by Bru Baker
Nick huffed out a breath. “No. Well, maybe. But I meant jumping down your throat. I’m grateful you helped me yesterday. I probably would have gone back to my cabin and freaked out if it hadn’t been for you. But you can’t understand what it’s like. Waking up here—it was confusing.”
Drew wasn’t going to let him keep getting away with playing the “I’m a wolf, you’re a human” card. It had been an old, dirty trick when he’d pulled it out their first night at camp, and it wasn’t aging well. Drew was done cutting him slack on this.
“You woke up surrounded by our mingled scent, which your wolf liked. Don’t even try to pretend otherwise—you were happy before you woke up. I had to pry you off me. But then the rest of your senses came online as you woke up and realized you weren’t in your cabin. And then you realized the scent that made you feel so contented and cozy was my scent mixed with yours, and you flipped out and went into asshole mode because you don’t want your scent mixing with a lowly human’s. Feel free to stop me wherever I’m wrong.”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t think less of you because you’re human. I don’t. God. You know I don’t. I just don’t believe a relationship between a Were and a human can be healthy.”
“Healthy?” Drew echoed, a bit stunned.
“Look—I’ve seen this a lot, okay? Relationships that aren’t on equal footing, for whatever reason. Let’s say one partner has a gambling problem he hides, or maybe a drug addiction. Since he’s keeping secrets from his partner, there are parts of him that his partner can never access, right? So they can’t ever truly know each other well enough to have a healthy relationship. Everything is based on lies, whether they’re outright untruths or lies of omission.”
“Are you equating me being human to a drug addiction?”
“No! I’m the drug addict in this metaphor.”
Drew closed his eyes and tried to figure out where this conversation had jumped the tracks.
“I’m going for a run.”
Nick jumped up. “Let me clean the glass up before you get out of bed. Where’s your broom?”
“It’s downstairs in the kitchen. You don’t have to clean it up. I’ll get it.”
“At least let me get you some damn shoes. You’ll cut your feet up. There are tiny pieces of glass everywhere.”
Including in Nick’s feet, Drew guessed, as Nick hobbled his way across the room to the door. Idiot.
“Just because you can heal doesn’t mean it won’t hurt,” Drew called after him.
“Just stay there till I get back!” Nick yelled from the hallway.
Drew considered getting out of bed to spite him, but it wasn’t worth cutting up his feet. He had patients all afternoon at the clinic in town, and as much as he didn’t need to be coddled, Nick was already up. He might as well let him take care of the glass.
He jumped when a tennis shoe landed on the bed, followed shortly by its mate. Nick appeared a second later, broom and dustpan in hand and a scowl on his face.
“Why is Harris in your kitchen?”
Crap, he’d forgotten Harris was dropping by to help him fill out an incident report about yesterday. Drew didn’t like the judgmental tone in Nick’s voice. He made it sound like Drew was cheating on him—which was impossible, since they weren’t together. Besides, someday his stepbrother Jackson was going to get his head out of his ass and realize he had feelings for Harris, and Drew wasn’t going to stand in the way of that. Not that he was going to tell Nick that. Let him stew in his ridiculous jealousy. God forbid Nick actually talk to him and straighten things out.
“Maybe he’s hungry.” Drew put his feet into the shoes and didn’t bother tying them as he stood.
Nick glided across the space and stood directly in front of the door, his brow furrowed with a frown.
“He can have breakfast at the mess. You and I are going running.”
“Maybe Harris and I had plans this morning.”
Nick was running hot and cold, and it was messing with Drew’s chill. A human doctor in the middle of a camp full of werewolf adolescents needed nothing more than a solid grounding in chill. He had to have all the chill, and Nick was making that impossible with his caveman jealousy and his mixed messages.
Nick scoffed. “You didn’t have plans with him. You always run first thing.”
