The girl is usually charmed into the arms of her dashing, possessive werewolf mate. But what happens when there was never really any charm to begin with? Does love still find a way?
Camila, a small town girl who moved to the big city for a new life...
Cam grinned happily at the landscape around her—the yellowing trees, sunny blue sky, gentle breeze sifting through the brush. Fall was on the verge of turning over, and it left its remarkable print on nature. After spending so many of the last few days cooped up inside, she savored every detail.
"You like it, huh?" Joey said.
She blinked in surprise and glanced over at him, suddenly remembering his presence. "I am. I didn't know how badly I needed to take a walk."
"Me either." He playfully nudged her shoulder with his. "We still have another twenty minutes before we reach Crystal Rock. How're you holding up?"
"Fine. I used to hike on the weekend sometimes, so this isn't anything I'm not prepared for."
Though to be honest, her swimsuit was chafing her boobs and bikini line. Not that she was about to tell poor Joey that. She instead allowed another smile to grace her face.
"You really look happy," he remarked. "Like, I've never seen you smile that big."
"Well, you've only seen me around the, uh, pack. If I could go home, I would be smiling this big too."
Joey frowned. "But you can't go home."
"I know," she said with a sigh.
They were quiet after that, accompanied only by the chatter of birds, the whisper of the wind, and their feet crunching on leaves. Joey walked much lighter than her, however. She was peeved at noticing how much quieter he walked than her. He was much taller and heavier, after all, and she felt she should have been more graceful as the girl.
Stupid werewolves.
She heard the water before she could see it. The sound of moving liquid tripping and tumbling down rocks into a pool filled her ears even more so than everything else. As the trees thinned out, she and Joey reached a grassy bank where the small reservoir ended. Her eyes traced the ripples to the bottom of the waterfall, then up to where the water jutted off the rocks ten or so feet off the ground. It wasn't a particularly large or magnificent waterfall by any stretch, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Green moss colored the boulders and sticks protruded from little crevices.
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"Is it safe to swim in?" Cam asked.
"Of course," Joey replied, but the scrunch of his brows made her doubtful. "Well, it is for wolves. For a human—nah, it should be fine. You've never swam in natural water before?"
She shrugged and chuckled. "I have, but you never know. If it gets me sick, oh well."
Maybe I'll get taken to the hospital. Then I can escape.
Her morbid thoughts were interrupted by Joey's war cry and his pounce into the clear water. His splash managed to get high enough to wet her face and clothes.
"Joey!" she yelled while laughing. "I'm gonna get you!"
After stripping down to her swimsuit, she jumped into the chilly pool beside him. Her feet couldn't quite reached the bottom, so she paddled her legs while splashing him. They were both laughing, both happy. Cam let herself forget everything outside of this moment. Hell may have ransacked her life, but she could push it all away for the time being.
They played in the water for an hour or so. Joey showed her the "jumping rock" where everyone liked to cannonball or flip into the water. She dared him in a breath-holding contest, which she lost in a matter of seconds. It didn't even faze her that werewolves had freakishly big lungs. They got tired and floated on their backs. Cam felt free.
What a beautiful illusion, she thought.
"Thank you for bringing me here," she told Joey.
"You are mighty welcome, Cameo." He winked at her from where he had beached himself on the shore. His toned stomach flexed with every breath he took. "You coulda waited to go with Melody and Tally, ya know."
"I know." She smiled and dragged herself onto the grass beside him. The air was even colder from the water, so she shivered. "I like Melody. She seems like she really cares about the pack and all. But I don't know. I feel like an outsider. Like I'll never fit in with your people."
Though it briefly crossed her mind that she might not want to spill her guts to this boy, she had no one else to talk to about it. Adrian already worshipped this lifestyle. She didn't want to bring her friend down with her qualms and insecurities. Joey was was easy to be around and talk to anyway.
"You will," he assured her. "Might take time but you will."
She blew out a forced chuckle. "Sure. With time."
They rested on the bank for a few minutes longer before Joey jolted upright. Cam's neck almost snapped from how quickly she looked at him.
"What?" she demanded.
"Just got fussed at," he replied, pointing to his head like that somehow explained everything. "We need to head back. Like, now."
Her brows scrunched up as she stared at him, contemplating his sanity. "Uh, no one's here, Joey."
"We can talk to each other." He pointed at his head again. "Like telepathesis or whatever."
"Telepathy?"
"Yeah, that's it. Everyone in our pack can do it," Joey told her. He climbed to his feet and motioned for her to the same. "Logan can explain it to you better. We gotta go."
Telepathy? Holy frick.
Cam clumsily followed after him but wasn't prepared to see him drop his wet swim trunk and show her everything God gave him.
"What is happening?" she gasped.
Rather than respond, he jumped forward with his hands. His body transformed in a blink, everything covered in solid brown fur. Cam gaped at the colossal canine beast that now stood just feet away. Even though she'd seen them before, she didn't think she would ever get used to werewolves. Joey looked back at her over his shoulder and rolled out a whine.
She wasn't sure what he wanted, but she moved reluctantly towards him. Once she was within arm's length, he crouched down on his paws and wagged his tail. Her hand automatically lifted to stroke his fur, his silk-like soft fur. It was like petting a stuffed animal come to life.
Again, Joey whined at her. She ran her hand up to his head, in which he whined again and stuck his hairy bottom up into the air. It suddenly dawned on Cam what he wanted.
"Oh no," she mutters. "You want me to ride you?"
He bobbed his head. Gulping, she inched closer to him and sized up the width of his back. She hoped her hips wouldn't split; he was a massive creature after all. The frantic glaze in his eyes hurried her further, so she grabbed onto his neck fur and swung her right leg over his back. He stood right up, sweeping her feet off the ground. Though Cam gasped again, the noise was lost in the wind that swirled passed them as he bolted through the trees.
