“Your big relaxing day!” Waylon kept a straight face but winked at me. I had asked for a day outside, doing basically nothing. Maybe a picnic or something small but nothing major. What could Jessica possibly have up her sleeves? My mind went wondering as I got ready. It was going to be a long time before I saw the inside of a private bathroom or at least one as equipped as this. Using more lotion than needed, more dry shampoo and even styled my hair. However, I kept my makeup light. No reason to get overly done with that. Grabbing a pair if flowy shorts, I paired it with a crop top and sandals. “Ready.” I mind-linked Waylon. He had slipped up to his room to get dressed but he was taking longer than needed. “Okay. I’ll be right there.” He sounded almost out of breath as he spoke. I was able to use this time to clean up this room a little. There was an empty box that I had set aside. Folding my clothes neatly, they all fit inside the box. My pencils and sketch pads were placed in

“How reliable is this information anyway?” Ky spoke up. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe it was real. Listen, believe me or not but the security has gotten tighter.” Arlo stood up. He was clearly annoyed that we weren’t taking him seriously. “Dude, calm down. If I was coming up to you and telling you a booty call told me information like that, would you believe me?” Axel asked as he leaned back in his chair. “Yes I would because I would know that you wouldn’t be coming to be with bullshit. After all I have done and you are going to question this?” Arlo narrowed his eyes. “You’re right. My apologies.” I tried to sooth things over. Motioning to the chair, Arlo sat back down. “What did she tell you?” “Metal detectors, wands, security cameras and even guns. They pulled out all the stops. There is only one entrance and exit. That’s it. Everyone must come through the front doors. Even the staff. She was bitching that she used to show up in her sweats and change there but now

“The fuck was that?” I asked in the mind-link. Our bodies froze, waiting to see what it was. “If it was a rogue, we would know by now.” Waylon responded. Waylon slowly made his way off the gazebo. Crouching down, he slipped into the darkness. I felt exposed, almost like I was the target from a 360 degree angle. Scooting back until my back hit the wall, I waited for something to jump out at me. Waylon’s feelings were getting more angry by the moment. There was some grunting and wrestling of the leaves but then silence. No birds, no owls or even crickets were filling the air. It was dead, a horrible feeling that something was wrong came over me. Waylon was okay, pissed off but okay. The minutes ticked by. Then ten minutes and twenty. “Charlotte?” Axel’s voice caused me to jump as he emerged from the brush with Nova and Jessica in tow. “Here!” I said, realising a breath of relief. “Let’s go.” Axel kept a firm grip on Nova and turned back towards the trail. Jessica motioned for

I didn’t look back, I couldn’t look back. Waylon’s eyes were on me as I kept putting one foot in front of the other. If my eyes landed on Waylon, there wouldn’t be any way that I would be able to have the strength. My will power would be shattered. Instead, I just kept walking. My heart breaking with each step that he couldn’t say those words. Maybe he didn’t feel that way just yet. It was a big step and maybe he was saving it for when we actually mated? That was a possibility I guess. There was so much on Waylon’s plate that he might not have even considered it. He didn’t even tell me what happened last night. I know we got attacked and by the sounds of it, they were able to keep it extremely quiet. I doubt the pack even knew about it. The fake safety drill wasn’t so fake after all. The sun was hot in the sky as I walked. There wasn’t any trees around, just wide open fields. This road looked to appear that no one uses it anymore. Maybe that is why I am on it. No one will stop me the

“I suppose.” It was as if she was trying hard to not roll her eyes. I watched as she labeled everything and placed it in a ziplock bag. After taping it shut and labeling that, she placed it in a container. Going over to the wall, she put the container in a shoot before hitting a code. It took off like a rocket before she turned around and frowned at me. “Please follow me.” The tape she had placed on my elbow pinched me to the point that it kind of hurt. “Can you just take the tap off me please?” “No, you are still going to be bleeding.” “I can promise you that I am not bleeding. Just check.” “I said no.” She didn’t even turn around and look at me. Instead, she walked faster. The sound of footsteps behind me caused all my internal alarms to go off. When I looked back, no one was there. As I turned around, I almost ran straight into the wall. “Shit.” “Watch where you are going.” The glare that I was getting would have been annoying if I wasn’t more occupied with the phantom foo