Five
Two days had gone by and Nina hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the alphahole. The alphahole who’d…flirted with her? She still didn’t know, and she’d been afraid to mention anything to Gemma.
There had, however, been some nice feedback from readers on her .
She surveyed the forest in front of her, feeling pleased at how much dead wood she’d cleared. It was backbreaking work, but hell nope she wouldn’t be complaining to anyone. Little did Jameson know, even the worst chores were better than being around reminders of her failure to make things work with Rafe, and how stupid the entire, decade-long ordeal made her feel.
She’d crushed on Rafe since she was thirteen. Thirteen. Ten years. That was a long frickin’ time to hold a torch for someone. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Rafe had been a fairytale in her mind. She and Rafe had been kids—still growing into who they were and what they wanted out of life.
Jameson was no kid. He had to be in his thirties, from the faint lines around his eyes and mouth. He looked like he used to smile a lot, but she’d never seen a smile on his face.
Grabbing the end of one dead trunk, she dragged it down the trail she’d made by dragging other dead limbs and trees, piece by piece, from the brush. This job sucked. She was sweaty, the chainsaw freaked her out because it was so noisy and stank like gasoline, and her hands felt raw from all the carrying. The gloves Gemma lent her had helped, but not to the point that the work became comfortable.
She took off a glove and wiped sweat from her brow. Despite the hard work, she kind of liked this place. The Rock Creek territory was beautiful. In late April, everything was warming up. She’d already hiked around to see how full the creek was with all the melted snow from the mountains. Fish leaped in the sparkling waters, and there was other wildlife around, too. Smaller creatures rustled around in the brush, and birds chirped in the trees above her. It was fantastical, really, like a forest scene in a fairytale movie. Little critters, bright green trees, dark green trees, the blue sky and fluffy clouds.
Her sense of joy and belonging were spoiled only by the knowledge that she was, once again, not wanted.
At least this time, she didn’t want the asshole back.
The other thing spoiling her joy were a few of the clan members. Jake, specifically, with his aggressive sexual overtures. Erena, a fox shifter, and Carl, a wolf, didn’t like Nina either. Nolan was a wild card—she didn’t know what kind of shifter he was. Maybe a grizzly like Jameson and Jake, maybe something else. He hadn’t warmed up to her, either.
But this wasn’t freakin’ junior high, and Nina wasn’t trying to be popular, so she ignored the hostile looks and muttered comments.
She finished dragging the log toward a pile of the rest of them. There, they’d probably be chopped for firewood for either the wood-burning stoves in the little cabins, or the campfire that seemed to happen every night with the Rock Creek Clan.
Despite their nightly campfires, Nina couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Maybe it had something to do with Jake, Erena, and Carl. Sometimes Nolan, who gave Nina a wide berth. The clan wasn’t exactly a single unit, but more an amalgam. The disjointedness didn’t seem to have anything to do with the fact that there were different shifters here; it was more that there were certain loyalties or past stories that had some people sticking to one side, and other people sticking to another. The only people who seemed to move easily between the “sides” were Jake—and Jameson, when he happened to be present. Or so she’d been told. Because she hadn’t seen him since he stomped off at that first campfire.
Stomp off with your sexy self, she’d said in her mind after he went.
Now she decided to take a roundabout walk back to the cabins. She thought of shifting into her lion, but she didn’t want to have to come back for her clothes. The forest around her buzzed with life—it wasn’t just the insects that flew around on their business, but a force that felt like it came from the ground, feeding into her feet.
The feeling grew stronger as she walked, so she kept going. When she saw the movements of a person up ahead, she paused. She didn’t want to bother anyone. After a second, though, the person scented her and waved her over.
It was Rex, and Nina smiled in greeting. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He leaned against the trunk of a Ponderosa pine and faced a stack of rocks.
Now that Nina stopped to look at their surroundings, she noticed she and Rex stood in a circle of Ponderosa pines. The pines were taller than most of the other trees around them, and they were spaced equally in a circle around the rocks.
