Three weeks later....
"Want some?" Liam asked, as he offered me his spoon filled with peanut butter dipped in melted chocolate.
I scrunched up my nose, while Eric laughed at me.
"Don't knock it till you try it," Liam said to me.
"It's pretty good," Eric agreed with a shrug.
"Ah, the pup's got good taste," Liam said, grinning at Eric.
Eric frowned at him, like he'd been doing for the past three weeks.
I didn't understand what it was with guys and insulting other males by calling them 'pup'.
"You're not even that old," Eric told Liam, not impressed with Liam's nickname to him.
"I'm older than you," Liam said, not bothered by Eric's comment.
He grabbed another spoonful of peanut butter and dipped it in the melted chocolate.
"Where's Dylan anyways? I thought Jace said they were all taking the afternoon off today," Liam asked, looking mainly at me.
I shrugged, and felt myself frowning.
Dylan had been acting pretty strange these last couple of days. He seemed distracted, and slightly paranoid. It was freaking me out.
When I told Eric and Liam about it- well they weren't any help.
Eric told me that there was no reason for Dylan to be acting strange, since there was no imminent danger in the pack. That was something I already knew, but Eric had nothing else to offer.
Liam simply said Dylan was probably on his man period. Although that made me laugh, it wasn't helpful in any way.
"He told me he'd be here by noon," I told them.
Eric took out his phone to check the time. I was surprised when he said it was almost two.
"Pack life I tell ya! It's stressing," Liam said, shaking his head.
I laughed, because it was always the same thing with him.
"You don't even do anything here," Eric muttered.
"I'm in a pack, I think that's enough," Liam replied.
"No one's forcing you to be here," Eric countered.
"I don't think your Alpha would like it very much if I left."
"You wouldn't really be missed. I can help you leave if that's the problem," Eric told Liam, sounding more excited than I'd like.
"You know, all that bickering between you two is starting to worry me," I said, looking at them disapprovingly.
They were both about to say something, when I interrupted them.
"I'm starting to think you two have a thing for each other," I finished.
I couldn't help but laugh at the horrified expression on both their faces.
"F*ck no!" Eric yelled, moving away from Liam and coming to sit by me.
At the same time Liam yelled, "No f*cking way!"
He dramatically shivered, to add effect to his words.
"Sure, you keep telling yourselves that," I said, letting the sentence hang and pretending I didn't believe them.
At least they weren't arguing with each other anymore.
"Ah crap," Liam said, as he dripped chocolate over the front of his shirt.
"Can I burrow one of these," Liam asked, as he got up from the couch and pulled the sticky shirt away from his chest.
"Go to the laundry room. There should be clean shirts inside the dryer," I told him.
"You mind if I mess with Dylan for a bit when he gets here, since I'll be wearing his shirt?" Liam asked with a smirk.
I gave him a flat look, not finding his comment funny.
"You better not or I'll consider Eric's proposition about kicking you out," I joked.
Liam only laughed at me, and made his way to the laundry room. I didn't understand why he took the spoon and peanut butter with him.
"I think the Alpha knows," Eric whispered once Liam was gone.
"Knows what?" I asked him, feeling confused with his words and the way he kept looking around.
"I think the Alpha knows you talked to the pack doctor and that you're taking birth control," Eric said, giving me a pointed look.
"Eric!" I snapped.
'Mind link,' I told him, pointing my index finger to my forehead.
'You said he's been acting weird, and I think so too. That doctor is scared sh!tless of the Alpha. I'm pretty sure if he pressed, the doctor told him everything,' Eric explained.
I remained quiet, thinking over his words.
"Why would Dylan even ask about that?" I asked out loud.
"Why would I ask about what?" Dylan's deep voice made me jump.
I was deep in thought with Eric's words, I hadn't heard Dylan arrive.
"You're late," I stated, changing the subject.
There was a tray with snacks in the coffee table, which Liam, Eric, and I had been eating.
"I got caught up," Dylan distractedly replied.
I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, I knew he wouldn't tell me what exactly he "got caught up" with.
