Chapter 10 Bonnie
Bonnie
Ilay on my sleeping bag, fully dressed and ready to leap up and deal with whatever catastrophe happens next.
I am still steaming over my encounter with Rory this afternoon.
That self-absorbed, arrogant ass of an alpha seriously thought I’d fall for his ruse.
I’m even more annoyed that punching him in the dick got his masochistic ass off.
It was so hot.
I roll to my other side and stare at the fire. The tents are up, everyone is asleep. Dinner was an easy meal of bannock and chili. Full bellies, warm fire, the stars are out, shining like an invitation to step away from it all, and I’m in my favourite place in the whole world.
I feel the familiar calm seep into my bones. The promise of aching muscles, a world that offers up a thousand and one secrets and leaves me breathless.
Who needs alphas when I have this?
I don’t know what time it is when I become aware of furtive movements. At first, I think it’s just someone going to the toilet, but no one turns on the torch.
I lay there, straining my ears, listening to the sounds of someone creeping out of camp. Should I confront them? I check my watch. They are gone for ten minutes, and then they come back and sneak into the tent. I have no idea which of the three tents they go into.
Why did they get up and go wandering around?
The night offers no answers; instead, the sky starts to lighten. I get up and get water boiling for coffee. I pull out a handful of protein bars and pack up my bag.
It takes forever for them to rise, but they do it without me having to wake them. In silence, they pack up the tents, grunting and moving with stiff legs and occasional moans.
My breath leaves fog in the air.
“Did everyone sleep all right?”
Rojer grunts as he sits down heavily on his pack. “Like a baby.”
Quincy frowns. “It was a bit cold, and I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to sleeping on the ground.”
Nathan ignores my question and chews on his protein bar.
“I think I got bitten by a spider,” Kendall Roe says, inspecting his arm. He’s tall and thin with a weak chin and dark eyes. His hair is already greasy, and I wonder what he put in it to get it like that so quickly.
What alarms me is the level of hysteria in his voice. It’s never good when you have someone on these trips who panics.
And yet, I find myself turning slightly and looking at Rory, yesterday’s intense moment in the woods replaying in my mind. He’s laying on the ground, propped up by his elbow, ankles crossed, but when he sees me looking, he tilts his head back with this smugness I want to smack off him.
“I have some bug bite spray,” I say instead of answering his unvoiced challenge.
“Will that stop the poison?”
Rory chokes on a laugh.
I cast him a scathing look that promises retribution. “Most of the species of spider here are harmless. For the toxic species, you would feel the bite and start to have symptoms fairly quickly, but we’ll monitor it. Can you show me the site?”
“Site?”
“Of the bite?” I say as I unpack my first-aid kit.
He blinks and then rushes over, tripping on Justin’s foot. The quiet beta says something under his breath but doesn’t engage.
Kendall pulls his sleeve up and shows me a spot on his arm. I look up at him, trying to see if he’s fucking with me.
“It’s getting bigger,” he whines urgently.
I bite the inside of my cheek and try really hard not to snap at him or Rory.
“It looks like a completely harmless bite. I’ve had a million of these. A little itchiness, and before you know it, it will clear right up.”
“But what if it gets worse? It could be a delayed reaction. I might end up in anaphylaxis. I could die out here.”
I do not even dare glance in Pack Prince’s direction.
“If you go into anaphylaxis, then I will administer the EpiPen I carry, and we will all carry you out of here. No one is going to leave you to die.”
“But-”
“Beta Kendall, I promise you, I am the most professional of professionals, and I have not lost a single person out in my park. Trust in me.”
He inhales deeply and then exhales. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am sure.”
I administer the spray, and once he’s happily settled, I turn to the small group.
“We leave in five minutes. Make sure you’re ready.”
I step into the forest, making sure I’m well out of sight, needing a moment to go to the bathroom.
I’m midstream when Vale finds me. My outrage burns through me; is there no boundary they won’t break? I don’t know how he does it or why I didn’t hear him, but he’s utterly silent. I should put a tracker on these alphas so I know where they are.
He stares at me, looks down to my pee, and then back up with a smirk. “Caught you with your pants down. I feel like we’re even now.”
My cheeks burn, but I’m not sure if it’s rage or humiliation, maybe a perfect concoction of the two. Where is a cliff I can drop kick this alpha off?
I have no choice. He’s not going anywhere, and I can see by the way he’s leaning on the tree that he has no intention of turning away.
I clean up quickly, making sure I’ve left no trace of my passing, and stand up, pulling my shorts up.
“Are you into watersports?” I snarl.
“I think I could be into anything with you.”
Damn him! I stomp away, refusing to engage. Vale grins and follows me back towards camp.
“Shaved, I like it.”
“Waxed, and I don’t give a shit.”
I stop suddenly, but his arm wraps around me, pulling me up against him.
“What are you doing, Alpha?” I growl and try to struggle free.
“I really honestly don’t know. The air must be muddling my head, or maybe I’ve been bitten by something and this is simply a fever dream.”