She gestured to the circle. “What is this place?”
“Don’t know,” Rex said. “It was here when Jameson, Gemma, Nolan, and I bought the property. It’s one of the reasons we chose this parcel of land instead of another one closer to Sawtooth National Forest.”
“And the rocks were here, too?” she asked.
“It’s a cairn,” Rex said.
“Like a…burial site?”
“Doesn’t have to be.” He shrugged. “We call this place the Circle. We have our clan meetings here, and we used to hold challenges here, as well.”
Nina nodded. The place had a sense of sacredness to it; it would be a good spot for meetings.
“So,” Rex said, “how’s that log-hauling going for you?”
Nina wrinkled her nose. “I’ve put in my mandatory two hours and I’m done for the day.”
“Want me to walk you back?”
“Nah, I’m good. See you later.”
She walked back to the Ring of Fire. Circles. Rings. It was a very round kind of clan, she thought with a snort. She took off her gloves and tossed them on the little porch of her cabin. She could already imagine how she’d decorate this place if she were allowed to stay. She’d replace the blinds in the front window with thick curtains in a dark shade of purple. Some of the old throw rugs could use some updating, and Nina preferred funky, bright floral patterns. The dark tile counter top in the open kitchen would have to go, and she’d put in a taupe or gray granite. Probably gray, which would better go with the curtains.
For the time being, she’d enjoy what she had. This was temporary, anyway. She went inside and grabbed her e-reader. The book she was in the middle of, a historical romance, was gorgeously written. Egypt, Cleopatra’s time, featuring a Roman soldier falling for an Egyptian slave. It wasn’t all porny, which in some ways disappointed her, but the feels. She couldn’t wait to review this book and share it with her readers.
Ads were lining up for the next month, too, which meant she’d have more money saved. She really meant it when she had said she’d pay Jameson for staying here, but if he wouldn’t take her money, great. She could stockpile it until she was ready to go somewhere else.
At the moment, she couldn’t imagine going back to the Corona Pride. She really was happy for Rafe and his mate, Brigitte. The problem was that she didn’t feel like she had a place there. Being with Rafe, she’d hoped, would solidify her place. He’d be her sense of belonging.
It had taken her too damn long to figure out that would never be the reality.
She tapped her e-reader to reach the next page of the Egypt romance, before realizing she hadn’t really absorbed the previous page. Geez, pay attention, Nina. Three more books waiting for reviews, and she wouldn’t get them done if she kept losing her focus.
A text came in on her phone. Laura again. Things are heating up with the vamps.
Nina straightened up in alarm. What do you mean?
Laura: I mean the vamps who were here, they’ve been okay. But now there are new ones I guess.
Nina: New ones???
Laura: Yeah. New ones.
Nina: Do you need me back there?
There was a pause. Finally, Laura wrote, No, we’ll be okay.
That “no, we’ll be okay” concerned Nina more than if Laura had begged her to return. She worried her lip between her teeth, thinking. If Nina went back, there was every chance that she’d be sucked into the daily life of the Coronas. Always a lion at the bottom of the pride. Not particularly valued by anyone outside her family. Always wondering whether there was something more for her, out in the world.
Here, with the Rock Creek Clan, she was experiencing something new and different. She was starting to live her life on her own terms.
Well, her terms, and the alpha’s.
She tried again to focus on the Egypt book, but a rustling noise caught her attention. At first she thought it was a bird, or maybe a chipmunk. She sniffed, but couldn’t smell it. She got up and walked off her little porch and looked around.
There. She peered past the edge of the trees lining the camp. Erena sat at the tree line in her fox form, staring at Nina.
Staring at her like she had been stalking her, hunting her.
Nina stared back and hissed. Then she purposefully turned her back on the fox shifter, and walked into her cabin. It wasn’t a retreat, but a statement. Bitch, I’m not scared of you.