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S ince the waterfall , they hadn’t spoken. They didn’t have sex, but kissed, and it felt so good. Even now, Calliope wanted to put her fingers to her lips and touch them, just to see if she was thinking clearly.

That kiss had been pretty damn magical. She hadn’t wanted it to end.

The hot weather had become bearable, and after a prolonged time beneath the waterfall, getting washed and making out, they had no choice but to move on.

Now, they were building a small fire. There was food that had appeared in their backpacks. Jaxson was the one who built the fire, while she went and gathered more wood and leaves to put on it so they could have a small camp.

She didn’t like the fact they were not talking about it, though it wasn’t like they needed to talk about anything. So, they made out and had some fun. So what? Only, it wasn’t a so-what kind of feeling.

Her lips still tingled and she loved it when he put his hand on her ass, and now all she could think about was making out with him again.

Their silence wasn’t boring. It was companionable. It was peaceful. It was easy. This wasn’t hard for them. They had done a lot of fun things when they were younger, but they never made out. They never crossed that line between friends.

“Are you hungry?” Jaxson asked.

“Starving.”

And they would talk about everything and anything. She couldn’t even remember half their conversations, but she was pretty sure as kids they even talked about farting. That was how they were. That was an embarrassing memory.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jaxson asked.

“What?” Would it be easier to play dumb?

“The kiss. The mating. The elder. The Hunt?”

She laughed, but it sounded so forced. “We do have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

“Yeah and no. I mean, I loved that kiss.”

“Me too,” Calliope said.

“This is what this place is supposed to do. It is meant to strip us of what we think is right when it comes to one another, and make us see how we really are.”

“I guess, when it is hot, we know what to do,” she said.

He laughed. “I don’t know if we were manifesting that heat, or if it was part of this whole thing.”

She found some pans that had magically appeared. “I don’t know. I don’t regret it, though.”

“What?” he asked.

“I don’t regret the kiss. I’m happy we kissed.” She felt her cheeks start to heat.

“I am too.”

She looked toward him. “This is good. This is progress.”

“Come on, Calliope. It’s not like it is going to be hard. We got along once, and we were great together.”

“Yeah, when we were kids, but that is not the case anymore. We’re adults.” She shrugged. “And a lot has happened.”

“That’s true.”

They were silent and Jaxson had already started to cook the food.

“Do you want to be mated to me?” Calliope asked.

He looked up.

“I just figure this is something you and I have to come to terms with. We’re not getting out of here until we realize the same thing.” She pressed her hands together.

“Then you’ve got to answer that question. Are you ready to answer it?” he asked.

She pressed her lips together and it was like they still tingled from the kiss.

“Yeah and no,” Calliope said. “When I think of the boy I used to know, I can’t imagine being mated to anyone else.

For a long time, I thought he was my soulmate.

Then, one day, me and my parents got home from a mini vacation, and it was like you changed.

You got mean. You no longer liked me, and you hated that I was a human. I don’t want to be mated to that guy.”

That was as open as she was willing to be at that very moment. It was scary laying her heart out because he could crush it.

“I want to be mated to you,” Jaxson said. “It’s why I didn’t go to the elders. It’s why I knew there was a risk we’d end up in here, and it would be a fight to the death, but I want to be mated to you.”

“What happened?” Calliope asked.

“You ... stopped being my friend.”

This made her frown. “That is not what happened,” Calliope said. “I was right there, the whole time. I left, and we made plans to camp and hang out. When I got back, you went and played with other guys, and you told me I was nothing. That I was useless. You hated me.”

She watched as he ran a hand down his face.

“You came back from your vacation, and you were wearing your hair down. You had on this yellow summer dress, and you wore makeup.”

She didn’t know the exact details of what she looked like when she got home, but her mother had awakened something inside her on that mini vacation.

While her dad was at the beach, soaking up the sun, her mother had taken her to a beauty salon.

They got their hair done, nails, makeup.

They went shopping for clothes, and she loved spending time with her mom. She loved doing girly things.

It had been a fun mini vacation. Her mother had even told her she wanted some alone time with her daughter, which was why they hadn’t invited Jaxson. Most of the time, they went away together. She would go with Jaxson on his vacations, and he’d come on hers. That was how close they had gotten.

“You stopped being my friend—the girl I camped with—and you started to become Calliope Masters, the girl I wanted to date. The girl I imagined kissing. The girl I wanted to ... mate.”

This surprised her.

“And you pushed me away?”

“I didn’t know how to handle it,” Jaxson said. “You were so different and yet the same, and it was easier to just push you away than admit I didn’t know what I was doing.”

He looked down at the food.

“Why didn’t you say anything when the elder did that?” she asked.

