After a while, the flight announcements started, signaling that it was time to board. Camden's nerves began to flutter once again as she thought about the journey ahead and the Unbonding Ritual that awaited her. Truth be told, she was dreading it, but it felt like one of those necessary evils in life. The sooner it was over, the sooner things might go back to some semblance of normal. She wondered to herself what normal might look like now. So much had happened. So much had changed. It made her a little sad to think about it.Once on the plane, Camden settled into her seat. Her usual spot between Clayton and Matt in an attempt to keep some distance between the two of them in hopes that no bickering and arguing would break out. Clayton reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, obviously sensing her inner turmoil. Camden gave him a small, nervous smile. "I hope so," she whispered back, feeling anxiety and panic lingering on the edge of h
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Matt grinned and replied, "Aye, lassie, I reckon I can gie it a wee shot," attempting a Scottish brogue that elicited laughter from both Camden and Clayton. "Oh my God, Matt! You're really good at that," Camden enthused, clapping her hands in amusement. Matt couldn't help but smile, basking in the joy of seeing her happy.Relieved that they had made it through the airports without any issues regarding her forged documentation, Camden felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. Until the trip home, that is. But for now, she was happy to enjoy some time in the Scottish countryside as they waited for the full moon. She hoped that the newfound civility between Clayton and Matt would persist during their stay. It was a welcome change to not have to play referee between them and to be able to enjoy their company without constant bickering and arguing. There was tension, sure, but Matt seemed to understand that they were going ahead with the Unbonding Ritual
"Ullapool? Where's that?" Camden asked, her teeth still chattering as she rubbed her naked legs, trying to warm them up. "It's about four hours north of here," Clayton replied. "We're staying over there for a couple of nights." Camden nodded, looking out the window as the Uber pulled away from the airport, transporting her ever closer to her potential demise.Matt sighed, looking at Camden as she shivered uncontrollably. "Come here," he said as he rummaged through his pack. He pulled out a pair of sweatpants and handed them to her. She smiled appreciatively, accepting them gratefully. "Thank you," she mumbled through chattering teeth as she pulled them on over her shorts and hiked them up above her moon boot. She leaned closer to Matt, hungry for his warmth. The gesture took him by surprise. "Is this OK?" she asked, looking up at him through thick, dark eyelashes. "Just for a minute, so I can warm up," she added, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable or mistake the situation for
Clayton carried Camden up the stairs. They were smiling and chatting as Matt trailed behind them, lugging everyone's luggage up the stairs to the entrance of their accommodation. When they got inside, Clayton set Camden down on a couch in the sitting room where she reclined lazily. There was a big stone fireplace and the guys saw her eyeing it out hopefully. The two men peaked their heads through all the doors, exploring the space and getting an idea of the layout while Camden huddled on the couch, the cold beginning to bite at her once more.Camden was right, it certainly was quaint. The furnishings were far from modern and the TV in the sitting room almost looked out of place between the antique furniture and decor. The place was reasonably sized and seemed comfortable enough for their small party, and much to Matt's surprise, the suite did have running water. There was a downstairs suite available for guests with larger parties than theirs, but the homeowner had told Clayton that i
"What's happening?" Matt asked softly, his gaze fixed on her lips as he absentmindedly leaned in closer. Camden's breath caught in her throat and a bout of panic surged through her. "Put me down. Please put me down," she begged urgently. He dropped her gently, realising what she had meant. The mate bond was definitely increasing in strength, as if it were making some kind of last-ditch effort to pull them together before they severed the connection forever with the Unbonding Ritual. How the hell were they going to survive the next few days like this? No doubt tomorrow would be even worse."How the hell are we going to do this?" she asked, as if reading his mind. "I shouldn't be near you," she stated sadly. "I'm going to ruin everything." Matt said nothing. He wasn't sure what to say. He knew she was right. They probably shouldn't be near one another if they didn't want anything to happen between them. But where could he go in this country full of strangers? And truthfully, he didn't w
Camden took a sip of her tea and kicked off the conversation. "There's a lot I want to talk to you about, but I suppose I'd better start with the subject at hand. Matt and I..." she trailed off. "Yeah, what was that, Cam? Did he do something to you? Why did he just leave like that?" The questions tumbled out of Clayton's mouth before he could stop them. Camden sighed before continuing. "It's the mate bond. It's getting stronger and stronger. Every day it gets harder to fight it," she replied, her face a mask of confusion and sadness. Clayton, to his credit, said nothing, waiting for her to continue when she was ready. "I'm scared I might do something...." she trailed off, not even wanting to finish the sentence. Clayton understood what she was getting at though. "Do you think you would?" he asked, somehow managing to maintain his composure. "Clayton, I couldn't fight it with you. Why would it be any different with him?" she said hopelessly. He took a gulp of coffee and looked over at