“What if I had a different kind of exercise in mind for this morning?” Drew asked pointedly, knowing he was fueling the fire but unable to stop himself from being petty. “Would you be up for that? Or am I just good to run with? Going to piss all over me so no one else can have me even though you don’t want me?”
He snapped his mouth shut, regretting the words as soon as he’d said them. Spending the night curled up with Nick had lowered all his defenses, and Drew was feeling particularly raw about being rejected. It didn’t excuse him being an asshole, though.
“Look, I’m sorry,” he said as Nick resumed sweeping. His movements were calm and measured, but his face was livid. “That was uncalled for. But you don’t get it both ways, man. Either you admit there’s something there between us or you let me do what I want.”
“Breakfast with Harris is what you want?”
Drew rubbed a hand over his face. “No. He’s here to do paperwork. But if I did want breakfast with Harris, it wouldn’t be any of your business. You might not want to have breakfast with me, but I still want to eat.”
Nick swept the last of the glass into the dustpan and tipped it into the garbage can he’d taken out of the bathroom.
“We’re talking about sex, right?” he asked, looking up and meeting Drew’s gaze. “I mean, I know I started it with the drug thing, but it’s early for metaphors. But we’re talking about sex?”
“Sex, relationships, whatever. I like bagels. But if I can’t have a bagel because the bagel doesn’t want me, then I’ll have some toast. It might not hit the spot like the bagel would have, but it’ll still fill me up.”
Drew’s eyes slid shut as he realized what he’d said. At least Nick had the decency not to laugh out loud. He could hear him snicker, which was embarrassing enough.
“Right. Well, if you’re staying, be nice to Harris. Assuming he’s staying. The only thing I know for sure is I’m not staying. I’m taking a do-over on this morning and going for a run.”
Maybe he could exercise his mortification out of his system. Something about Nick made it hard to think, and Drew seemed to find himself babbling incoherently every time they were alone together. Probably trying to cover up how much he still wanted Nick, even knowing that Nick didn’t feel the same. Which was pretty much a textbook definition of pathetic, wasn’t it?
How did the saying go? Once was a fluke, twice was a coincidence? If they ended up in bed together again, what exactly would that constitute? Other than colossally bad decision-making on his part, that was.
He wondered if his grandmother’s “fool me once” rule applied to situations like this. He hoped not, because if this was strike two then he was the one who was on the hook for being the fool. Did their one-night stand count? Drew hadn’t known Nick had a problem dating humans then, but he definitely knew that now. And yet here he was, letting Nick stomp all over his feelings. And the worst part was, Nick wasn’t even rude about it—he was a nice guy. A nice guy with some pretty fucked-up beliefs about human and Were interaction, but a nice guy all the same.
DREW’S run hadn’t done much to clear his head, but it had cleared his kitchen of werewolves. He was sweaty and starving but blessedly alone. Breakfast would be coming to an end in the mess soon, but Drew needed to shower and go check up on Jefferson before he could eat. He’d have to forage for something here.
He found a bagel wrapped in a napkin on the counter, which was probably about as close to a sincere apology as he was likely to get out of Nick. He popped it in the toaster and pulled out some peanut butter. He needed protein if he was going to face the day without yelling at Nick.
Harris had left a note scrawled on the back of a
n envelope. Rory’s parents were bringing him back to say his goodbyes and gather his things this afternoon and then flying him home. Harris was going with them to make sure he didn’t wolf out on the plane.
Drew understood why they wanted him home after such a close call, but putting him on a plane so soon after his Turn, to say nothing of the trauma from drowning, was a mistake. Surely Harris had told them that. Not that he’d be able to prevent them from acting in what they thought was Rory’s best interest.
It was a lot like Nick’s misguided belief that a wolf and a human could never understand each other and therefore couldn’t ever have a meaningful relationship. His mother and stepfather were closer than a lot of the Were couples he knew. His stepfather being a wolf had never caused them any problems, at least none Drew had heard of. It was probably a gross exaggeration to say things were perfect between them, but it had certainly seemed that way growing up.
