Chapter 16
Junie
When I wake up the next morning, the last thing I expect is to smell pancakes or some sort of sweet breakfast. Last night was incredible, and I know Silas told me he doesn’t do relationships, but I don’t know how either of us can walk away from this.
We can be friends, right? If he can’t commit to anything more than that, I don’t need him to. Surely we don’t have to cut off all communication. That’d be silly.
Assuming he stays near Starview, we could meet for dinner. We could go for hikes. I don’t know. We could do anything, literally anything, as long as I get to be near him.
I’m too stubborn to accept anything less.
Plus, after yesterday, I think I’m becoming friends with Fran, and I could really use some more friends in my life.
I wish I had a phone signal so I could talk to Ophelia.
She’s going to be pissed about me being with werewolves, but she would really like Fran.
They’re both happy constantly, and they look out for the people they love.
I take my time getting up. Silas would come and get me if the food was ready. Or, knowing his change of attitude, he’d probably bring it to me in bed.
If you told me last week that I’d be falling for the Alpha shifter of a pack, I’d swear someone spelled you to play a prank on me. There’s no timeline where I would have ever seen this coming.
Is it weird to say I’m thankful for getting stuck in the middle of the mountain?
Maybe. This could be the universe telling me I need to slow down and get out there more.
If that’s the case, then I’ve heard the universe loud and clear.
That’s my goal when I get back home—figure out how to balance my life with work.
My stomach grumbles, so I swing my legs to the side and step out of bed.
I’m still wearing one of Silas’ shirts. I’ve grown attached to it to the point where I might need to sneak it home with me.
I opt out of wearing pants, but I don’t think Silas will mind.
My hair is a mess, though, and needs to be wrangled.
I grab a hair tie off the end table next to the bed, but when I move to put my hair up, my necklace comes undone and slides off my neck.
“Oh, shit.”
I lean down to pick it up and cringe when I see the clasp broken and the gem lying on the floor.
We were a little rough last night. A blush creeps up my neck as my mind replays the events that could have led to my necklace breaking.
I’ll have to get a new chain from Ophelia when I get back home and hope the gem wasn’t actually bewitched.
It’s possible that anytime I felt a pull from the necklace, it was nothing more than a placebo effect. This could be a jewel and nothing more. Ophelia gives gems and jewels to her customers all the time, promising good luck and shit like that, knowing she’s handing over nothing more than a stone.
Either way, it’s funny that it took a night with Silas to get the necklace off me. This could be fate’s way of telling me Silas is a good guy and the necklace isn’t necessary around him, but I never thought to take it off to begin with. It’s been around my neck since the day I put it on last year.
I place the now-broken necklace on the nightstand and finish tying up my hair before I pad down the hallway to the kitchen.
“This smells so good,” I say.
Silas faces me, then freezes in place. He grips a plate stacked with pancakes, his knuckles white.
“Are you okay?” I ask, taking a step toward him.
His nostrils flare, and he sets the plate on the counter. He mumbles a string of curse words, and his eyes are wide, like I’m a stranger in his home.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask.
What is he looking for? His eyes won’t focus on mine. Finally, they settle on my neck, and my hand clasps where the gem normally is.
“Where’s your necklace?”
“It fell off? Are you sure you’re okay?”
Silas shakes his head and ducks around me, moving toward the front door. Every step I take toward him, the farther away he walks, like the last thing he wants is me to be near him.
I thought after last night, we weren’t going to hide how we felt. The deal was from now until the day I left. Regardless of how long that was, we would ignore the fact that I’m leaving.
Silas’ expression twists into something painful. He shakes out his arms, clenching his hands into fists, like he’s holding back. From doing what? I’m not sure. Every movement from him is strained. Each look holds a ghost of something I can’t quite grasp or understand, and it’s scaring me.
He can’t stand the sight of me right now. It’s like I’m his kryptonite, and every time I step toward him, he reacts like I’m the villain in this story.
“Silas…”
“I have to go. It’s—” Every word is strained. His fists are clenched so tight, I’m surprised there isn’t blood dripping onto the floor.
“Why won’t you look at me?” Fuck. I’m on the verge of tears when I definitely shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t care that he wants to get away from me. If last night was a fluke and he’s over it, then we did what we said we were going to do, right? We fucked and got it out of our systems.
Except, it’s more than that for me. Even if I won’t admit it out loud right now, it is. There’s something between us. I don’t care if he denies it. I know he feels it too. He must, right? There’s never been a time when I felt this much for someone else.
I’ve felt like this since I met him, but when I laid eyes on him in the kitchen this morning, my feelings threatened to overwhelm me.
Is that why he’s shocked? Is he feeling the heightened intensity too? Something must have happened when my necklace fell off, as if there were a barrier between us, and now it’s gone.
Fuck, I wish I could talk to Ophelia to ask her. She’s the only one who would know if I’m being ridiculous.
Somehow, by some miracle, I manage to grab on to Silas’s wrist when he tries to turn and run out the door.
He knows something is different, but he’s not going to tell me.
The invisible string that pulled me to him is stronger, like something tangible I can grab and hold on to.
A sliver of shock waves hits me, starting at my fingers where they hold on to him.
They crawl up my arm, over my chest, spreading to every corner of my very soul.
“Do you…” I want to ask him if he feels it. I need to ask him. It’s too much. The other times we have touched, it’s been similar, but not like this. Not this strong. “Do you feel this?” My question comes out as a whisper, filling the silence in the cabin.
My eyes are on Silas, watching how he reacts, hoping that whatever he says, I can read him to know if it’s the truth or not.
I’m kidding myself because I’ve never been great at reading people.
I’m too trusting when someone enters my bubble, and that’s only if I’ve given them a chance.
Before being rescued by Silas, I didn’t care to grow my circle of friends.
I didn’t want to be judged for spending most of my time growing my business.
Before Silas, I didn’t want the heartbreak of falling for someone who might turn out to be the wrong person.
But now? After Silas? Fuck, I want the heartbreak. I want to know that he’s torn by whatever bond we have formed over this short amount of time. I want to know that the moment I leave this camp, he’s going to be chasing me, asking me to come home.
Silas doesn’t answer. His eyes are hollow, devoid of any emotion. He’s not himself. Or maybe this is him and he only showed me the side I wanted to see.
After too many minutes of listening to nothing but Silas’ deep breathing, I let go of his wrist. If he wanted to tell me something, even if it was that he didn’t feel a thing, he would have done it.
The memories are what I care about the most. Knowing that these last few days have been blissful and work-free is more than I could have asked for. As of now, this is the best holiday I’ve ever had.
Silas doesn’t look at me again.
He doesn’t say goodbye.
He laces up his boots by the door and leaves, not bothering to put on a jacket.
Asshole.
I left my phone in the bedroom, but I already know I don’t have any signal. There’s no goddamn signal anywhere in this place. All I want to do is talk to Ophelia, who would talk some sense into me. She’d tell me to pack up all my things (of which I have none) and be ready for her to pick me up.
You know what? Fuck this. He doesn’t get to run away with his tail between his legs, not talking to me, not telling me why he’s suddenly ignoring me. That’s not how an Alpha of a werewolf pack acts.
Something is off, and I’m going to find out.