Camden stared at Clayton, waiting for some kind of response, but there was none. "Did you hear me?" she whispered, her voice wavering with uncertainty. "I heard you," he whispered back, his voice laced with pain. "I just need a moment," he added thoughtfully, turning away from her to face the fire. "I'm sorry," she whispered once more. Her guilt and shame almost palpable. "When?" he probed. "Just now? Is that why things were so weird?" "No. While I was at the medical centre and things between you and I were even more of a wreck than they are now," she explained, as if somehow trying to defend her actions. Clayton took the information in with a nod and a deep breath. "How many times?" he asked nervously, pressing his hands together and interlocking his fingers, almost as if in prayer. "Twice," Camden replied sheepishly. "Both times while you were at the medical centre?" he pressed, wanting all the details, no matter how painful. "Yeah. Though, if I'm being honest, which is what I'm try
In no time, Camden had dozed off in Clayton's arms. The comfortable familiarity, along with the warmth of the fire, was a potent cocktail. When she woke up, the room was dark, the only light emanating from the fireplace and the television. She looked around in a groggy daze, trying to establish where she was. There was a blanket over her, and her feet were resting on someone's lap. It was Clayton. "Ah... You're finally up," he said with a smile. She sat up, her eyes still trying to adjust to the light. "Is Matt back?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep. "I'm back," he replied, waving from one of the other couches. She sighed, flopping back down, relieved that he was back and safe. "I don't know how you can sleep so much," Clayton said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm making a baby. It's exhausting," she groaned, rubbing her eyes and yawning.Suddenly she felt that all too familiar feeling. Her stomach churned, and she knew she had to get to the bathroom before she vom
Matt let out a sigh, wanting to be done with the conversation now. "Just make sure you keep your end of the deal. I'm doing this for Cam... and for what we used to have," he said, his gaze drifting off momentarily as if lost in memories. "You know, I considered going with you, but I know how threatened you feel by me," Matt teased, trying to keep a straight face but unable to do so. Clayton scoffed and chuckled. "I might actually miss you, Matt. Not the part where you trailed after Cam like a lost puppy, or the way you'd watch her move, or the way your hands lingered on her a little too long..." Clayton went on, leaving Matt with a sheepish expression on his face. "But I'll miss you.""God, Clayton, I'm not going to die! Well, actually, I might if they ever find out that I knew about this and never said anything... But let's hope that doesn't happen. Just figure this shit out, okay? If I can help the two of you in any way, let me know, but something tells me this journey doesn't involv
Instead of leading him to the lounge, as Clayton had anticipated, he led him back to the kitchen. The change in setting made the conversation seem more serious. More threatening.Matt took a seat, followed shortly by Clayton, who sat directly opposite him. Matt didn't beat around the bush. "You know I know," he stated. It wasn't a question. Clayton shrugged, seemingly unfazed. Matt sighed before continuing, "Where are you guys going?" he asked, his tone firm and serious. "We don't know yet. We still need to decide. I only just found out about all of this," Clayton replied, feeling a bit annoyed. It was pretty unreasonable of Matt to expect them to already have a plan when he had literally only found out all this life-changing stuff a few minutes ago. He felt like he needed a minute to reflect and to think it all through."Clayton, I'm not fucking around when I say this... If you hurt her, I will fucking end you. We might not be mates anymore, but I still feel responsible for her and p
Camden couldn't help the tiny sob that escaped her lips. To think that Clayton had wondered his whole life whether his parents had loved him broke her heart. Her pregnancy hormones were kicking into overdrive and she could feel that she would start to spiral soon if she didn't regain her focus, so she pressed on, hoping to lighten the situation with a little levity. "Also," she went on, wiping a tear from her eye, "I figured while I was getting the inside scoop on your family history, I'd ask about your real name," she explained. Clayton perked up, very interested to hear what she was about to reveal. "Well, I didn't ask about your first name. I don't know... I felt weird about it. I felt like too much would change if I had to start calling you something else now on top of all this other stuff and I know you as Clayton and it—" she was rambling on when Clayton cut her off. "What is it?" he asked, unable to disguise his curiosity. "Wolfe," she revealed with the tiniest hint of a smile.
