Chapter 5 Junie
Junie
Ithought getting stuck in my car was the worst thing that could happen today. Wasn’t that my payment to the universe for ignoring my friends and overworking myself? Nearly freezing to death? Or maybe having to leave my car?
Apparently not because Silas is racing us toward our death, I swear. There’s nothing in front of us except snow. Everywhere. Somehow, he’s able to weave around trees. Another avalanche is coming toward us from the right, and although it’s not half the mountain, it’s enough to leave us stranded.
And then what? Will someone else have to rescue us? Would we trek back to my car? Silas is better company than Creepy Dan, but that doesn’t mean I want to be around him for longer than necessary.
We hit a bump, and I screech.
“Was that an animal?” I yell, not lifting my head from his back.
Silas doesn’t answer, but I hear a chuckle carried through the wind. I don’t know if this man ever smiles. Why does that make me like him that much more?
I’m used to being around Ophelia, and she’s basically sunshine reincarnated. Sam is very smiley too. The two of them have always balanced my grumpy moods, and now it’s worse that they are a pair.
Silas seems grumpy. Like grumpier than me. He’s like if Oscar the Grouch was turned into a werewolf shifter. It’s been fun to push his buttons, knowing he will do the same to me. Even in the short amount of time I’ve known him, it’s clear he’s hiding a lot behind the deep scowl.
I don’t say anything else. With the impending snow, I don’t want to be the reason he’s distracted. Instead, I hold him and hope we make it. I’m in desperate need of a warm fire. And some coffee.
Within a few minutes, there is chatter around us as the quad comes to a halt.
“You can let go now.” Silas’ gruff voice reminds me that my arms are wrapped around him in a death grip.
“Right.”
I slide my arms away, accepting the cold that follows.
“And you can get down.” He looks over his shoulder, giving me his signature scowl.
“Asshole,” I mumble before I make my way off the quad.
Unfortunately, getting off this vehicle is more difficult than one would think. I thought I could slide off the back? But that didn’t work when I tried, so I thought I’d carefully slide down the side, except I was trying not to touch Silas again.
He’d already carted me to safety like an actual princess in need of rescuing.
I lift my right leg, planning to use my core (what core?) to safely make my way to the ground. My balance isn’t great, and my estimates were way off.
Let me paint you a picture.
The quad is sitting in two or three feet of snow.
The sun is shining, which is a bonus, but it’s fucking freezing outside.
We are parked in front of a dark brown cabin. Silas’? Maybe.
Fran and Jake are tromping through the snow toward us.
I smile and awkwardly wave with my left hand, which I thought was smart because it meant I wasn’t going to touch Silas by accident.
Both Fran and Jake’s faces went from a smile to an oh my god at the same time I realized I wasn’t as graceful as I had pictured in my head.
Two seconds later, the entire left half of my body sinks into the snow.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groan, pushing myself to stand.
And what does Silas do?
Nothing.
It’s Fran who comes to offer her hand, helping me up.
“You could have helped her,” she says, looking at Silas.
He shrugs. “She seemed to have it handled.”
“She is right here,” I say, smiling at Fran first before giving Silas my best death glare. “Well, I’m in need of a hot shower and dry clothes.”
“You can come to my cabin,” Fran says.
“Oh, that’d be great.” I’m thankful she said something because the last thing I want is—
“She’s staying with me,” Silas says as he jumps down from the vehicle.
Fran gives me an apologetic glance then says, “Yes, Alpha.”
She and Jake leave after that, walking toward the cabins in the distance, and I’m stuck with Silas.
I turn to him.
“So, roomie, care to tell me why I couldn’t stay with Fran? She’s definitely more pleasant than you are.”
“It’s not safe.”
“I can protect myself.”
Silas raises his brows.
“Well.” I huff. “Fran can protect me.”
“You’re not mated, brat.”
“No?” I bristle at the nickname.
Silas looks at me like duh, Junie, that’s why. Except, I’m still lost. He’s lucky I’m too tired to argue any further.
Still, he adds, “There’s an uptick in rogue groups. Not only are you human, but not having a wolf mate leaves you vulnerable. I have a spare room. You’ll sleep there tonight, and tomorrow, assuming the snow is plowed, you can leave.”
“Please tell me there’s a shower in your cabin.”
“There is—”
“And dry clothes.”
“Fran is grabbing some and will drop them off.”
“More mind talking? You know, that’s not fair when I can’t do that. For all I know, you are talking about me.”
“Your point?”
I shake my head. “Just point me in the direction of your shower.”
Silas points to the cabin behind him, the one I assumed was his. I don’t bother waiting for him, because the longer I stay in my half-frozen clothes, the more I’m worried about getting sick.
I stomp up the small set of stairs to his front porch, then reach for the handle of the cabin. “This is open, right?”
“Yes, but—”
Silas doesn’t get to finish before a gigantic, tan furball leaps through the opening and tackles me to the ground.
“Oh my god, aren’t you cute?!” I say, petting the head of a dog. Wait. “This is a dog, right? Like a dog dog?”
Silas doesn’t answer me. When I look at him, he’s biting back a laugh and shaking his head.
“Be careful, Silas. You start laughing around me, and I might think you have a nice bone in your body.”
“Cooper’s a husky, Junie.” He grumbles and pats the side of his leg.
Cooper jumps off me and runs over to Silas, which gives me time to stand. I would really love to stop falling to the ground and hope this isn’t one of those weird sets of three situations.
“Shower is inside. Down the hall.”
“Got it,” I say, then head inside.
When the door shuts behind me and I turn around after taking off my shoes, I tell myself to go straight to the shower. But there’s no harm in walking slowly while taking in Silas’ living space, right? I mean, I am going to stay here tonight, so it’s not like I’m invading his privacy.
The dark interior matches the outside, and it has that glorious cabin smell: pine and cinnamon. The hallway is straight ahead, but what catches my eye are the stainless steel appliances in the kitchen on the left.
Don’t stop, Junie. Priorities, priorities, priorities.
I’ll have time later to snoop and bake something to de-stress after today.
If I have to wait until he goes to sleep or leaves for some important Alpha meeting, I can do that.
The kitchen is impressive, but the living room area to the right is equally so.
There’s a deep sectional that sits across from a lit fireplace.
On the far wall, there’s a bookshelf and a large reading chair.
This cabin has everything a girl could ever dream of.
To curl up in front of the fire, I have to be clean and dry.
So, that’s where my feet lead me. Past what I assume is Silas’s bedroom.
Past a guest room, my room, which is awfully close to where he will be.
Here’s hoping a hot shower will be enough to clear my mind from the fantasies my brain is trying to get me to indulge in with the hot Alpha.
I’m fucked.