Chapter 10 Silas
Silas
“Well, that went well,” I mumble to myself right before I reach Fran’s cabin. She helped watch Cooper today.
She’s waiting for me on her front porch, sitting in one of the two chairs with a beer in hand. After I go inside and grab my own, I take a seat next to her and drop my head to my chest.
“Did you make an ass of yourself?” Fran asks.
“Yup.” I pop the ‘p’ and take a sip.
“Mauve was here before you came over.”
Of course she was.
“And?” I ask.
She shrugs.
“You’re not surprised?”
“I feel like I knew something was off when Jake and I picked you two up yesterday.”
I scrunch my brows. “Nothing happened yesterday.”
“You were more of an ass to her than anyone else, Silas.”
It’s my turn to shrug.
“Anyway,” Fran continues, “I also thought it was odd that I could hardly smell her.”
“It’s muted, for sure, yet I can’t fucking stop chasing it.”
Fran laughs. “I never thought I’d see the day when you might find someone who might be worth breaking your spell for.”
“I still can’t, Fran.” I shake my head. “There’s no timeline where I’d want to choose a mate again. Not if it meant one day they could find their fated and leave me.”
“What if you find your fated?” Fran takes a sip of her drink.
“Yeah, right. That’d require me to find someone from a rescue, as that’s the only time I ever leave our camp.”
“From a rescue, you say?” Fran raises her brows at me, and I glare in her direction.
“Can we talk about literally anything else? Like about the rogue group Jake and I had to take care of today?”
She furrows her brow. “Why would I want to talk about you killing other werewolves, Silas? I know it needs to be done.”
“Because I need you to have a meeting with the other pack’s current leadership to ensure they have a handle on their people. We can’t take over the north if rogue packs are still an active problem.”
Fran hesitates, but I know it’s not because she doesn’t want to do her job.
She’s the best at negotiating and talking an entire group down from making a rash decision.
We’ve been at this together, Jake included, since we were twenty-four.
Eleven years later, we know what needs to happen when rogue groups pop up.
We have all been on edge for the past year as the plans to take over the entire north have ramped up.
Starview is a small town, and I think we are all comfortable with it; it’s our own family.
To take over the other packs and combine them with ours is a challenge, and it’s because of that that rogue groups have started to fight back.
“I got it, Alpha. You should get back.”
I nod slowly. She’s right. It’s not that I’m trying to run away from Junie, but I’ve definitely left her more than once like this.
I reach for Cooper’s leash, but Fran says, “Leave Coop. Let him stay until Junie goes back home.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
After I tell Cooper I’ll see him soon, I trek across the camp to my cabin, thinking about what I’m going to do about Junie the entire way. I also make sure to lock my mind so no one tries to talk to me for the rest of the night.
The last thing I need is further distractions.
The cabin is dark and quiet as I approach. I try my best to act like I’m not there as I enter, take off my shoes, and head to my room. The door to Junie’s room is closed, and there isn’t any light coming from under it. Either she’s asleep, or she simply wants to avoid me.
I wouldn’t blame her for wanting to, especially after I kissed her without warning. She might have kissed me back, but that doesn’t mean anything. It can’t mean anything, right?
Fuck.
After I pull on a dark gray t-shirt and take off my pants, remaining in my boxers, I flop in the middle of my bed and stare at the ceiling. What did I do to deserve this?
I’m the Alpha of a pack. What makes Junie so goddamn special? It’s irritating me. My wolf can’t stay still, especially now that her scent bleeds into my room.
She did say she wasn’t looking for a relationship. Could it be possible for us to fuck whatever we have between us out of our systems? For however long she’s here, can we pretend not to be at each other’s throats while knowing there’s an expiration date?
I doubt I’d be able to resist finding ways to make her mad, but she’d be the same way. Something about how she helped take care of me shows that even though she has a gentle side, she’d like it rough.
Should I go see if she’s okay after earlier? It seems my wolf has calmed enough that he’s not clawing at me to escape and claim her. Maybe I should apologize? Fuck. When was the last time I cared to apologize for anything?
I stand, knowing if I lie there any longer, I’ll talk myself out of it.
It’s just a few steps. I can do this. Knock on her door, tell her I’m sorry, make sure she’s okay, and tell her I’ll make breakfast or something. Actually, she’s the baker, so she can make breakfast. I’ll make… coffee. Yeah.
The lights are still off when I open my door, and now I’m second-guessing if I should knock. The last thing I want to do is wake her up, making her angrier with me.
My hand lifts to knock, but I drop it. I’m a grown ass fucking man, and I’m nervous about the woman staying in my cabin. I’ve talked to plenty of women, I’m an Alpha for crying out loud, yet I can’t knock on her door.
Explain that.
I exhale a large sigh and turn to go back to my room, figuring that after sleeping, I’ll have a clearer head and won’t do anything we would both regret in the morning.
My gaze drops to the floor, and I take a step toward my room, doing my best not to trip over myself in the dark.
The door to Junie’s room swings open. I turn toward it.
Moonlight shines through a window next to her bed, casting a soft glow. She’s wearing a large t-shirt that looks awfully similar to one I own and should be in my dresser. The green gem still hangs around her neck, yet her legs are bare. All thoughts of regret fly out the fucking window.
“Hi,” she says, softly, lifting her hand to wave like she did when she first saw my wolf.
“I was just…” I point behind me, not wanting it to seem like I was waiting out here for her.
“You were just…? In the dark hallway for no reason?”
I chuckle and palm my neck. “Something like that.”
She leans against her doorframe, crossing one foot over the other, and crossing her arms. “Are you done being an asshole?”
“Probably not. Is that a problem?”
“Mm, I’d be concerned if you weren’t.”
“Brat.” I smirk, having fun playing into whatever game this is.
Junie chuckles. “I don’t want—”
“A relationship. I know.”
“Do you?”
I shake my head. “Not my thing. Kind of have an entire pack to run.”
Junie tilts her head, then asks, “So, what are you waiting for?”