madd ," I sigh, waving a hand dismissively. "He's a protective asshole, but he always comes around for the people he cares about. And now that he knows you're related to Sloane, it's just a matter of time. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for her."

"Yeah, well the same goes for you," Cam mumbles, sweeping a curly tendril of hair back from his forehead. "Madd's always got your back. You're lucky to have someone like that in your life."

"You could have that too," I point out. "You've just gotta take that first step of meeting your siblings. Who knows, maybe you'll hit it off and get to give every guy Delilah brings home a hard time." I make a face, sticking out my tongue teasingly.

Cam blows out a slow breath, rubbing the tense knot of muscles at the base of his neck. "Well, Cole did say that I could come for dinner on Saturday if I was up for it," he murmurs.

My heart stutters a beat. " This Saturday?"

"Yeah, does that..." he trails off, brow furrowing. "Shit, we're supposed to have dinner with your parents this Saturday, aren't we?"

I school my expression, waving a hand. "We can push it again, they won't care," I say, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "It's more important for you to connect with your family."

He studies me for a long moment, frowning. "Okay, if you're sure…"

"I am," I insist, not leaving room for any further argument. "I mean, the whole point of the dinner was for my parents to get to know you better, and they've done enough random drop-ins over the last few days to accomplish that. So it's not a big thing, you should go to Denver."

Cam stares back at me with a blank, unreadable expression, giving me a tight nod. "Okay, I will."

"Great," I chirp, turning on a heel and starting for the path back to the packhouse.

The moment I've turned my back on Cam, I let my fake smile fall, biting my lip as I push down the bitter seed of doubt taking root inside me.

I'm glad he found his family- I really am- but I can't help but feel a little conflicted about what all this this means for us. I was getting used to being the center of his world. Selfishly, I liked having him all to myself. But now that he's found where he belongs, he's got a whole family out there to give him the love and support he needs to come to terms with who he really is and move forward with his life. He doesn't need me anymore.

After we handled things with The Guild, I was going to ask him to stay; to seal the mate bond and join my pack. Now that the truth of his parentage has come out, I can't ask him to choose between me and his birthright. As much as I want things to work between us, I won't stand in the way of him reconnecting with his roots and claiming the family he's been deprived of. No matter how much it hurts to consider letting him go.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle as Cam prowls up behind me, quickly catching up on the trail and falling into step at my side. His hand finds mine, fingers lacing with my own and tugging me to a halt. "Will you come with me?" he asks gruffly.

I furrow my brow, blinking up at him. "Huh?"

"To Denver," he clarifies, dark eyes boring into mine as he rubs his thumb over the back of my palm. "Would you wanna come with me?"

My chest tightens, a lump forming in my throat. "Sure, if that's what you want," I breathe, trying my best to sound nonchalant even though I'm suddenly on the verge of tears.

Too bad he sees right through my bullshit.

"What's the matter?" Cam asks, stepping closer.

"Nothing," I cluck, tugging my hand free of his and turning back down the path.

" Avery ," he growls, catching up in a couple of long strides.

"Did you decide what to do about Matty?" I ask, swiftly changing the subject to deflect from my impending meltdown.

The most frustrating thing about this is knowing full well how irrational I'm being right now, but still powerless to stop the torrent of emotions brewing within me. I just need to get my shit together before he catches onto what's really bugging me and I'm forced to admit how hard I've fallen for my warden.

He swings his gaze on me, brow furrowing. "What do you mean?" he questions, taking the bait.

"He's a liability," I point out.

"He's a kid."

"A kid who knows way too much about shifters."

"Yeah, and?" Cam challenges, keeping pace with me as I speed-walk down the trail back to the packhouse. "There are a lot more people than you think out there who suspect that werewolves exist."

"Maybe, but they don't know our location," I mumble. "Is it really wise to just send him home like nothing happened?"

"He doesn't want to go back home. He said he wants to start over, live the rest of his life on his own terms. As far as his family's concerned, he died in that fire. The Guild had procedures in place for notifying the soldiers' next of kin if anything happened, and I sent off the death notices myself."

"So what's the plan, then?" I ask, flicking him a sideways glance.

"I figured maybe he could stick around for a while," Cam says with a shrug. "Help me finish scrubbing The Guild's servers and then decide if he wants to apply for colleges or something."

"So that means you're planning on sticking around?" I ask tentatively, a tiny spark of hope flaring inside me.

He turns his gaze my way, his jaw tight. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah, sure. If that's what you want," I reply, toying with the ends of my hair and playing it cool.

Cam suddenly grinds to a halt, reaching out to grab ahold of my arm. "Avery, I…"

"Wanna fuck before we go back?" I blurt as I whip around, silencing him before he says something that might break my fucking heart.

He sinks his teeth into his lower lip, a growl rumbling in his chest as his gaze drops to tour my form. "Fuck yeah," he pants, the gold shimmers of his wolf lighting up his eyes as they return to mine.

My own wolf pushes forward in response and I step in closer, pushing up on my toes until my lips land on his. He grips my hips, returning the kiss hungrily as I wind my arms around his neck and start walking us backwards off the path.

The crush of reality can wait a little longer. For now, he's still here, and as long as he is, he's still mine.