He didn’t need to be inside Nick’s head to understand him. He had years of living in a Pack to clue him in to the nonverbal communication and habits of Weres. He’d known what Nick needed yesterday better than Nick had himself. So did Nick actually believe the shit he’d been spouting, or was it just a cover for him being a specist dick?
Drew slathered his bagel with peanut butter and wandered upstairs to shower. He’d make some coffee afterward so he had something to keep him going when he drove over to the office. The practice had come with all the medical records of the patients and a receptionist, but Drew found both lacking. Not only were the records not digitized, they were often incomplete or in disarray, and the receptionist hadn’t warmed up to him.
It was nearly eleven by the time he got over to Jefferson’s cabin. The boy and Scott were sitting on the back porch staring out at the lake. A group of wolflings was braving the chilly water and racing each other to the swimming raft set up in the middle.
“They’ll be okay,” Drew said as he eased into a chair next to Jefferson’s. The wolfling was pale and agitated, and Drew flicked a glance to Scott, who shook his head slightly and then nodded out toward the lake. So Jefferson had been okay until his fellow campers had gone swimming. That was good—it meant this was anxiety and not remnants of the physical shock he exhibited yesterday.
“Rory is a really strong swimmer,” Jefferson said, eyes still trained on the teens. They’d made it most of the way to the raft.
“Rory’s situation was different. Nick told me he’d gotten his wetsuit snagged on a spike. He’s very lucky you were there to go get help. No one should be in the lake alone. You did exactly the right thing, and it saved his life.”
Jefferson’s jaw quivered, and he looked down at his lap. “I couldn’t get him free. I thought he was dead.”
“But he isn’t. Rory is absolutely fine. I don’t think I’m breaking any doctor-patient privilege telling you he checked out okay both physically and neurologically. His parents are there with him now, and they’ll all be coming back to camp this afternoon.”
Jefferson’s eyes were fixed on the wolflings in the lake again, and Drew met Scott’s gaze over his head. He held up his keys and quirked a brow at Scott, who shrugged.
He should talk to Jefferson’s counselor before making the offer, but it was obvious Jefferson needed a change of scenery. The trauma of Rory nearly dying in the lake yesterday was fresh, and since basically every building in the camp was lakefront, it had to be hard for him to hide from it.
Jefferson was obviously still fragile, so giving him a break from camp might let him have some alone time. Drew hated being fawned over, and he had a feeling Jefferson was the same. How could he process what had happened when people were constantly reminding him of it by asking how he was doing?
Maybe he could accompany Drew to the office. It was always a risk to take a wolfling off campus, but if he’d made it through the stress of yesterday without wolfing out, he was probably safe to take to town for a few hours.
“Who’s your counselor, Jefferson? I want to try something, but it’s probably best if I run it by them first.”
“Dr. Perry.”
Of course it would be Nick. Why wouldn’t it be? It seemed like every goddamn thing in the world was tied up with Nick somehow.
Drew bit back a sigh and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He’d entered Nick’s number into it at the staff meeting, fully embracing the irony of getting his number only hours after wishing he’d had it. Since the camp was spread out and there wasn’t a central phone system, the staff was encouraged to use instant messenger and texts to communicate.
He started a group message to loop Kenya and Harris in, just in case Nick couldn’t separate his overprotective dickweed tendencies enough to look at this objectively. There were risks, but from what Drew could tell, they were minor, and the benefits far outweighed them.
Jefferson is experiencing some post-traumatic anxiety. He’s fixated on the lake and I think giving him a chance to get away from it for the afternoon would be a good course of action. I’d like to take him with me down to the clinic. He can do some inventory or filing for me to keep him busy.
Scott cleared his throat. “If you’ve got this, I need to go lead a class. Kaylee offered to cover for me, but today we were working with odachi, and that might be a bit much for her to handle.”
