Chapter 66

Lara

I nervously walk up to the SUV that’s going to be my home for the next couple of days while I’m traveling with Ashton. Ryan is going to take care of the pack while we are gone. And Sally? She thinks Ashton is going to train me up in the mountains. It makes me feel bad. Eventually, I need to tell her that Ashton is my mate, but…not today.

Strapping my backpack over my shoulder, I check the contents again: a small med kit complete with fever pills and bandages, clothes for the cold air of the mountains, and some dry food - in case there isn’t anything we can hunt up there.

Ashton, on the other hand, is packing the SUV with all sorts of equipment that looks like it’s straight out of an adventure movie. Tents, ropes, camping stoves – you name it. I can’t help but watch him as he moves around the vehicle. He looks like a man who knows his way around wild terrain, and it does strange things to my heartbeat.

“All set?” He grins as he spots me watching.

Almost unconsciously, my gaze flic