“Thanks,” I say as I get to my feet, heading directly to Gio to press a kiss on the top of his head, before bolting out of the hall, hoping that my departure will go unnoticed.
I shift into wolf form just outside, only because I’ll be quicker on my wolf paws in getting to the opposite side of Girdwood, where I can use the recreation center in peace.
A sigh of relief falls from my human lips the moment I shift back and enter the empty center. Usually reserved for the wolves-in-training, the recreation center is more of a gym that the soldiers use when they’re done training.
I haven’t used it before, but I’ve heard about the many facilities that are made to house the werewolves. But once I get to the ice bath and dip my hand inside, the coldness doesn’t have the desired effect against my heated flesh that I was hoping for.
Blowing out a frustrated, unnervingly hot breath through puckered lips, I know this won’t do.
I need something colder.
Not just cold, but frozen.
That’s when I get an idea.
The only way I can cool myself down and release this heat, this jealousy that courses through me like venom, is if I take a swim in the almost-frozen lake at the back of the recreation center. Alaskan snow is brutally cold, and the glaciered bodies of water surrounding the village are the only thing cold enough right now.
I leave the center and head outside, peeling off my layers of clothing until I’m in nothing but my underwear, trekking through the snow as if in a trance. When I’m at the edge of the lake, I throw myself into a dive in the cold water with crystalline icicles glittering on the surface. Against my heated flesh, the icy cold water is exquisite, allowing me to take my mind off Dawson, even if it’s for a moment.
Sure, this is impulsive, but it’s exactly what I needed to escape the foolish dwelling on that kiss we shared the other day. I’m a werewolf, so these harsh, cold conditions are soothing for my naturally heated body.
Sighing with relief, I close my eyes and float across the water with both arms stretched out at my sides. The evening air is cool and calm and silent.
But that silence is abruptly cut short when I hear a splash that snaps my eyes open and my head up, only to see a familiar figure lowering himself into the water.
You can’t be serious….
Chapter 12 - Dawson
“What are you doing here, Dawson?!”
“I should be asking whatyou’redoing here, Yvonne,” I cut back as I glance around. “You’re a long way from Girdwood, you know?”
Yvonne frowns as she takes a look at her surroundings. “Oh. I didn’t realize…” she mumbles, prompting me to chuckle humorously.
“What? You didn’t realize how far Lake Turnagain is from Girdwood?”
Yvonne sheepishly straightens up in the water, looking down as if she’s embarrassed. “I must have underestimated how far it was. I guess I forgot.”
“Hm…” I hum introspectively, realizing that this is a moment of vulnerability on Yvonne’s side. It’s the first time she’s said anything to imply that she remembers her past in Girdwood.
Except for the other day, when she reminded me that I was the one who rejected her in the past.
I gulp hard, wanting to bury the hatchet on that one, but knowing it’s probably something we need to discuss if we’re going to explore what this incessant need and desire between us means going forward.
“You know, it’s not very safe out here,” I press on, hoping to break the ice with a different topic.
“You’re here,” Yvonne muses with a challengingly lifted brow. “I don’t see how it’s unsafe.”
“I’m here because I followed you,” I admit, casually moving forward to approach her.
Yvonne has enough room around her to swim away, but she doesn’t; her silver eyes curious as she watches me stalk forward despite the way her chin is lifted defiantly.
“I didn’t ask you to follow me,” she snaps disdainfully, eyes glowering at me now.
“You didn’t ask me not to, either,” I pose with a nifty smirk, noticing that Yvonne’s eyes dart to my lips as if they’re distracting her from the cold front she’s trying to maintain.
“Why did you run away from the gathering?” I press further, and it pushes a button that has Yvonne tensing as she looks away.
