by Ellis Marie
I can feel the girl to my right tense at Cam’s insult, but instead of doing anything about it, she just smiles and winks. Her grin is almost wolf-like as she runs a tongue along her teeth.
“They’re just doing some errands, taking out the trash, y’know the usual. I’m sure you’ve got lots of experience at that.”
“Okay!” I jump up from the ground and clap my hands together, bringing everyone’s attention away from the ever-growing conflict brewing on either side of me and to my over-excited smile. “How about we put some music on and play some volleyball or something!”
Kristie and Tom are up and off towards the speakers before I even stop talking. Their argument of whose playlist to put on is the only thing on their minds as they are completely unaware of the two glaring figures below me.
“Can we please get along for a day?” I huff. “You guys have zero reason to be enemies today. As far as I’m concerned, we are just some high school students at the beach. Alright?”
I’m not about to play Switzerland. I want to enjoy myself and have fun.
With both heads lowered to the ground, the only acknowledgement of my plea is the grumbling from both figures in a reluctant agreement.
From over my shoulder, I can sense other people close to me. I lower my voice, tilting my head towards them so as to not make it quite so obvious.
“That goes to you three too,” I tell the teenagers who I know are listening. “Cam is my friend and he’ll be treated as such.”
The music around us suddenly begins to play. A scream of happiness comes from Tom as he throws his hands up and begins to dance across the sand, Kristie’s complaints falling on deaf ears as they set up the volleyball game.
Tension broken.
“Come on then.” Scarlette sighs, holding her hand out as she rises. “Let’s see if you’re any good, gingerbread boy.”
“You know you’re also a redhead, right?” Cam comments with a roll of his eyes but accepts her hand anyway. “Just so we’re clear.”
She drags him away with a laugh as he shoots me a look of panic, but I just shake my head at the two of them and enjoy the sight of my friends partially getting along.
Lee passes them as they head for the net, his brows a deep-set scowl as he stands beside me. His eyes never leaving his sister and the person she’s attached to.
“Do you trust him?”
I watch as Cam laughs at something Kristie has said, his dimples forming on his cheeks as he picks her up and pushes her into the sand, the two of them rolling about like they’ve always done since we were kids.
“Lee, I trust him with my life,” I reassure, placing a soft hand on his arm. “He’s one of my best friends.”
The teenager watches me for a moment, gauging my expression as if waiting for me to crack, but after holding his gaze for a moment, he seems to be satisfied with my answer and turns to watch the scene unfold, the shouts and screams letting us know that we’re in for an exciting game.
“I know,” he says quietly. “But Trent is meant to be told if anything happens.”
“They’re all busy, they don’t need to worry about it.”
“But it’s against pack rules, he wouldn’t like it.”
“He won’t know.”
“But if he—”
“Lee, please.”
He stops his argument instantly, clamping his mouth shut at my pleading tone. He groans when he sees my wide eyes and excessively jutted out lip.
“You’re the worst luna ever, and I am not getting in trouble for this,” he finally replies. I squeal in happiness, wrapping my arms around him while he tries to push me away but smiles nonetheless.
“Thank you, thank you!”
“I’m serious,” he warns. “I’m not lying to my alpha.”
“You won’t have to!” I grin, finally letting him out of my embrace. “It’ll be fine! Trust me.”
Much to my relief, the next couple of hours at the beach go off without a hitch.
Once certain people—or I should say wolves—get over themselves and let go of their prejudices, it feels like everyone has been friends for life.
“There is no way that you can live in that house and not be attracted to anyone,” Kristie says in a matter-of-fact tone as we watch the boys play a match. “Like, I know that Lee is your brother and Trent your cousin but come on.”
Scarlette shrugs and stretches her toes, soft amusement on her lips at the disbelief in the other girls’ voice.
“Honestly, I see them all as family,” she explains. “It would be weird for me.”
