He smiled, took her face gently between his big hands. His rough palms against her cheeks, his fingers in her hair, he brought his mouth down to hers. He knew better than to kiss her likethis—he knew better—they were practically in public— Kelsey’s fingers curled tighter as she responded, and then he drew back suddenly, breathless.
“Oh, Kels, sorry, I—I just—”
She caught her breath in turn. “At least we’re not at Maggie’s?”
He chuckled. “You’d rather be with a wolf pack?”
A wolf pack who could smell her body’s sudden craving to dash off with Trevor into the woods and disrobe as they went. “You have a point.”
“Hey, Trevor!”
His eyebrows crinkled as he looked toward the voice and took in the loose ring of wolves. A few of them had stepped away, including the host. The time for food must be near. Quinn stood just outside the circle. He held the kettlebell, so the game must have broken up for now.
“What’s up, puppy?” Trevor said.
“Move to your right,” Quinn called.
“What…?” Trevor complied with a lopsided smile.
“No, a little more, farther from Kelsey, okay? There, perfect, now— Catch!” The pup lobbed the kettlebell at Trevor with all the strength in his body, curving forward with the force of his pitch.
A few feet behind him, maybe a dozen yards to one side, Kelsey’s eyes left Trevor and instead followed the trajectory of the object as it flew through the air at apex speed, apex force behind it though only a pup’s. A smile lifted her mouth, because Trevor would catch it, and Quinn would cheer him, and then the entire wolf pack would lecture the pup on not throwing hundred-pound weights outside the game circle, not even obliquely in the direction of a human like Kelsey.
Instead the kettlebell crashed into Trevor’s chest, and he crumpled to the ground.
“Trevor!”
It was Quinn screaming his name. He blinked up at the sky, and then a face obscured it. Aaron. Crouching over him. Trevor tried to think. Something had taken him down like a wrecking ball. The something that had been in Quinn’s hands. Why had the pup done that?
While his brain struggled, his senses were true. The wolves had made a protective hedge around him while he lay stunned. The scent of the pack closing ranks calmed him. He was safe within the hedge. Growls came from several throats—worry, shock, anger.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please get up, Trevor, please get up.”
“Quinn, I need you to step back.”
“But, Aaron—”
“Quinn.” Ember’s voice, firm and calm. “Come on. Come over here with me.”
Then more voices, each rumbling, on edge.
“What happened?” Nathan.
“The kettlebell, Quinn threw it at him. Broke his rib.” Ezra.
“Yeah, I heard. Why didn’t he catch it?”
Ezra snarled at the young one, and then his voice came closer as he crouched near Aaron. “Just one rib, right?”
“From the sound, yeah, but I want to check him.”
A hand on his shoulder, his brother’s hand. Trevor fought the haziness until his sight sharpened and his mind cleared. He was fine, just stunned. He grabbed Ezra’s wrist and tried to leverage himself up, but the stabbing in his right side stole his breath. He groaned.
“Take it easy a minute,” Aaron said.
“No,” Trevor said. “Kelsey.”
Some warning bell had been clanging in his head since he hit the dirt, and now he could focus on it, interpret it. Kelsey had just watched him miss catching a weight pitched by a thirteen-year-old pup. Kelsey had just watched him collapse like a measly vanilla guy. He held onto Ezra’s wrist and forced himself up—first to sit, then to stand. He hunched and pressed a hand to his side.
