Ava’s POV
I start down the hall towards the kitchen, fumbling slightly for the phone in my pocket when I catch his scent.
I look up and watch Cameron walking towards me, looking large, impressive.
Gorgeous.
He raises an eyebrow at me in question and gives me a quick grin.
I remember how easily he took out that Lycan in the woods. No wonder he isn’t afraid to take the fight to them. But not everyone can fight like him. My stomach clenches in worry.
When he gets close enough, I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my head against his hard torso.
“Everything okay?” His deep, sexy voice is low as he wraps his hand around the back of my neck.
“Uh huh.” My voice is croaky. Totally not sexy at all.
I pull back.
“So…did you get…um…things taken care of?”
He nods and looks at me questioningly.
Come on! This is your chance to tell me about your new plan! Tell me!
I silently plead with my mate to let me in, to tell me what is happening.
He tilts his head slightly to look at me in concern.
“Are you sure everything is okay?”
I hear the familiar clicking sound coming down the hall and for a second my heart stops, thinking it might be Rachel, but when I look past Cameron I see that it is Lily holding a picnic backet.
She seems slightly breathless as she approaches.
“Hi! I have some food for you.” She thrusts the basket at me, and I take it as I watch her smooth her hair back and straighten the front of her dress.
“I’m not going to join you. Ralph just got released from the hospital, so I am going to go say hi to him.”
She gives me a meaningful look.
“I’ll come find you later so we can talk more about…about…that thing from earlier.”
She glances at Cameron and then gives a tiny wave and clicks away down the hall.
I bite my lip as I meet Cameron’s curious eyes.
“Care to fill me in?”
I wave a hand dismissively before quickly grabbing the awkward picnic basket handles again as the basket tips to the side.
“It’s nothing. Just sister stuff.”
He raises an eyebrow at me again as he takes the picnic basket from me and gestures for me to lead the way.
I lead him to the outdoor patio in silence, thinking hard on how to get him to tell me about the new attack plan.
We take a seat at a small round concrete table in the shade and sit across from each other.
Cameron is nearly too big for the chairs, stretching his long legs out under the table so that his shoes are touching mine, which are tucked under my seat.
He slides the basket over to me and I start reaching in blindly and pulling out whatever I can grab, mainly wrapped sandwiches and containers of fruit.
My fingers grasp a long-neck bottle, of what I can only assume must be champagne, but I leave that in there. I mean, it is lunchtime and we are basically under attack.
I push the food options towards Cameron, who is watching me silently.
“I have a few things to talk to you about.”
My heart starts thumping hard as I freeze, my hand still reaching into the basket clutching a bottle of water.
“Do you remember we had a conversation about the possibility of you going up North to my pack if the fighting got worse here?”
No. He cannot be suggesting that again.
My mouth is too dry to speak so I just nod slightly at him.
“I think that time has come.” He leans forward and grabs my hand that is on the table.
“I’ve talked to Eric. He can take you, and Lily, so that you can be together and safely distant from the danger.”
I release the water bottle from the basket and Cameron’s hand and lean back, crossing my arms around my chest.
“As far as I am aware, the attacks only happen in the woods, not in the packhouse. I’ve been safe here so far. The only time I was in any danger, was when I went on patrol.” I feel my face turn red as I say the last sentence, but I hold my chin up anyway.
He shakes his head as he sits upright.
“We think things will escalate and we are forming a new strategy. I want you to be away from it.”
“And away from you.”
He slightly jerks in shock, his eyes wide.
“That is not why I am sending you away at all.”
I uncross my arms and clench my fists on my lap.
“I don’t want to leave.”
“It’s for your safety, and Lily’s. I think you can understand that I just want what is best for you.” His face softens and he leans back over the table, holding his hand out towards me.
I stare at it.
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“No.”
Cameron’s eyes darken and he pulls his hand back.
“I think you aren’t thinking this through.”
“I won’t go.”
His lips go into a thin line.
“What is the new strategy that you are forming?”
His lips go even thinner.
“Do you not trust me enough to tell me?”
“It’s not a matter of trusting you.”
“Then tell me.”
Cameron looks exasperated.
“Tell me.”
He looks around him.
“I can’t just tell you, especially out here. It’s just between the alphas and…”
“I’m your mate!”
He lifts his hands up, palms up and lifts an eyebrow as if to say, ‘so?’.
“Fine. You won’t tell me. Good thing Caleb already told me.”
Whoops. I should not have said that.
Cameron drops his hands down on the table and his face goes hard.
“Is that way his scent is all over you, again? You have been discussing plans that he has no right to tell you?”
I chew on my bottom lip. I really regret telling him that.
“It wasn’t like that. I went to talk to him about Lily.”
“Oh? His mate that constantly has his beta’s scent all over her?”
I swallow and glare back at Cameron. Lycan smelling is the worse!
“Nothing is going on there, they are just friends.”
“Ha!”
“Same for Caleb and me.”
Cameron grunts and leans back, crossing his arms.
Okay…this is not going well.
I take a deep, steadying breath.
“Listen, nothing is going on between Caleb and me, but he did mention that you were planning to find and attack the Red Night pack, and that makes me scared for not only you, but everyone else in my pack, you know, who are not Lycans.”
Cameron’s face doesn’t change as he watches me.
“There is absolutely no way that I am going to go be far away from you, or my pack, as you go off to fight. I want to be here. I want to help-“
“You are not joining the fight. I cannot guarantee that I can be there to save you next time.”
It’s like a gut punch and I suck in my breath hard.
Cameron unfolds his arms.
“Look, it’s not just your pack that is going, it’s my men, and we are being joined by the Blue Moon pack as well. The numbers should be on our side.”
I nod.
That’s good, I guess.
I look down at the food on the table, not hungry at all.
“I would be able to concentrate better if I knew you were somewhere safe, a lot further away from here.”
Because he thinks I can’t defend myself. Which makes sense, because when it came down to it, I couldn’t.
I pick at the hem of my dress.
I hear Cameron sigh.
“Fine. Stay here, for now. I’ll just have to leave extra men behind for security.”
I don’t say anything still.
“Also, I know it’s tradition to mark your mate at your commitment ceremony, and that is a big deal, especially given my title, but I’d like to go ahead and mark you so we can communicate and I can keep you safe…”
Wait. What did he just say?
I look up as he trails off.
“You want to mark each other?”
He leans his head forward slightly.
“Yes…especially if you are staying here.”
Questions start swirling around in my head. I have never known anyone to mate with a Lycan, what happens when you mark each other? Is it the same as with werewolves?
“Ava?”
I jerk my eyes to Cameron.
“What do you think?”
What do I think? I mean, of course I want to be marked by my mate and be connected to this sexy man forever.
I don’t want to seem too excited though, since we were just kind of bickering, just slightly.
I lift a shoulder casually.
“Yeah, I mean, that might be a good idea.”
I look up at Cameron whose lip curls up slightly and nods.
He reaches for a wrapped sandwich.
“Good, glad we settled that. We can do it tonight.”
I feel a thrill of pleasure at the thought. I watch Cameron unwrap his sandwich and is about to take a bite when he freezes.
“Shit.”
He drops the sandwich and stands up.
“What is it?”
He shakes his head and starts to leave.
“Another damn attack, get inside and stay there.”
He takes off, running around the building and taking his shirt off as he goes.
I nervously throw the food into the basket and grab the handles, turning towards the door when a movement in the nearby trees catches my eye.
The basket slips from my fingers as I see Rachel looking at me at the edge of the trees. She throws a smirk at me and fades into the woods.
What is she up to?