“I thought you were the leader of the pack?” I ask, following my thoughts to the events of yesterday.
“I am, but we are a family. We decide together.”
I hear that warning. They all rejected me. It wasn’t one. It stings, but I push it away because I don’t want to think about that right now.
“Why did you kneel-” I stop myself, hating the fact that my curiosity has me asking such ridiculously personal questions.
“I kneel because I want to,” Vale whispers in my ear. “I submit because I choose to. And if he’d told me to bend over and spread my cheeks, well, I would have done that, too, because he’s a damn good fuck, and he’s got a huge cock.”
I scoff and struggle out of his arms, trying to find a lifeline that can stop me from melting down because, holy shit, I might pass out if he says anything more.
How long has it been since I got laid? Six months? Too long. I should have followed Meg’s advice and gone and gotten the itch out of my system.
I freeze when his scent hits me. I haven’t got far from him.
His huge hands are still on my hips. When I was young, my father would bring us out, and we’d go camping, and during those times, he would get us to write down a dream.
We’d throw that paper into the fire, and that smell would be part of my dream.
Vale smells like burning paper. He smells like my dreams.
That alone has me wrenching myself away from him. I refuse to relive losing him again.
I walk into camp and pick up my bag. The fire is out, but I check it one last time to make sure, and then signal to the group to move out.
“Today we’re going to go through some of my favourite spots. So, it’s going to be a good day. Make sure to stay hydrated and check on each other.”
Nathan snorts a laugh.
I wait for him to say anything, but he doesn’t bother.
Aside from the four alphas I detest, the other three are strange.
They stay together, hang out together, and don’t really interact with the others.
Quincy is clear as day the most cheerful beta I’ve ever met, but he’s also desperate for their approval, which I find strange.
Kendall is more worried about himself, but it’s Justin who worries me. Quiet, reclusive, depressed, even.
Dad says I should maintain a professional distance from them, but when we’re out here like this, sometimes I feel like I’m a bit of a therapist and crisis coach on top of all my other roles.
I can see I may well be utilizing those skills this trip.
“There’s a story about an old hiker who came out here about forty years ago. Some stories say he was an alpha, some say beta, but he came out here looking for something and never went home.”
“So, he died?” Nathan asks.
“No,” I say with a chuckle. “He built this.” I lead them around a bend and reveal the old cabin that very few people know about.
“Wow!” Rojer walks forward, peering at it intently. “He lived out here?”
“For thirty years on his own. They recovered diaries. The real story is a bit more heartbreaking. He had an omega who died and lost everyone he loved, so he just came out here and existed.”
“Was he happy?”
“Hmm?” I ask, turning to face Cyn.
“Was the alpha happy out here on his own?”
“Yes. His diaries say he found purpose. He felt like he became a gatekeeper and a protector of this world.”
“You admire him?”
Cyn brushes his golden hair behind his ears and looks past me to the cabin.
“Of course, it was not an easy life.”
The story is much romantasized. The truth is a lot harsher. My great-grandfather was a mean drunk, and when he killed his omega, family took in my granddad while they drove my great-granddad out of the community. He came out to the park to hide from the hatred everyone felt for him.
But our family has always known about him, and my granddad used to bring my dad out here. Then Dad brought me and showed me our family history.
They spread out, exploring the clearing and remnants of Dear Old Fredrick Sanderson’s life.
“You look beautiful in the sunlight.”
“As opposed to what?”
Dakota gives me a lopsided smile. “You look beautiful in all light.”
“Oh, smooth recovery.”
“I’ve been counting the minutes until we can exchange more poignant communes from the heart.”
“What an incredibly dull waste of your time.”
“Not so at all. The anticipation of hearing your barbed words has my heart atwitter.”
I roll my eyes as he shuffles closer. “Ya’ll remember what happened ten years ago, right? You can’t rewrite that.”
“The past can always be rewritten.”
I haven’t been paying attention to him, but suddenly, he’s in my space, leaning over me with a playfully coy smile on his lips. He reaches out and ever-so-gently brushes his finger against mine.
I gasp; I can’t help it. His touch is electric. His scent hits me hard. Pine resin with a citrus note to it. His scent is strong and subtle, but one of my favourite smells in the world. It’s a scent I find out here, one that I associate with safety.
This pack really was made for me. How am I going to resist them?
“Oh, now, see, that single sound is going to have me fucking my hand for days.”
I gasp again and curse myself internally. I really want to watch him do that.
“Okay, I can be happy forever now,” he teases.
“I am not so easily satisfied.”
“Noted,” Dakota says with a wicked smile. “I’ll work hard to make sure you are never left unsatisfied.”
To my intense frustration, I gasp again.
He chuckles softly and moves away from me just as the rest of the group comes back.
He smiles and laughs with Kendall as if nothing untoward has happened at all.
Meanwhile…I’m trying to remember why I should not go and get great-grandpa’s hunting traps and set them to see if I can catch some unwary alphas.
I heave a frustrated sigh because, much as I want to deny it, they are getting under my skin, and it’s only day two.