The thought of Scarlette having a crush on anyone in the house is weird for me now too. Even trying to imagine her being mushy and romantic with a single one of the people that she complains about on a daily basis and insults frequently is hard.
“Okay, but you’ve never even thought about it?” Kristie pushes teasingly. “Even just for a night?”
Her silence catches my attention. I watch her expression as she shakes her head, the smile on her lips now almost disappearing. She looks down at the ground as she wraps her arms around her legs.
I’ve never asked Scarlette about her love life. In all our conversations and deep chats, it’s never even crossed my mind to ask her about her mate. She’s always aimed the questions at me and my life. I’ve been so caught up in my own head and trying to get to grips with this new world that I’ve been thrust into, that I haven’t thought about the other people in it.
I’m not earning friend points.
“Not really,” she answers lightly. “A fleeting, schoolgirl crush maybe, but I’m not interested in dating for fun. When I fall in love, they’ll be perfect for me.”
Maybe that’s why she’s so invested in Trent and I—the idea of real mates gives her something to look forward to and believe in. Kristie snorts and motions between us while brushing her hair out of her face.
“Where were you a couple of years ago when we picked the worst people in the world?” she jokes, causing us all to laugh. “It’s not so easy to spot it, I wish it was.”
“I feel like Scarlette will know,” I chime in, throwing the redhead a wink as I do. “She’s got a pretty good intuition about things.”
The grateful smile that she gives me is heartwarming. I suppose trying to explain to a human that you are waiting for your soulmate sounds a little cheesy and unrealistic without them knowing the truth behind the word.
Do people have soulmates? Is that ‘spark’ that romance novels gush about really true? Is the falling in love at first sight trope actually reality? Would Kristie know the minute she met her soulmate, just like Scarlette will?
Just like Trent did?
“So, Elle,” Kristie muses, turning her attention to me. “Lee was telling me something very interesting earlier.”
Oh dear.
“Was that when he was trying to impress you in front of his friends?” I tease, remembering his awestruck expression as Kristie slid off her dress and ran into the water. “Or while he was trying to not look at your boobs and fall over his words?”
Her bag hits me square in the chest and then her hands, her whines of complaint only causing me to laugh more as we tease her for the teenage crush that the boy has. He has almost gotten smacked in the face by a volleyball because he was so distracted by her, and that’s saying something considering wolves are meant to have superior reflexes.
“Okay, okay! I yield!”I yell, gasping for breath between the fits of giggles.
Kristie sits back in triumph and lets me uncurl from my position of defence, my legs covered in sand as I pick myself up off the ground.
“What did he tell you that was so interesting?” I finally ask her, brushing my skin with a sigh, ready to answer a question that I most likely will want to avoid. If she’s picked up on something that we are hiding from her, then at least, I have Scarlette here to back up any cover-ups that I fabricate.
“Not much,” she sings, barely able to contain her smile. “Just that T
rent seems to not be sleeping in his bed recently.”
I almost choke on my own breath at her words, my face engulfing in flames as I scramble to my feet. The two girls beside me try to grab and keep me in place, so that they can question me, no doubt, but I shake them off, raising my head towards the boys who are completely oblivious to our conversation.
“Oh? It’s our turn to play volleyball now? Perfect timing!”
“Elle!”
I run away from the questions and laughter, tumbling across the sand with my sights set on Lee and his big mouth. When I reach him, he turns to look at me in shock as I snatch the ball from his hands, only holding my own up when he begins to complain.
“You can have an opinion when you learn to not spy on people and share the information with their nosy friends,” I state, narrowing my eyes and placing a hand on my hip. “Deal?”
Lee’s mouth drops open in horror as he realises what I’m talking about, regret spilling from his eyes as he avoids mine. Back curving, he retreats, hitting his friends gently on the way to drag them along and away from my threatening glare.
“Yeah, that’s fair,” he agrees with a light and shaky chuckle. “We were going to go in the water anyway.”
