Clayton led the way, being familiar with the layout of the hospital after their visit earlier that day. Matt and Camden trailed behind him, Camden still clutching his hand, not wanting to release the pressure on the wound which was still bleeding profusely. They waited in the reception area for a short while, before being directed to an examination room."I'm going to wait out here," Clayton announced, taking a seat in the passageway nearby. "I'll be with you soon. I just don't want to let go until he's with a doctor or something," Camden explained, heading into the examination room with Matt, still clutching his hand. He maneuvered himself onto the bed and Camden stood in front of him between his legs, her hand still clutching his firmly. Her fingers were beginning to ache and the muscles in her palm were burning with fatigue, but she knew it wouldn't be long before someone came to help him. "You okay?" she asked, looking into his eyes. Now that he was sitting
The car ride home was quiet and uneventful. Camden spent most of it deep in thought, feeling somewhat disappointed and sad that Matt had to remain at the hospital, but then feeling annoyed with herself for feeling that way. When they arrived back at the B&B, Clayton sent her to shower while he prepared dinner.She stripped off her clothes, her leggings sticking to her skin with Matt's blood as it dried. It was fortunate that blood didn't bother her much, otherwise she probably would have been sick, if not from the sight, then from the feel of it, moist and slick against her skin. She climbed into the shower and scrubbed herself down furiously, wanting to free herself from every lingering red smudge or smear."Cam?" Clayton peeked his head around the door. "Yeah?" she replied, pausing her scrubbing for a moment to focus on Clayton. "Dinner will be ready in the next 15 minutes, will you?" he asked, eager to eat. "Yeah, I'll be out shortly. I just need to finish washing my hair," she rep
"Hey, what happened to the glass and all the blood?" Camden asked, suddenly remembering the shattered glass fragments that were strewn across the lounge floor and the pool of blood from Matt's hand. "I cleaned it up while you were in the shower. Do you want to deal?" he asked, handing her the deck.Camden dealt their cards, beginning the game. "So, Mr Woods," she stated with a chuckle, referencing what the Doctor had called him at the hospital that morning, "how many cards for you?" she asked, grinning widely. "Two," he replied with a smirk, returning two cards back to her. Camden gave him two new cards and followed the same process for herself, returning three of the cards from her hand. "Maybe I should take your surname when we get married," Clayton wondered to himself with a contemplative look as he shuffled the cards around in his hand. Camden scoffed, peeking at him over her cards with narrowed eyes. "You mean IF we get married. Don't hold your breath. I told you how I feel about
"Who was that?" he asked, his curiosity piqued by her sudden secretiveness. Moments ago she had appeared jovial and excited and sultry, but now she seemed distracted and awkward. Conflicting thoughts assaulted her simultaneously. Should she lie and pretend nothing had happened? She could say it was spam or something and try to distract him with the game they were so close to finishing. She was almost naked, which would also likely count in her favour. But did she really want to lie to him? She knew she shouldn't but the truth would just make for an argument and they had been having a really good time. She didn't want to ruin it. But a lie to avoid ruining this one moment could ruin the rest of their relationship forever if he were to find out. With that as her final conclusion, she replied, "Matt messaged me..." Clayton couldn't help the frown that spread across his face. "What did he say?" he asked curiously, but the frown never left. "He just wanted to let me know that he's okay...
She regretted the words as soon as she said them, but it was too late to take them back. She'd let them out her mouth and now they were in the real world, wreaking havoc on her life. Clayton saw red. "Are you fucking serious, Cam?! Why would you even bring that up right now?" She'd hit a nerve and she didn't know what to say to fix it. She immediately tried to backpedal, her remorse evident. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it," she apologised, looking up at him with wide eyes that were brimming with regret. He scoffed and shook his head, impervious to her apologies. "You know what? Take your time, Cam. You can sleep out here for all I care," he replied, turning on his heel and stalking back toward the house.Camden knew she had to fix this now. There was no 'cooling down' period. Things were only going to get worse the longer she waited to address this, so she had to act fast. "Clayton, wait!" she cried out, rushing after him. He didn't even slow down. She grabbe
Silence settled over them as Camden felt for the chocolate bar in her pocket, crinkling the wrapper. It was empty. She must have finished it and not realized it, she thought with disappointment. "What was that?" Clayton asked, the noise sounding out of place. "Chocolate wrapper," she declared, not feeling it necessary to show him the evidence. He scoffed, "Of course it is," he whispered as she wrapped her arm around him once more.They both stared out over the loch. It was peaceful and tranquil and the calm began to seep into them quietly. The awkward discomfort Clayton had been feeling due to Camden's close proximity began to dissolve, and her presence started to bring him peace rather than turmoil. He felt her relax slightly on his lap and realized she must have been feeling exactly the same way. He had begrudgingly rested one hand on her back when they had sat down, preferring to limit the physical contact between them after their altercation, but as time passed he was starting to
Camden collapsed against Clayton's chest in defeat and let out a groan of frustration. His reasoning had been sound, and though it disappointed her, she figured it was probably wise to heed his advice. "Okay, okay... let's go then," she relented, giving him one final peck on the lips.With record speed, she sprang to her feet and started a brisk walk back to the house, the sleeves of her oversized hoodie flapping at her sides as she tucked her fingers in for warmth. Clayton, quick to follow, called out after her, "Hey! Slow down! Don't you want the blanket?" He began jogging to catch up. "I'm good!" Camden replied, her eagerness to get back to the house evident in her quick strides.Clayton wrapped the blanket around himself as he tried to catch up with her, his eyes never leaving her as she walked ahead. He admired her long, slender legs and he couldn't help but notice how her butt jiggled a little with every step she took. The lacy panties she was wearing had started to migrate betw
With a playful grin, Camden gracefully pulled herself to her feet, her yoga training making the movements seem fluid and effortless. She regarded him for a moment and her confidence began to waver as he sat there, looking at her expectantly. With a deep, steadying breath, she managed to maintain her composure, not allowing her smile to falter.She took two steps forward, stopping just in front of Clayton, who was staring up at her with a mixture of awe, excitement, and lust playing across his features. "Think you could help me one last time?" she asked with an innocent tone. Clayton shuffled forward slightly, resting on his knees. He reached up, but Camden stopped him, taking a small step back. "Uh-uh-uh. No hands," she whispered softly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.His smile only widened as he sat back for a moment, considering his options before sitting up on his knees again. Clayton reached out for her ankle and began tracing his fingers up her leg. He was pleased when he felt
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