Clayton couldn't help the smile that spread across his features. Despite everything Camden was telling him, he couldn't help but feel joy in this one, singular moment.Camden was also wearing a small smile, happy to see his happiness, but simultaneously worried about what the future held for them all."I knew it was a boy," Clayton whispered softly, gazing into Camden's eyes which looked back at him with uncertainty. She nodded. "She said we'll have a girl too. But the girl won't have this... gene, or whatever you call it," Camden replied, sounding a little relieved. Clayton's smile grew even wider and Camden's heart all but burst as she saw his eyes twinkle with excitement at the prospect. "How lucky are we?" he asked, his voice low but filled with anticipation and love. "Well, that has yet to be determined because there are so many things we need to take into consideration here, Clayton," Camden replied, grounding Clayton back in reality. "Like what?" he asked, the momentary high be
Camden followed, trailing behind him as he settled back down at the kitchen table once more. His anger and frustration were all but palpable and Camden felt guilty for having brushed him off and ignored him just now. "How much did you hear?" she asked as she settled back down in her seat. "It doesn't matter. Start from the beginning," he instructed, taking a deep breath as he tried to relax. Camden figured there was no point in trying to sugarcoat things or beat around the bush. It was his truth and he deserved to know. "I told you, I had an... experience. I don't know if it was a vision, or if it was a dream, or if it was something that really happened, just on a different plane of existence. To be honest, I don't want to get too philosophical about it, because it makes me uncomfortable. But I know it happened, and I know it was real because Matt just proved it," Camden explained, fiddling with the sleeve of her wet hoodie. Clayton said nothing, only watching her, waiting for her t
"Sorry... I'm sorry," Clayton immediately apologized, seeing how his reaction had startled Camden. He quickly got up and went to the sink, grabbing a cloth to stop the beer from dripping down onto her lap. "I'm so sorry, babe," he continued to apologize as he soaked up the spilled beer from the table, "I was frustrated. You guys aren't telling me what's going on," he tried to explain, but he knew it was a poor excuse."I need to make a call," Matt announced as he headed out of the kitchen. Light lightening, Camden was up, chasing after him desperately while she left Clayton to mop up his spilled beer and mope as he continued to be ignored."Stop!" she cried, tugging at Matt's arm as she caught up with him in the lounge. "Camden, please... this is hard enough as it is..." he said in a small voice. It was then that she noticed that his eyes were glistening as if he were on the verge of tears. Her anger and panic began to dissipate as he stood in front of her, unmoving."Please..." Camde
"So, when are we leaving?" Matt asked as he stripped off his soaked sweater and pulled a beer out of the fridge. "Want one?" he offered Clayton. "It's not even 6am!" Clayton exclaimed in disbelief. "It's been a rough night," Matt replied with a shrug as he snapped the can open. Clayton regarded him for a moment then relented. "Okay, fine," he agreed, gesturing for a beer from the fridge. Matt smiled and handed him one before taking a long drink of his own.All the while, Camden sat at the kitchen table, fiddling with a pamphlet about the Standing Stones. "You alright?" Clayton asked, resting his hand on her shoulder as he stood behind her. "I dunno..." she admitted, continuing to toy with the pamphlet. "You're soaked, why don't you go take a shower or at least get changed into some dry clothes?" Clayton suggested, brushing a drenched lock of hair behind her ear.She sighed, but made no effort to move, still pressing and folding the paper in front of her. "Baby?" Clayton murmured, brus
"Matt?" Camden whispered, shaking him lightly. He groaned and furrowed his brow, as if annoyed by the intrusion. "Matt?" she whispered again, but suddenly she heard Clayton's voice ringing through the air. "Camden?"She looked up, searching the perimeter of the circle for Clayton. Spotting him, her heart skipped a beat. He stood beside the circle, torn between rushing in and waiting for some kind of confirmation that the ritual was over.Camden wasted no time; she rushed to him as fast as her legs could carry her. Leaping over the salt circle, she jumped into his arms. He caught her eagerly, but his face suddenly fell as he exclaimed, "Babe! The circle!" worry etching his features. "It's fine," she said. "She broke it. There," Camden pointed behind them to a clear break in the salt before smothering him in kisses."I was so worried about you," Clayton murmured, holding her cheeks and looking into her eyes before pulling her to him in a fierce hug. "I'm here. I'm fine," she assured him
Camden sat quietly, contemplating everything she had just learned about her mate and what the implications were for her. She drained her glass of wine with a series of long, deep gulps, only to find that it had been refilled as soon as she moved her hand away from her lips. She let out a small incredulous laugh. "Okay, so quick recap here. Clayton is from a bloodline that dates back to the beginning days of werewolves, he can shift into a werewolf, in the traditional half-man, half-wolf sense, my son will also have this ability, and the whole world will want to kill them for this? Did I miss anything?" she asked, pursing her lips as she waited for Selene's response."Yes. The bloodline cannot die. The end of the Lupi Noctis bloodline will be the beginning of the end for all werewolves," Selene added gravely, her gaze piercing through the dim light of the stone circle. "Their existence is intricately tied to the balance of the natural and supernatural world. Without them, the balance w