“Because by that time, I had made so many mistakes. So many. I had been cruel to you and said things I didn’t mean. I don’t give a fuck if you’re human or not. You should have known that, Calliope. I loved hanging out with you and your folks. You guys were always fun.”

“I know my dad missed you,” she said. “He didn’t mind having me around, but I wasn’t as into cars as you were.”

Her father and Jaxson would spend hours fixing up cars, changing parts. She would listen, but she wasn’t as into it as him.

Her parents didn’t have any other children. From what she knew, there was a complication with her birth, which is what pulled them into the pack in the first place. Her mother nearly died, and if it hadn’t been for Jaxson’s father, and knowing some witches, they would both be dead.

“I missed your dad, but we still found a way to hang out.”

This made her laugh. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“My dad never said anything.”

“I asked him not to.”

“What does this mean?” Calliope asked.

****

J axson served up their food and handed her the plate, which she took. Her father already knew how he felt about her. They had talked about it many times as they fixed cars.

“I guess we agree that we attempt to mate, and we mend the gaps we caused each other.” He shrugged.

“The Hunt isn’t going away just because we agreed to it, is it?” Calliope asked.

“No. At this stage, they need proof, and that is only going to happen with time.”

She nodded. “So, we talk, we have fun, we build a sense of adventure. We repair the damage we made years ago. Do you think they can hear us or know what we’re going through right now?”

“I have no idea.”

“Your dad is like the alpha, doesn’t he ever talk about any of this?”

“No, and he never talks about other members’ private business.” He ran a hand down his face, then pushed his fork into his sausage and took a bite. “I wish I had taken the time to listen to all those other couples that had returned.”

“I agree.” She sighed.

They ate their food and kept the firepit going. It was getting dark really fast again. A howl in the distance had him turning and looking.

“Do you think it is safe here?” Calliope asked.

“It is as safe as it is going to get.”

Along with their food, a pillow was provided, which he nestled under his head, and she moved closer and snuggled against him. The hot weather had changed, and it was starting to get cold. She shivered just a little.

“I don’t think they are being very fair,” Calliope said.

“I’ve got you.” He put his hand on her exposed arm and rubbed it up and down, trying to generate heat.

“Did we ever camp out in the winter?” she asked. “I’m trying to remember all the times we camped outside, and how we got warm.”

He chuckled. “There was one time, we were ten, and there had been a giant snowstorm. You loved the snow.”

“I still do.”

He smiled. “Anyway, you were determined to camp out, and you ended up with ten blankets, a heater, hat, gloves, scarf, and you were still freezing cold.”

“I think I remember that.” She sighed. “You were toasty warm, even in freezing conditions, which sucked, and I don’t like how that was possible for you.” She pouted. “Oh, well.”

He laughed. “You don’t have to sound so sad about that. Like now, I am toasty warm and providing you with some body heat.”

“Thank you.” She reached up and kissed his cheek, and they both seemed to freeze.

He wrapped his arms around her.

Silence fell between them, and the night moved on. He heard birds, and then nothing. Another howl, followed by stillness. Calliope hadn’t fallen asleep. She was still stiff within his arms.

“What do you think will happen, if we don’t make it out of here alive?” Calliope asked.

“We never return home. We die here, and that is that.”

“Do you think the next couple will find our bodies?”

“I have no idea. No one has ever opted to die here.”

“I get that, I just ... what if something goes wrong? You’re a wolf, I’m a human, and what if I make a mistake? What if I die? I don’t want you to be trapped here.”

He held her tightly. “Calliope, I wouldn’t want to go back if something happened to you here. You’re where I would want to stay.”

He didn’t even want to think of Calliope not making it.

What would be the point in returning home?

She was his mate, there was no point in denying it anymore.

They were bound together. The elders had deemed it so.

He only wished he had tried. In the last three years, he could have done something, said something, so many things, so many times.

It wasn’t like they lived separate lives.

He saw her almost every day. That was the point in living within the pack.

Going a day without seeing her drove him insane. Not that he told anyone how he felt. He would just live with it, but sometimes just being close to her was enough for him.

“Even though I’m human?”

He looked down at her and frowned. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re human or not.”

“But—”

“Don’t,” he said. “I know the bad shit I said, and I didn’t mean any of it.

I was stupid and confused. One moment you were my best friend, and the next, you were this .

.. girl I had feelings for.” It was not a good enough reason, he knew that, but it was the truth, and that scared him more than he wanted to admit.

There was a brief silence. She seemed to snuggle against him a little closer. It was still warm, at least to him. He held her as tightly as possible.

“I wouldn’t either,” she said.

“What?”

To him, she sounded so tired, which was adorable to hear.

“I wouldn’t want to leave without you.”