Out of The Woods (COMPLETED)

Chapter 26

The days grew warmer and longer as winter transitioned into Spring. The gardens around the pack village started to bloom and it lifted my spirits to see all the beautiful colors of nature alive and vivid. I rose early in the morning, as I had done the past few days to watch the sunset. Today though, I had a light giddy feeling in my chest as Isaac had promised to take me somewhere. I picked out a light summer dress but paired it with a wooly cardigan as it was still quite cool. Isaac had stayed true to his word and had cooked me pancakes for breakfast for the past week straight. I bounced down the steps to see him grilling some bacon as pancakes lay on the kitchen island behind him. I came to a stop, seeing him standing shirtless in the middle of the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I'd seen him shirtless before but only when I'd been disoriented, everything was chaotic and all over the place.

Now, there was a completely different atmosphere and I couldn't help but admire the way he just seemed to glow. Isaac had that something about him - as he turned to me and offered me an award winning smile. I watched the way his muscles creased as he leaned against the island.

"Done checking me out buttercup?"

My lip quirked up. "I don't think so. I'll stare a little longer."

His eyes shone, the dark grey melting to a light silver and he motioned towards himself. "Stare all you want, this is all yours."

"Tempting but all I really want is pancakes."

He tossed me a playful look. "Ouch am I being dumped for pancakes?"

"There are worse ways to go."

He hummed in agreement before turning to flip the bacon. I grabbed a pancake and drizzled some honey over it before adding some coconut shavings and finishing it off with some cinnamon.

"You put the weirdest things on pancakes. Cinnamon and coconut? Wouldn't one like cancel the other out? And never-mind that you put honey on top of that."

I winked at him. "Actually they compliment each other."

Maybe I'll cover you in honey and eat you.

I jumped, my face going red at my own thoughts and he turned, giving me a knowing grin in response to my blushing.

-/-

"Where are we going?" I hummed along to the radio as he drove along a wide stretch of country road. We had been driving for more than an hour and as much as I enjoyed seeing the countryside stretch out for miles around me, I was getting curious about where we were going.

He gave me a dazzling smile. "You're just going to have to wait and see."

"How about a hint."

He rolled his eyes. "You'll like it."

"That's a statement that doesn't really tell me anything."

He shook his head, holding my gaze for just a second longer, but it left a fuzzy warm feeling that ran through my body. We still had issues to work through, I knew that. We still had to sort out the whole Gloria thing in full, I had to get him to open up more and he was still working on building my trust back up. But little by little I was beginning to chip away at the shell that he kept hidden behind. He understood when I needed space : like when he didn't persistently follow me into the village after I went to cool down, or force me into listening to him. He waited for me to come back to him.

He pulled into the side of the road and I lifted an eyebrow. "Are we going on a hike?"

"Just a small one, it'll be worth it." He went around to the back of the car and grabbed a wicker basket and I almost jumped in excitement. "Are we having a picnic?"