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
Beef held Clayton until he stopped struggling and the shift was complete, then he unceremoniously dropped him to the floor. With Clayton now in his human form, Camden pushed her fears aside and lunged forward to check on him, but he was out cold. "Is he going to be okay?" Camden asked, looking up at Heather in disbelief. "Should be," Heather replied, her tone still casual. "Make sure that one is restrained," Alpha Adrian ordered pointing at Clayton. "Heather, get some clothes on her, then bring her tae my office," he continued, refering to Camden. Camden quickly went to grabbed the backpack with all their clothes and followed Heather through the drizzle to one of the cabins on the opposite side of the fire pit. "What are you going to do with them?" Camden asked, looking over her shoulder with concern as Beef picked up Matt's wolf once more and headed towards another cabin. "Keep 'em oot o' the rain for now," Heather replied before ushering Camden into the cabin. "Do ye need somethin
Camden regarded Alpha Adrian for a moment, her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched in defiance. "I have to respectfully disagree with that, Alpha Adrian. All I want is for things to be calm and peaceful, but for some reason, chaos always seems to find me at every opportunity. I can assure you that I'm not out here looking for ways to make my life more challenging. I came here to look for a way to make it easier. I'm hopeful that your father might have more information that could potentially assist me in figuring out this second mate situation. Now, I'd very much like to check on my mates if that's alright by you?" Her voice was brimming with authority and her tone held a sharp edge she hadn't intended for it to. Especially not when speaking to an Alpha. And even moreso, especially not an Alpha she needed help from.Alpha Adrian raised his eyebrows as she spoke. He certainly wasn't used to being on the receiving end of the tone she had used and contemplated his response for a moment. Sh
As Clayton stirred, Camden retreated, the terror from her earlier encounter with him racing to the fore front of her mind. She withdrew about two feet from the bed, watching him with fear and curiosity as she saw his eyes begin to flutter and open. Clayton looked disoriented as he scanned the unfamiliar surroundings with bleary eyes, trying to establish where he was, when he saw Camden, her gaze fixed on him as panic and apprehension filled her. She held her breath and her heart began to hammer in her chest. As soon as he locked eyes with her, Clayton immediately began a retreat of his own, shuffling backward across the bed, as if trying to get away from her. As if she were the one who was the danger here. In his urgency to put distance between the two of them, he fell off the bed with a loud thud on the wooden floor. His breathing was rapid and panicked and his eyes wide and wild.Camden was frozen in place, wanting to run, but seemingly glued to the spot. "You need to go, Cam! You h
Camden steadied her nerves before beginning, "Well, starting with the most immediate issue, your being feral, he said you shouldn't shift. Obviously, there were also lingering concerns about how you would behave in your human form, hence the handcuffs, but you seem to be okay. You are okay, right? No lingering urges to kill me?" she asked, half joking, half serious. "It's not funny, Cam. I was so dangerously close...." but he trailed off, refusing to complete his sentence. "I'm sorry," she apologized, realising that now wasn't the time for jokes and Clayton was right to be upset. "You're right, that wasn't funny. I guess I'm just trying to make light of it as a coping mechanism or something. I was really scared, Clayton," she murmured, looking at him and trying to make the connection between the man sitting beside her and the beast that was seconds from tearing her apart only hours ago. He nodded, acknowledging her explanation, but had nothing further to say on the matter.&n
A soft whine broke the silence and Camden poked her head up, glancing over the bed to see Matt. He was struggling as he regained consciousness. She hurried around the bed to his side, gently stroking his fur and offering words of comfort and support. Matt's groggy eyes opened, and it took him a moment to recognize her, but when he did, he nuzzled against her. She could see that he wanted to shift, but he needed a moment to regain his bearings. Camden reassured him and encouraged him to take his time, gently stroking his fur all the while.When he felt ready, he stood as Camden took a few steps back to give him space. He managed the shift back into his human form and immediately raced towards Camden, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're okay," he whispered into her ear, his relief evident. "I thought he was going to kill you." "So did I, but he didn't," Camden replied, her voice muffled against his chest as she gave him an awkward pat on his naked back. "What happened? Where are we?"
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