Drew doubted there was anything Kaylee couldn’t handle, but he’d played with the odachi in Scott’s collection, and most of them were about as long as Kaylee was tall. The heft and length of the swords helped teach balance and patience to the wolflings, but they didn’t work with them long enough to gain any sort of finesse. It was probably safer for Scott to be the one there leading them, all things considered.
Though he’d pay to see tiny Kaylee sword fighting with an odachi. She was about five feet in shoes.
“Yeah, it’s fine. If I don’t get the okay, I’ll deliver him to Nick.”
Jefferson was so caught up in watching the wolflings in the lake that he gave no sign he heard them discussing him. He definitely needed to be pried away from here, whether it was with Drew or with someone else.
His phone buzzed against his thigh.
Kenya: That’s a good idea. Take a dose of sedative with you just in case, but I don’t think you’ll need it.
Drew started to stand but stopped when he saw the notification Nick was typing. After a few long moments, his message finally appeared.
Nick: It’s not safe for you to be alone with a wolfling, especially one in emotional distress. You could get hurt.
Drew gritted his teeth and stood, sliding the phone into his pocket.
“Jefferson, why don’t you stick with me today? I’ve got some things I need help with at my office in town, and since you’ve been excused from classes today, I thought you could come help.”
The wolflings had made it to the raft and were splayed out on it, sunning themselves. From the way Jefferson’s head was tilted Drew could tell they must be talking, but he couldn’t make out much more than a faint hint of laughter.
“Martin asked if we could bring back some pizza. The mess puts fancy cheese on theirs.”
The pizza in the mess was fantastic, but Drew had to agree it was more highbrow than his ideal pie.
“They can hear me out there?”
Jefferson looked up at him and shook his head slightly, like he was trying to shake something off. “No. Not unless they were focused on us, and they’re not. Martin’s not out there. He’s walking to—” He paused, listening. “—the stables. He’s got a horseback riding lesson with Ms. Monticello. He says he’ll kick in money for pizza if we bring some. I bet everyone would. I’ve got my dad’s credit card. I’ll just put it on that.”
Drew hadn’t agreed to pick up pizza, but the discussion was putting color back in Jefferson’s cheeks, and he didn’t think it would hurt anything. God knew wolflings could easily put away dinner and pizza, so it wasn’t like the mess would have a ton of leftover food because of an extracurricular snack.
His ph
one vibrated in his pocket again, but he ignored it. He’d already gotten the okay from Kenya, so he was going to run with that.
“Do you need to bring anything, or are you ready to go? My office is about a twenty-minute drive from here, and we can grab some lunch on the way. You can look for a pizza place once we get there and figure out what you want to order so we can pick it up on the way back. There aren’t a ton of options, I’m afraid, but I’m sure there must be at least one.”
Jefferson stood up, an eager smile on his face. “There will be a grocery store, right? We should totally get frozen pizzas instead. That way they won’t get cold on the drive back.”
This had definitely been the right thing for Jefferson. He was looking more like his old self, and they hadn’t even left yet. Drew’s phone buzzed again, and Jefferson’s eyes cut to his pocket, but Drew swallowed his annoyance and shook his head with a smile. Jefferson wasn’t the only one who could use a break from camp.
“It’s just a group message thread. Let’s hit the road.”
Chapter Seven
“I’D planned to put together the challenges yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance,” Harris said apologetically as he handed a file folder to Nick. “Thanks for helping with this. The kids look forward to it.”
Nick flipped the folder open and looked through the past scavenger hunt courses Harris had printed for him as samples.
“It’s a great idea. We’ve been talking to them about training their senses, but so much of it can only be picked up while you’re doing it.”
“I know you’ve got a lot on your plate since you and Kenya are splitting my therapy load while I’m gone, but Drew could use another set of hands. He has some experience with these so he’s taking the lead, but I know he’ll appreciate help with setup and monitoring the wolflings while they’re doing the course.”
Drew was going to design a werewolf scavenger hunt course? The kids would be done in ten minutes flat.