Luca and I arrived back home later that evening after a long day of meetings, calls, and wellness check-ins with those who had been injured.Even though I was physically drained, it had been good to get out of the house for the first time in two weeks.It had forced me to shower and put on clean clothes that morning, something that I hadn't realized would mentally help me as much as it had. I made a promise to myself I would do those two things every morning moving forward.As we walked through the door, I noticed Luca was carrying the laptop Lincoln had brought to him earlier that day."What's that for?" I asked him.He looked down at the laptop before sighing."There's something we need to talk about and I've been avoiding it for the past few days," he admitted.I followed him into the kitchen and watched as he placed the laptop on the counter, feeling my stomach twist."What's wrong?" I asked."Nothing's wrong," he clarified."It's just heavy stuff."Luca opened the laptop and I sa
You can do this, you can do this.My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.Sweat dripped from every pore, making my hands sweaty as they reached out for the next bar in front of me.You can do this.As my feet landed on the wooden platform, I lowered shaking arms to look at the timer on my wrist.Four and a half minutes left.Chest heaving for air, I reached out and grabbed the salmon ladder bar and shifted my body weight to thrust it into the divider above it-continuing this movement until I was four feet higher and could reach the platform above it.I pulled myself onto the platform, trying not to think about how high I was in the trees.Swallowing my fear, I grabbed the rope in front of me and swung to the next platform that was a few yards away.When I landed, I saw Luca standing on the ground a little more than a hundred feet away.'"Go! Go! Go!" He yelled enthusiastically, hands pumping in the air.I smiled."Let's go! Move it! Hurry!" Fallon screamed next to him,
"Would you hush?""I didn't say anything.""Well, stop thinking so loud."I heard Mady huff from somewhere in the room behind me, but my eyes were glued in front of me.With stiff and aching fingers, I lifted the small detailing brush from the palette and leaned forward, ignoring the pain in my lower back.Holding my breath, I gently swept the brush along the canvas, letting the beige acrylic paint cover the markings of where I had outlined with a graphite pencil.I let out a long, exasperated sigh of relief as I finished the last upward stroke of the brush. "Are you done? Can I see?"I felt Mady's presence invade the space behind me as she leaned forward to get a better look at the canvas propped against the wall that I sat in front of."Carrie, that looks great.""I hate painting hands," I admitted, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion pass over me."No, it looks really good."I glanced over the canvas that was partially painted and partially outlined with a graphite pencil. An old d
The childhood memories made me smile as we pulled into her parents' driveway. Both of our dads were outside already, her father and mine loading their luggage into the back of my dad's truck."Well look who it is," her dad said, glancing down at his watch."We were about to leave you two.""You wouldn't have left us, Mr. Reid," I said confidently as we got our own luggage from the back of my car. "You threaten us with that every time but you never have."He raised an eyebrow. "There's a first time for everything, Miss Blair."I walked over to my dad and he took my duffle bag to pack it away."Ready to go?" he asked.Mady and I nodded. We waved to our mothers, who were watching us from the kitchen window.Mady's mother, Shannon, raised the window."Drive safe! Be sure to text us when you get there!" she yelled. "And don't spend all your money in Vegas!" my mom added. Giving them a thumbs up, Mady's dad and mine got into the truck. She and I followed suit, blowing kisses and waving t
I looked over at the alarm clock, noticing that it was around six in the morning, too early for vacation. I laid there for a while longer and begged my brain to turn off so I could go back to sleep but it never did.Sighing in annoyance, I rolled out of the bed.I showered before brushing my hair and my teeth, hoping all the while that Mady would wake up. When I exited the bathroom and saw that she was still sound asleep in her bed, I was slightly jealous that she had yet to be woken up by the sunlight that was peeking through the curtains.I was in desperate need of caffeine and I decided that I couldn't wait on her to wake up. I grabbed my sketchbook and pencil bag and walked towards the door.Quietly, I left our room and wandered into the elevator. Riding ball the way down to the lobby, I found the hotel's coffee shop and grabbed a seat.I don't know how long I was there, but I drank almost two cups of tea and nearly finished a sketch of the Vegas skyline before I began to get jit
"He said the scent was coming from here," one of them said."No one leaves until we find her."I looked at Mady only to see she was already looking at me. "He said 'scent'," she noted quietly. "They aren't feds."I shook my head, still trying to make sense of it. "He also said 'she'." I whispered."Who on earth could they be looking for?" I just shrugged, feeling uneasy about it all."Let's get out of here."Mady nodded in agreement as we came out of our hiding place.Ducking down so no one could see us, we quickly ran between slot machines and card tables, trying our hardest to make it to the exit door before someone saw us. Just as we were a few feet away, Mady's phone began to ring I felt my heart stop as I turned to see she was frantically searching for it in her purse."Shit, shit, shit," she muttered."Who keeps their ringer on?!" I asked incredulously.I looked over her shoulder to see that a few heads had turned. We had been spotted. "Forget about it," I said quickly.I turn
Several silent hours later, we arrived back home in the dead of night. Neither of our fathers felt comfortable with Mady and I going back to our townhouse, especially while it was unclear as to why we had caught the attention of a rival Alpha.Not wishing to cause any more trouble than necessary, we both agreed to stay with our parents until things smoothed over.We both returned to our townhouse to pack a bag, taking time to gather a few things. I made sure to cover my painting before carrying it out to the car where my father was waiting.Along with paint supplies, I grabbed an extra set of pajamas and clothes for a few days. I could only hope there was a spare toothbrush at my parents' house because mine was still in Las Vegas.I said goodbye to Mady as the two of us went our separate ways, promising to meet for coffee the next morning. When we got home, I said goodnight to my parents and went upstairs to my old bedroom.After what felt like an eternity of laying in the bed starin
I wanted to cringe at the pet name, but there was a part of me that desperately needed to hear him call me that again.My reply was quick."No," I said firmly." I have two jobs that I work, I can't just leave. Besides, my family would disown me if I left our pack for another-especially yours.""You misunderstood me," he said. "I didn't ask a question. I told you to come with me."I scoffed."Forgive me for acting upon my rights of autonomy," I told him, sarcasm lacing every word.My eyes drifted over his shoulder again, landing on the backdoor. Luca followed my gaze and stepped back away from me."Don't pretend you don't have a choice here," he said."You pick the door you walk through."I began to walk towards the backdoor."Okay, I guess this is goodbye then," I told him.Opening it, I walked through and turned to close and lock it behind me, leaving him to stand out on the patio. As I turned the corner to walk up the staircase, I leaned against the wall and placed my hand over my c