"Fucking hell, Cam! I nearly had a heart attack!" Matt gasped, clutching his chest. "Sorry," Camden apologized, wheezing as she tried to catch her breath. "Jesus, it was like watching a fucking zombie come to life in The Walking Dead! Are you alright?" Matt asked, concern creeping into his voice as he regained his composure after his initial shock. "Fine... I just..." she sputtered. It was then that she realised Clayton wasn't there. "Where's Clayton?" she managed to ask as she tried to collect herself once more. "He's just gone to the toilet," Matt replied, gesturing over his shoulder towards Clayton's room. She nodded in acknowledgement, but still looked a little out of it. "Are you okay?" Matt asked again. "Yeah. I'm okay," she replied, taking a deep breath. She saw that Fight Club was still on the screen, but paused."Did you have a bad dream again?" Matt asked as Clayton sauntered back into the room, overhearing the conversation. "Yeah. No. It was a good bad dream," she explained
Clayton looked at her with confusion, struggling to make out her features in the darkness of the room. "Of course I want you," he replied, the confusion mounting by the second. "That's the problem. I'm trying to keep my shit together here so that you don't kick me out. Which is hard when you do the things you're doing," he explained with a small embarrassed chuckle. "I don't want you to keep your shit together," Camden replied, her vulnerability shining through. "Why did you think I asked you to stay with me tonight?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. "You had a bad dream. I assumed you didn't want to sleep alone." he replied as the realisation finally began to dawn on him. "But now I see that I completely misinterpreted the situation and have lost out on valuable minutes that I could have spent doing this," he replied before pressing his lips against hers passionately.He trailed his lips down the side of her neck causing her to moan loudly. "Sssshhh!" Cla
Once Camden's breathing and heart rate had reduced to almost normal levels, she rolled onto her side to face Clayton, only to see that he had been watching her. She smiled and sighed, feeling the waves of euphoria still pulsing through her body. "How are you feeling?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Good," she puffed. "Great," she corrected herself. "I needed that. Thank you," she whispered breathily as she shuffled closer to him, burrowing into his chest, craving the closeness. "Are we even now? Can I consider my debt repaid?" he asked, as he ran his fingers through her soft curly mane with tender care. Camden said nothing, but nodded her affirmation against his chest before clutching his hand as his fingers grazed her temple. She kissed his palm before pressing it to her cheek, savouring the warmth of his skin against hers.She pressed herself ever closer to him, tangling her legs around his. "Is everything okay?" Clayton asked, his voice laced with concern
"God, now this is making me feel so guilty," Camden frowned. "I knew I shouldn't have done it. I knew it was a mistake," she grumbled before Clayton stopped her. "It wasn't a mistake," he stated firmly. "We're mates, Cam. We're just doing what mates do," he tried to justify it, hoping to ease her guilt. "I guess," she sighed, the guilt still gnawing at her in spite of Clayton's efforts. "I just feel bad. It would probably destroy me if I saw you sneaking out of some other woman's room first thing in the morning. It won't be any different for him. His head knows we aren't together, but his heart doesn't get it," she said softly, her guilt growing by the moment. "I know," Clayton sympathised as he reached out and took her hand before continuing, "Which is why he can't know. Not now at least." Camden frowned, not liking the sound of that. "I hate the idea of lying to him," she whispered, her frown only deepening. "That's just the mate bond talking now. What was your plan here? What did y
Camden opened her door, heading out to see whether Matt was around. She noted that both his and Clayton's bedroom doors were closed, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was in his room. Camden padded softly down the hallway, surveying the lounge, but the coast was clear. Then she headed to the kitchen, again, no sign of Matt. Camden tiptoed back to her room, quietly opening the door a crack, gesturing wordlessly for Clayton to follow her out. He pulled his tracksuit pants on but was still shirtless. Camden left her bedroom door ajar before silently opening Clayton's room door. He watched her curiously as she tiptoed inside, pulling the linen down before pulling it back up, making it look like he'd slept in it and remade it imperfectly. Clayton smiled at her and gave her a silent thumbs up, impressed by her attention to detail, before throwing his shirt from the night before on his bed.They left his door wide open before tiptoeing to the kitchen, Clayton spurred on by his despera
Clayton grabbed his backpack and they all set off down a very clear and very public pathway into the forested area. The air was fresh and crisp and the rain had momentarily eased, though they were all wearing rain jackets in preparation for the imminent downpour. The day was grey and cloudy and as a result, in spite of the area being very public, it was at least very quiet. When they had parked, there had only been one other vehicle in the parking area, giving them some peace of mind for when it came to shifting, if the opportunity arose."Gosh, this place is like a bog!" Camden exclaimed, stepping into a puddle that nearly consumed her boot. "Watch your step," Clayton mused from in front of her. Matt was positioned behind her and asked, "What if we don't find them?" Camden's heart sank at the thought. It was definitely a possibility based on the fact that it seemed highly unlikely that any pack might stay in such a public space. "I'm not sure," she frowned. "Then I guess we hope for
Panic set in as Camden tried to rouse Matt, but he was unresponsive. She didn't know what to do. Could you give a wolf mouth to mouth? Would chest compressions work? She heaved Matt onto his other side, desperate to listen for a heartbeat. To her relief, his heart was beating, strong and steady. She was hopeful that his state of unconsciousness was only temporary and that he would have no serious injuries, but he'd need to wake up before they would be able to establish that.She sat there in a daze, gently stroking Matt's fur in utter disbelief over what had just transpired. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks unrestrained, as she puzzled together each scene, trying to understand what could possibly have caused Clayton to act the way he had. Where had he gone? Why had he attacked Matt? Would he really have attacked her? It seemed like a very real possibility only moments ago.Minutes ticked by, allowing Camden to regain some semblance of composure, but she never left Matt's side,
Just as the dark-haired woman was making her way up the stairs of one of the cabins, Camden saw the door open. A tall man with captivating features strolled out and stood beneath the awning, regarding them over the railing. "And what have ye brought me today, Heather?" he asked in his thick Scottish brogue, regarding Camden for a brief moment before turning his attention on Beef who was holding Matt's wolf. "We found them wandering off the path. Apparently there was some kind o' altercation between two o' them. Bren and David are trackin' the other one tae bring him back here," the dark-haired woman, Heather, answered as she moved to stand beside the man. "Hmmm..." he mused before rounding on Camden once more. "And who are ye?" he asked curiously. Camden took in his handsome features. From where she was standing she noted that he also looked to be in his mid-30's with black hair, a short trimmed beard and vibrant blue eyes. "I'm Camden," she replied cautiously. "No' from around here
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