He smirked back at me.
If my life hadn’t been turned upside down, Braxton was exactly the kind of guy I would be in risk of falling for. We’d even flirted before, but I was careful not to let guys like him too close. He was handsome and everything about him screamed charismatic. When he walked into a room, people noticed. There had always been sparks between us, but now there was nothing and it was freaking me out. Worse, there was less than nothing. It felt more like revulsion when he touched me.
His smile faded. “You did?”
“Did what?”
“Broke his heart?”
“Whose?”
“Don’t play coy, Zoey. I know you better than that.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“So where’s Monte?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
I wasn’t ready to confess I even cared. Not yet. Not when I was feeling so vulnerable and trying to get a grasp on my own emotions.
Brax leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “Because you’re covered in his scent and I know what I saw when you two met in line. How the hell have you not met before?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.
My body was starting to shake. This was too much. I needed to get out of here sooner rather than later.
“Relax. Your secret is safe with me.”
Fortunately, Remy intervened to ask him something and instead of waiting around to finish the conversation, I bailed.
I couldn’t handle it anymore.
This was too much.
I retreated to my room like a coward, packed my things, and snuck out through the window I’d arrived in after sneaking out of Monte’s room.
The lodge wasn’t expecting me until tomorrow, but I was going anyway. If they didn’t have a room for me for tonight, I’d just sleep in my car.
Yup, I was that spineless.
Monte
Chapter 7
I wasn’t expecting the cold to set in. In my rush to get away from campus I hadn’t thought to look at the weather first. I didn’t mind camping in the cold as long as I was in my wolf form, but my wolf was still agitated and angry that I’d left our mate behind. I knew if I shifted now that he would just run back to her, so I stayed in my skin.
A snowstorm certainly hadn’t been on my radar, and I was not properly prepared to camp in this. My headspace was a mess. These were rookie mistakes. At this rate I wasn’t even sure it would be safe to go rock climbing in the morning.
I tried to check the weather on my phone app, but I didn’t have a signal. That wasn’t uncommon up here.
There was a lodge a few miles from me. I knew the guys well and often helped with rock climbing lessons when I was in town. They always kept a room available for me, so I decided to head there instead. Maybe a good night’s sleep would clear my head.
The roads were starting to get a little slushy on my way down, but I arrived safely. I hated this kind of snow. It was barely cold enough for it, which made it a sludgy mixture of rain and snow. I knew if the temps dropped overnight, the roads could become hazardous. That wasn’t common here, but it could happen.
I pulled into the parking lot of Cedar Ridge Lodge. It was packed and when I walked inside, there were people all over the lobby.
I went straight to the front desk. Karla was working and looked frazzled. I couldn’t say I was surprised. Still, her face lit up when she saw me.