I know that he’s communicating with the other two boys, their eyes shooting between each other but lips unmoving due to the nature of the conversation and who is around us. It doesn’t take much for them to follow his orders, their fearful expressions matching perfectly as they basically turn and run away.
I’m going to kill him.
“What was that about?” Tom asks, looking at their retreating figures in confusion. “They were winning the match and everything.”
“My brother has a big mouth,” Scarlette explains, taking her place beside me. “He sometimes forgets that people might not want things shared.”
“Yes, however . . .” Kristie chimes in, nudging Tom. “I am here for the juicy gossip that someone is clearly not telling me!”
Tom gasps and spins to face me, his eager grin waiting for the details. I groan and throw the ball at Kristie, killing her with my eyes for mentioning it.
“Can we please just play volleyball?” I beg, heading around the net to stand beside Cam who wraps an arm around me, his eyes shining with humour at my discomfort.
“My arms are tired so I’ll be the referee,” Tom states. “But I would very much like to know the gossip too.”
The other three chat for a moment while they sort out the net and move into position. In the meantime, Cam turns to me, his voice a low hush and eyes shielded from the sun.
“Did Lee mention something he shouldn’t have to Kristie?”
“Yes,” I whine and his expression turns grave.
“About wolves?”
Oh.
“Well . . .” I trail off with an awkward laugh. “Not really.”
“Hey!” Kristie’s shout grabs our attention. “If you’re telling him and not me, I’m going to be pissed!”
The ball comes over the net and heads for Cam, who knocks it back across with ease, barely looking as the bounce echoes around us. It soars to the other side of the court. Tom announces a point won.
“Telling me what?” he asks. I flail for a second, trying to come up with a response.
About my sleeping arrangements.
“It’s nothing really,” I wave off, focusing on the returning shot. “Just Kristie being Kristie.”
Scarlette smacks the ball confidently towards me, her hair swishing around her like a cartoon drawing as she elegantly runs, clearly finding my discomfort enjoyable to watch.
Cam and I perfectly set up the shot between us, like we’ve done plenty of times in our childhood, and watch it head for Kristie. Instead of knocking it back carefully like she should, she hits it off to one side. We shout complaints while she rolls her eyes and throws her hands up.
Cam huffs and jogs over to it, mumbling under his breath.
“Why won’t you speak about Trent’s sleeping situation?” she interrogates. I scoff, knowing fine well that she knocked the shot on purpose to give herself time to speak.
“There’s no situation,” I argue, relieved to see Cam already heading back to the game. “Nothing’s going on.”
Tom snorts from his place at the base of the net, his smirk gleaming in the sunlight. “You’re telling me you haven’t slept with that hunk of a man yet?”
Cam seems to freeze in place, the smile on his face dropping upon hearing Tom’s words. My stomach twists at the wry expression it morphs into.
“I don’t think I want to talk about this,” he mutters, making me breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Cam,” I say with forced elation. “Someone with a brain.”
He steps back to his side of the court silently and starts the rally, the ball bouncing back and forth between us while the questions continue to be asked despite my efforts to stop them.
“I’m just saying,” Kristie shouts as she runs to pick up the ball after a missed shot. “I don’t know why you’re not admitting it. It’s not like he’s not the gorgeous man ever, and there’s something to be embarrassed about.”
“Ew,” Scarlette replies, disgust dripping as she shakes away the image. “Can we not describe my family members like that?”
Kristie winces and apologises while Tom just shouts the score along with a comment about Trent’s looks and how his and Scarlette’s genes must just be blessed.
He has a point.
“I’m not embarrassed,” I defend after a moment and immediately regret it when eyes light with excitement, and there are gasps of delight.
“So you are sleeping with him? What’s it li—”
Kristie’s voice is cut off as the ball flies towards her face, almost smacking her before Scarlette manages to reroute it so that it heads for Tom, gently, instead.
