Chapter 12
The storm broke before we reached the barn, drenching us all in fat raindrops that soaked us to the bone. I’d never been happier to get inside. I grabbed a change of clothes and dried myself off in the bathroom. When I emerged, I found Ramsay and Colton in the kitchen whipping up something to eat. I smiled at the two of them, chatting as they worked together. They were a cute sight.
But I noticed Eric wasn’t with them. He was on the opposite side of the barn, looking out the front window. He had the aura of a lone wolf.
I approached him quietly from behind, briefly wondering if I should tease him by launching a sneak attack like he did on me, but Eric suddenly spoke.
“I know you’re behind me.”
I groaned. “How? I was practically silent.”
“You were not,” Eric said with a scoff. “Your heels are dragging against the wood.”
I joined him in looking out the window. Everything was grey and wet as rain continued pouring. Once in a while, a low rumble of thunder would shake the earth. I shivered and pressed closer to Eric so that our elbows brushed. The movement seemed to startle him, and he pulled his arm back. I frowned slightly. Did he not want to touch me?
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
He didn’t reply for a moment. After clearing his throat softly, he asked, “So, how have you spent your time with Ramsay so far?”
“Um… Not doing much, really. Just kinda getting to know each other, like Noro said,” I explained.
Eric grunted in reply but didn’t interrupt.
“And Colton, too. He showed up the other day, like, literally swam all the way over here just because he wanted to see me,” I continued with a chuckle. “He’s kinda funny that way.”
“I see,” Eric said neutrally.
“Actually, he said he had this… feeling. He didn’t know how to describe it, but I guess it was like a magnet pull. He wanted to be close to me.”
I didn’t know why I was spilling all of this to Eric. Maybe it was because I thought he might know what to do with the information, since I obviously didn’t. Or maybe I just wanted to fill the awkward silence.
Eric paused after my last comment. “Truthfully, I felt something similar.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
Rain pattered against the window. Eric sighed.
“I was watching you yesterday,” he admitted. “While the three of you were on the beach.”
“Hah! So I was right after all!”
He turned to me. “Right about what?”
“I thought I felt someone watching me. It was this creepy feeling, but I didn’t see anyone around. That was you?”
He seemed a bit embarrassed about it now. “Yes. Sorry for creeping you out. My guards on the South Pack border heard a large amount of noise coming from the shore, along with the scents of other packs, so I decided to check it out myself. Little did I know at the time that it would be you and those two alphas.”
I smiled teasingly at him. “They have names, you know.”
“I’m aware.” He sniffed. “Anyways, I kept my distance and observed. Lo and behold, I see the three of your horsing around in the sand without a care in the world.”
I felt a bit defensive again. “I’m allowed to have fun, you know.”
“Yes,” Eric admitted. “But it wasn’t you I was frustrated with. It was the others. Colton and Ramsay.”
My defensiveness flared up more intensely. “Leave them alone, okay? They haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I know,” Eric said, and this time he sounded genuine. “But at the time, it irritated me. It was like watching high schoolers party on the beach while there’s a ticking time bomb dangling above their heads.”
