“My parents keep me updated with pics of my little brother,” she says, smiling softly. “Ceddy is so cute! Oh, and it seems the Luna wasn’t feeling well.”
That immediately attracts Dario’s and my attention. “Why? What’s wrong with Annie?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “From what I know, she was feeling a bit sick but is better now. Oh, and one of my friends,” she pauses. “You know Livia?”
“She is with that human guy, right?” I ask, trying to dig through my brain for details. A warrior in Charlie’s pack. She befriended Charlie when she was new to the pack and trained her. Her mate happened to be a young human man who was originally blackmailed into spying on Charlie.
“Yep, she is pregnant with their baby. She is super excited.” Charlie grins. “And she told me her mate is going insane with worry and trying to cater to every one of her whims. He is such a cutie pie.” She sighs. “I want a mate like him.”
“Do you?” I deadpan. “A mate who pampers you?”
She furrows her brows. “You might have got me here. I am not sure. I guess I’d feel suffocated.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” I admit. “What about you, Dario?”
“I am not sure either,” he says. “But I guess I wouldn’t mind being the one doing the pampering.”
I chuckle. “We are a weird bunch. How come we became friends?”
“We are twins, meaning we are stuck together anyway,” Dario says.
“Shared trauma,” Charlie offers with a grin.
“You two are really funny today,” I tease.
Dario just smiles while Charlie and I continue bickering back and forth. Eventually, we all fall silent with Charlie dozing off and me gazing out of the window, watching the scenery. It’s late afternoon when we arrive in the town. We’ve booked a cheap hotel here. At first, we planned on camping again or finding a hostel, but then Dario found this super-cheap place.
“Not bad,” I muse.
Dario nods. “Very clean. And they offer breakfast for free.” He turns to Charlie. “I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with us, Charlie?”
“Not at all,” she says. “And it isn’t the first time, anyway.”
“Are there any plans for today?” I ask.
“I don’t know about you, but I am really tired,” Dario admits. “I would like to have a slow evening.”
“Me too,” Charlie says. “I want to call home and chat a bit with my family, then update my travel vlog.”
“Fine with me,” I say. “I’d like to head out and go for a walk. Probably check out the beach.”
“Just don’t get lost,” Dario says promptly.
I snort. “When did I ever get lost?”
He looks a tad flustered. “Right. I forgot who I was talking to. Have fun.”
He really has a protective side to him, probably more than anyone else in the family. I make my way out of the small hotel, chatting a little with the receptionist, before putting my headphones on, switching on some music and jogging down the path ahead of me. On this road trip, we obviously don’t have the opportunity to train like we usually would, but I try to stay fit.
And running has always given me the chance to let my thoughts run free as well.
While we drove to the hotel, I used an app for finding good hiking trails, and checked out a path that would lead me away from the town center and more towards a rural area. There is a small forest, which further opens up to a path leading down the hill to the coast.
Once down there, I tug my headphones off and simply look at the sea, amazed. This is so breathtaking. The way the waves wash against the shore, how the seagulls flutter above me, the wind in my face. I feel so free here, and on this trip in general.
I try to enjoy the moment and live in it, instead of thinking about tomorrow, because I know it can’t and won’t stay like this. Eventually, we will return to the pack, and I will have to go back to college. The thought alone makes my stomach churn.
A sign at the beach tells me it’s safe to swim here, so I shimmy out of my clothes, glad that I thought about putting on my swimming trunks beforehand and jump into the cold water. I don’t swim out far and keep in the range of the shore. I am just enjoying the physical activity and being one with nature.
