Chapter 33 #2
At last, Buck stirred. He pushed a hand into her hair, twisting it round his fingers.
“Honey.” His hand slipped round, tracing the curve of her cheek; uncharacteristically tentative, as though trying to find his way through a maze in the dark. “We both know you can’t stay here. But when you go back to Chicago, I thought maybe… if you wanted… I could go with you.”
With an effort, she held onto the reins of her surging hope. “You mean, to visit?”
His palm cupped the back of her neck. He drew her down until their foreheads touched; until she could see his eyes, soft and black and sure.
“No,” he whispered.
Her breath caught. He wanted to come back with her. He wanted to them to be together; not just here, but in the real world.
No more pretending. No more secrets. She could never be a shifter, could never belong to this magical place… but she could have him.
He must have read her answer in her face, because his lips crooked up. He shifted a little, angling his mouth to hers—and moonlight flashed in his eyes.
That feral gleam brought her back to reality with a bump. She stiffened, pulling away. Buck let her go, eyebrows knotting in confusion.
“It won’t work, Buck.” She put a hand to his mouth as he drew in his breath. “What would you do in Chicago? You need space, and wilderness, and…”
A pack , she wanted to say, but she knew he would never agree with that. He was already shaking his head, forehead twisting into that stubborn scowl she’d come to know so well, and love even more.
“You need a purpose,” she rushed on before he had time to object. “And Zephyr needs you. Your family, your friends, your whole life… it’s all here. I can’t ask you to give that up. This is where you belong.”
The hammock lurched as he twisted. For a dizzying moment, Honey was sure they were both about to be pitched out, straight onto the rocky ground, but Buck caught her. His hard weight pinned her, pressed against the entire length of her body.
“ You are where I belong,” he growled.
He kissed her hard, silencing any objection. All her rational arguments melted away under the heat of his mouth. She was right, she knew she was right… but she couldn’t deny that this was right too.
“Do you think she’ll say yes?”
Honey and Buck both froze.
“Of course she will,” a different girl’s voice whispered, low enough that Honey couldn’t tell who it was. “They’re kissing, aren’t they?”
Buck’s mouth moved against hers, shaping silent swearwords. Honey pressed her own lips together, caught between mortification and rising giggles.
“I can’t hear anything.” This new whisper sounded worried. “Are you sure they’re kissing?”
“They’re not kissing,” said a knowing voice, this time from the boys’ tent. “They’re doing it. ”
“ ARCHIE!”
Buck pulled away, lifting his voice in a deafening roar. “I’m hearing a lot of volunteers for the dawn chorus!”
Guilty silence.
Honey shook with suppressed laughter. She tugged Buck down so she could murmur in his ear, “I think we should talk about this later.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” His lips brushed down her ear in a slow, deliberate caress. “I’m coming back with you. Say yes, Honey.”
And under the rightness of his touch, all she could do was whisper back, “Yes.”
* * *
They trekked back into camp the next day at noon. To Honey’s slight surprise, Leonie intercepted them as they crossed the central square.
“Hi, kids,” the head counselor greeted the campers. “Did you have a good campout?”
“I didn’t go to sleep all night!” Archie told her proudly, punctuating the statement with a huge yawn.
“ Some of us wanted to go to sleep,” Ignatius muttered, glaring at the bear shifter.
Leonie grinned, ruffling Archie’s already mussed hair. “Well, you don’t have any activities scheduled this afternoon, so you can take a nap if you want. After you’ve all taken showers. Buck, can you take the kids over to the cabins? I need to borrow Honey for a minute.”
Honey tensed, a stab of alarm twisting her gut. Was there something a little forced about Leonie’s smile?
Buck drew closer to her, like a bodyguard sensing a threat. “What’s this about, Leonie?”
“Oh, everything’s fine,” Leonie said, a touch too quickly. “Honey’s just needed over at the office for a quick chat. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
Honey felt as though a trapdoor had opened under her feet.
Zephyr knows.
She’d grown too complacent. Let herself forget she was an interloper here, an outsider. And now she’d been discovered.
“Go to your cabins,” Buck said to the kids, and something in his tone had them all trotting off instantly, without so much as a peep of argument. “Honey, I’ll come too.”
“No,” Leonie said, a touch of steel entering her own voice. “Go supervise your campers, Buck. Don’t worry. I’ll bring Honey back to you, safe and sound.”
Buck’s jaw set, and Honey could see that he was about to square up to the head counselor. She put a hasty hand on his arm, feeling the tension in his bunched muscles.
“It’s okay,” she murmured. “Take care of the kids.”
Whatever happens , she didn’t need to say. He would know what she meant.
Buck held her gaze for a long moment, then jerked his head in a nod. “I’ll be waiting.”
Honey followed Leonie toward the office, her mind racing.
Try as she might, she couldn’t think what might have given her away.
She hadn’t even seen any of the other staff recently, what with the overnight camping trip.
Had Zephyr somehow been gathering evidence in her absence?
She hadn’t taken her wallet or phone with her into the woods, but she didn’t see how either of those could be incriminating.
It wasn’t like her driving license said HUMAN on it.
Leonie led her to the office. Rather than opening the door and ushering her inside, she stopped, turning round.
“Honey.” Leonie was definitely on edge. She held her clipboard two-handed, in front of her body like a shield. “You’re a great counselor. The kids really love you.”
The unexpected compliment jolted Honey out of her spiraling anxiety. “I love them too. And the camp. It’s been a privilege to work with you.”
“Likewise.” Leonie’s fingers fretted at the edge of her clipboard. “And things are good between you and Buck, right?”
This was not at all the conversation Honey had been expecting. “Uh… yes? Why do you ask?”
Leonie bit her lip. “Well, I can’t help notice that you two aren’t fully mated.”
This was of course true. She wasn’t really Buck’s true mate, despite what the rest of the staff thought. No matter how close they had become, he couldn’t form that magic, mystical soul bond with her.
It hadn’t occurred to her that other shifters might be able to sense that connection, or lack thereof. Was that what had given her away?
“That’s a rather personal matter,” she said. “And I didn’t realize it was that obvious.”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s not. I mean, I only knew because… well.” Leonie cleared her throat, stepping away from the door. “You’d better go in. Just… don’t do anything hasty, okay?”
Honey had expected Leonie to accompany her, but the head counselor stayed outside. Swallowing hard, Honey went into the office.
“Ah, good, you’re finally here,” Conleth said without glancing up. Still typing, he indicated a chair opposite his desk with a jerk of his head. “Take a seat.”
Honey looked round, but apart from Conleth, the office was empty. “Where’s Zephyr?”
“Off inspiring young minds, probably. I thought we should talk in private first.” Conleth turned his laptop round to show her the screen.
“Here. And please don’t fling your arms round my neck and shower me in grateful kisses.
I don’t need Buck bursting through the wall to punch me in the face. Structural repairs are expensive.”
Now even more confused, Honey looked at the picture on the screen. It seemed to be a photo of a young, athletic woman in a yoga pose, her crop top showing off toned shoulders and abs.
“Who’s this?” she asked.
“Good news.” Conleth nodded at the screen. “That’s your replacement.”