I don’t want to go into the tent alone to lie there thinking about them for hours. I want to stay in his arms and have him kiss me like that until I’m so lulled that I fall asleep in the warmth of his embrace.
That’s the magic of camping. When everyone is asleep, and it’s just you in the dark with the person you like, it feels like you're the only people awake in the whole world. It feels like magic could happen, like those wrong choices are suddenly not so wrong.
“Rory.”
He bites his bottom lip and leans in so his lips are near my ear.
“Don’t tempt me. I might just steal you away into the forest and finish what we started.”
I reach out, and our fingers tangle.
He looks down at our hands and then up at me. “Playing with fire tonight, Bon.”
I shake my head, wordlessly protesting. I can’t explain what’s wrong with me.
He kisses my forehead and pulls himself free.
“I don’t want this to end,” I whisper before I can think better of it.
He smiles like I’ve given him the greatest gift. “I never want any moment with you to end.”
He walks me backward and then reaches past me, peeling the zipper down.
“Go to bed, Bon. You need to rest.”
I step into him, lifting my face. He lowers his and touches his lips to mine.
“Goodnight, Rory.”
“Night.”
I turn and slip into the tent. Rory closes it behind me. I hear him moving outside the tent, shifting back and forth, and then he goes quiet.
I crawl into my sleeping bag and bury my face in it, smelling the alphas all over it. A tiny little purr slips out of my lips.
I clap a hand to my mouth, listening to the world around me. One of my alphas lets out a warning growl, and the camp’s deadly stillness gets less deadly.
My fingers stroke my lips that still tingle, and when I lick them, I can taste him on me. This whole other side of Rory is unnerving, and only because it’s so powerful. I could fall for them if they continue to trip me up with their different versions of themselves.
And yet.
He was out there with a garrote.
And I want to hate it, but when I saw it, that’s not the emotion I had. I roll onto my other side and pull the sleeping bag up over my nose, trapping me in with the scent of them. No, the moment I’d seen that garrote, I’d been excited, thrilled, and almost happy.
That’s not omega behaviour.
Not at all.
But then I was never a traditional omega. And it turns out that I’ve underestimated these alphas, almost as much as they have underestimated me.
I need to find out more about them. I want to while I have the chance because when this trip ends…we all go back to the real world.
Cyn
One thing I know how to do is my research, so the first thing I do when we stop for lunch is go on a hunt. It takes me about an hour to find everything I need and head back.
Bonnie spots me immediately. “Where have you been?”
