I try to focus on the sounds coming from the food stalls and the flashing lights below us which grow smaller and smaller.
“Don’t you love being so high?”
I barely move my lips. “Mm-hmm.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve gone pale.”
We’re getting closer to the top. Why do these things have to go so damn slow? I don’t like rollercoasters, but at least they’re over within seconds. This is just prolonging the torture. “I’m—” Below us, I hear a high-pitched squeal. “Shit! What happened? Did someone fall out?”
“You look a little pale.” Kady looks at me. “Are you okay, Calder?”
“I…” Almost at the top now, I feel like we’re about to fall out at any minute. What is the maximum weight limit for these things? “I guess I don’t love heights.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her gaze softens. “We didn’t have to get on.”
“You seemed so excited.” I swallow hard. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be over soon.”
I flinch as the dreaded mechanical monster comes to another stop to let its next victims on.
“You should have said something. I wouldn’t have minded.” She puts her soft hand over my taut knuckles, delicately stroking them. “What can I do?”
“Keep talking.” I squeeze my eyes closed as my stomach lurches. “Distract me.”
“I can tell you how statistically this is very unlikely to break down or?—”
I think I’m going to have a heart attack when a crunching noise sounds as soon as we reach the top.
“Nothing to panic about, folks!” The man from below shouts up. “Just a slight mechanical issue. Hang in there!”
“Hang in there?” My breathing grows ragged as all the air is squeezed from my lungs. I crane my neck to look below. Another terrible idea. My vision swims. “Holy shit. We’re going to die.”
Kady laughs until she sees the look on my face, and her expression turns serious. “We’re not going to die, Calder.” Kady’s calm voice is the only thing stopping me from full-on hyperventilating. “It’ll be up and running again soon. These things happen all the time. Why don’t we look at the view?”
I glare at her.
“Or not,” she adds quickly. “Maybe I can think of another way to distract you.”
I turn my head, watching as she leans in closer, close enough for me to see the defined curls of her fluttering eyelashes. Her scent provides a welcome distraction, so I breathe her in, focusing on trying to pick apart the different scents I note—rose-like white tea, dreamy jasmine, subtle vanilla, another flower that I can’t pinpoint…
“Thank fuck.” I blow out the air trapped in my lungs when the machine jolts back to life.
“See?” Kady declares triumphantly. “I told you so.”
Only seconds later, the wheels gives another mechanical wheeze then judders, coming to an even harsher stop that makes our little cart swing.
“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” I’m about to spiral, thinking about what my obituary will say. What have I done in my life that is even worthy of writing about? How would the pack react? “Fuck. What about life insurance? What will your father say? He’ll blame me.”
“Look at me.” Kady caresses the back of my hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
I’m the alpha! I should be the one comforting her, yet I find myself nodding along, finding reassurance behind her words, praying that this hell will end soon.
“Take deep breaths, okay?” She rubs her cheek against mine, wiping her scent over me. “We’re going to be fine.”
My breathing steadies a bit, though I don’t dare let go of the metal rail. Her clean floral scent is pretty much all that’s stopping me from having a full-blown panic attack mid-air, taking me back to a childhood memory of strolling through a beautiful garden while eating an ice cream cone.
“See?” she says. “It’s not so bad when you don’t think about it.”
“This isn’t bad,” I grumble. “It’s terrible.”
