Page 103 of Shrouded in the Dark

“It’s beautiful.” Becca looked over at me and my wolf whined with me. “I never thought I’d ever get to see the stars and moon like this.” Her shoulders started to shake and that’s all I needed before I pulled her against me. “If becoming a shifter means I can see this every night, it was worth the pain.”

Her cheek rested on my chest as we looked up into the sky. The others surrounded us, forming a group hug, which made her laugh through her tears. Even Wyn joined in, standing between Axel and Jasper as we all held her.

We spent the night under the stars. Seth brought out blankets as we took the cushions on the outdoor furniture and laid on the deck. Becca didn’t say much, just watched the sky.

Chapter 24

Becca

“You know that I can shop for my own clothes, right?” I rubbed my temple as I got into the back of Wyn’s rental. “I don’t need an entourage. Weren’t we supposed to try to work on my shifting today?”

“We will.” Wyn turned on the car. “After we finish in town, I’ll give you your first lesson.”

Jasper and Cody got into the back with me, squishing me between them. Axel got into the front seat. Seth was staying behind because he had a meeting of some kind for his company. I think Jasper was more excited to shop over everyone else.

“Why aren’t we taking the Escalade?” Cody grunted as he put on his seat belt.

“Because someone broke the window, and it’s in a shop right now getting it replaced, remember?” Axel sent a glare over his shoulder at him. “I got yelled at for that.”

“You are the one who technically broke it.” Cody stuck his tongue out at Axel, whose eye had begun to twitch slightly.

“Okay, boys.” I held my hands up. “Back to my first question. Why can’t I shop for my own clothes again?”

“As much as we like seeing you in our clothes,” Jasper buckled himself in before turning to me. “You should get your own clothing, including underwear.” The tips of his ears turned red. “We need to get you a replacement phone, too.”

Oh. I cleared my throat and looked out through the windshield. I knew my face was red. “A new phone would be good. I need to call Mom and Gary.” I was not going to talk about my underwear.

“I think purple or green would look good on your skin. Maybe a thong?” Cody decided to talk about it instead.

“Cody! I am not talking about my panties or bra selection.” I elbowed him in the stomach. He grunted, rubbing where I’d hit with my elbow. “Besides, it’s not like Tabernash has a large clothing selection to choose from.”

“I was thinking we would go to Fraser. There’s a Murdoch’s there.” Wyn looked in the rearview mirror. “That way we can get more variety. There’s an electronics shop not far from it where we can pick up a phone.”

I hadn’t been to Murdoch’s since my father had been alive. He used to take me so I could go look at all of the farming equipment they had. I forgot that they actually had pretty much everything. They were kind of like Walmart, but more upscale for farmers and ranchers.

The drive wasn’t long. Axel and Cody kept us all entertained with their bickering. Wyn tried to hide his amusement but it was easy to see he was enjoying himself. I was still a little tired. I’d stayed up most of the night just staring up at the stars and moon.

“Can we pick up some art supplies while we’re there?” I stifled a yawn. “Murdoch’s might have a few things I could get.”

Jasper squeezed my knee gently. “Anything you want, we’ll get.”

“I don’t even have any money with me.” The realization hit me. “Was any of my stuff salvageable?” They hadn’t let me go back to the cabin yet.

“No.” Axel looked back at me. “We’ll cover it. Don’t worry about it. It’s the least we can do.”

“That’s not saying that we’ll always pay for everything, Becca,” Jasper hurriedly spoke as I opened my mouth in annoyance. “Let us do it for now, okay? You can treat us to dinner when we go home.”

I snorted. “Good save.”

Not long after, we pulled into the parking lot. Wyn pulled up in front of the entryway. “I’ve got to run a few errands, I’ll pick you guys up in about an hour.”

Getting out of the car was a fiasco because Cody decided to get ‘stuck’ in the open doorway.

“Oh no.” He leaned back into me, making me fall back with a laugh. “I’ve fallen for you!” His head ended up in my lap as he cracked up at his own joke.

“You’re such a dork.” Ruffling his hair, I pushed his shoulders. “Let me out.”

He was still laughing when Axel yanked him out by his leg. Cody caught himself before he ended up on the asphalt. Axel offered his hand to me as I got out. He kept my hand in his.