Liam walked into the living room wearing one of Dylan's white undershirts.
We all turned to stare at him when he stepped inside. He was smirking, and I rolled my eyes because I knew he was trying to see if he could get a rise out of Dylan.
Dylan cocked an eyebrow, and turned to look at me. He didn't say anything but from his expression, I knew he wanted me to explain why Liam was wearing one of his shirts.
"You could've at least told me you'd be running late," I unintentionally snapped at him.
Liam and Eric were both silent, simply watching the interaction between Dylan and me.
"You two are dismissed," Dylan said, nodding at them.
'Good luck,' Eric said to me through our mind link before leaving.
Liam just smirked, which I noticed was something usual from him.
"Leila," Liam said, before walking out.
"What have you been up to?" Dylan asked, looking at the table with food and the pillows that were scattered in the ground.
The TV was on, but it was muted.
"Is something wrong?" I asked him.
I had lost count of how many times I'd asked Dylan that same thing in the last couple of days.
He shook his head and came to stand in front of me.
"I missed you," he said, running his nose over the side of face.
It was his way of distracting me, not that it ever worked.
"I missed you too, but I still want to know what's wrong," I told him, moving my head to the side to allow him easier access to my neck.
"When was the last time you went for a run," he asked, suddenly pulling away from me.
His gaze was concentrated on my face.
"Yesterday, I went to run with Liam and Eric," I replied, wondering why that mattered.
"You want to go for a run?"
I raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this.
"Sure?" My answer sounded more like a question.
Dylan chuckled at my reply. He pressed his lips against mine, before taking my hand in his.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
Instead of walking towards the woods, he headed to his car.
"I was thinking we could go and run at the lake," Dylan replied, shrugging casually.
"Why?"
I loved the lake. Not only was the crystal clear water beautiful, but it was a really nice place to run. I didn't have to bump into anyone from the pack. I usually kept that small detail to myself.
I simply found it odd that Dylan preferred to run over there than here in our territory.
"Uh..." Dylan muttered.
I felt confused.
I was already thinking about the worse possible scenarios.
"It's a nice day out," Dylan shrugged.
He'd made that up on the spot. Given, it was a nice day out, but I was sure that wasn't the reason we were going all the way to the lake.
"Fine," I agreed reluctantly.
Dylan smiled at me nervously, something he never did. Dylan and the word 'nervous' didn't mix.
On the way to the lake, I kept trying to think of the reason behind Dylan's unusual behavior and why he was dragging me all the way to the lake.
The lake was secluded. It was no man's land, so there was never anyone there.
Could Dylan possibly have grown tired and was he dumping me far from his land? Although I didn't want to assume the worst, the thought did occur to me.
In the past months, I'd brought more problems to the pack than good. They'd been in a war for me- it couldn't get any worse than that.
My hands on instinct went to my stomach. It was something I now did to comfort myself. In a weird way, knowing that a piece of Dylan and me had been there- it made me smile.
If Dylan did leave me, at least he'd given me these great months. Even the worry of Alpha Nicolas attacking couldn't shadow the happiness Dylan had given me since the day I'd met him.
By the time Dylan parked his white sleek car, I was already feeling nauseous. The thought of Dylan leaving me, it was breaking me apart despite of what I tried to tell myself.
Maybe Eric was right. Dylan could have found out I had talked to the pack doctor.
If that was the case, surely he wouldn't be so calm. Dylan was never one to bottle up his anger or save it for later.
"We're here," Dylan said, offering me a small smile.
It was strange, very strange.
Dylan walked out of the car and came to my side to open the door.
"Do you want to shift or would you rather we walk there?" Dylan asked, looking at me expectantly.
I figured that if he was leaving me, then I'd rather walk. It would give me more time with him.
I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea of him leaving me. He was always so protective and possessive.
Why would he want to leave me? Hope sparked inside of me that maybe it was something else.
For all I knew, he really did just want to come for a run.
Maybe he was having stressful days, which would explain his odd behavior. I mean, he hadn't been distant with me, just- different.
I was holding on to anything that told me this trek to the lake wasn't something bad.
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