“Cam!”
I look at the boy to the left of me who’s just almost knocked out our friend and take in his dark expression. Even his apology that he shouts is low and unemotional. His mind seems to be far away or caught up in something. This is more evident as the ball races back towards him, but he doesn’t move. I quickly run across and throw myself down, catching the ball just before it hits the sand and propelling it over to our friends in a spectacular fashion—if I don’t say so myself.
“That was meant to be your shot,” I inform him, causing him to scold himself and help me to my feet while I adjust my bikini. He encloses his hand around mine.
“Sorry, I just—”
“They’re not sleeping together,” Scarlette finally interjects nonchalantly, cutting off the next of Kristie’s questions while I turn to look at her in surprise. “Lee just makes conclusions out of half information. Trust me, I’ve grown up with it.”
“You’re not?” Kristie looks at me for confirmation, almost disappointed by the truth as I shake my head, slumping her tanned shoulders. “But then, why—”
“We both have nightmares,” I admit with a shrug, tucking my hair behind my ears. “It’s nicer to not suffer through them alone. Can we play volleyball now that’s sorted?”
There’s a silence for a moment. I’m worried that I’ve shared too much, that I’ve made it awkward or uncomfortable with the honesty of my words; however, it breaks with gushing and words of ‘adorable’ from my two friends. Kristie’s excited grin is even bigger than before as she aims the ball.
Thank god that’s over.
It heads towards me perfectly. I ready myself to knock it back with arm withdrawn and patiently waiting. Before I can, a shadow passes over me and a body steps in front, hitting the ball with such a force that it flies over the net and continues on for quite a distance, soaring past the hand-drawn lines in the sand. Kristie and Scarlette shout at my partner as we watch it travel a fair distance, their reluctance in going to retrieve it visible as they argue over who gets it.
Finally, Kristie and Tom take off, racing each other.
Suddenly, someone grabs my wri
sts. I’m yanked around to face Cam, furrowing my brows at his grip and the force in which he’s holding me, his usual soft features hardened.
“What are you doing?”
I try to pull my hands out of his with a short laugh, but when they stay locked, an uneasy feeling drips over me. “Cam, what—”
“Why haven’t you slept with him yet?” he blurts out, his eyes searching mine for answers while I struggle to comprehend what he’s saying.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m serious, Elle,” he huffs, pulling me even closer to him despite my resistance and my baffled expression. “What’s wrong? If you’re mates, then why haven’t you?”
“What?” I laugh incredulously. “Are you kidding me right now?”
His impatience is clear as he lets out a strain of mutters under his breath.
Had the ball hit his head? Does he have a concussion? Surely, that could be the only excuse for the words coming out of his mouth right now.
“Just tell me—”
“Because somehow you’re entitled to know that,” I cut in sardonically, my anger rising at his refusal to leave my private life alone. “Let go of me, Cam.”
“Elle,” he insists, digging his nails into my skin. I lose the sarcastic bravery that had started to rise as I wince at the feeling, panic flitting through me. “It’s important, just tell me.”
“She doesn’t want to tell you, Cam,” Scarlette warns as she steps towards us, the mood shifting. “I think you better let it go. And let her go.”
Cam’s eyes snap to the girl so quickly that I’m surprised he doesn’t have whiplash. All the previous, friendly nature is replaced by a looming fog of threats. My tongue feels heavy in my mouth as I struggle to get a lid on the overpouring emotions that are firing through the net.
“Or what?”
The tension between the two of them boils under the other’s glare. My heart rate picks up as I wait for one of them to make a move, but when Scarlette’s eyes widen and she spins away from us, I stop struggling to get out of Cam’s grip.
“Lee, no!” Her scream seems to make everyone freeze.
I see him standing, glaring at Cam with his chest rising and mouth seething. My stomach drops as I look from him to his sister. I watch her turn to me in horror, wide eyes telling me everything that I need to know.