Just Peachy

LAKE

Within an instant, Derrick shifts into a huge solid-black wolf. His canines protrude, and his hackles are up.

My attacker cowers in submission. His head is down to the ground as he bows for forgiveness. The guard’s attempts are ignored.

The scene is like that out of a horror film. Before I can blink, Derrick’s wolf is tearing into his guard. Blood splatters all over the walls of the tent. I definitely need a bath now.

Lucy appears beside me with a clean towel, which she wraps around me.

Once the wolf is satisfied with his work of mangling the corpse of his victim, his glare lands on me. His expression softens when my eyes meet his.

Derrick’s wolf is dripping with blood. Muscle and fatty tissues hang out from his mouth.

“He’s never attacked one of his men over ~anything~ before…,” Lucy mutters. She helps me stand. My wounds are still sore and raw. I wince at the pain.

“Clean this up,” Lucy orders the remaining guards outside. “Derrick, shift back and take a bath. You smell horrible.”

I’m taken to Lucy’s personal tent, where she helps me clean the blood off my body and dress my wounds.

The awkward silence is making a thick cloud of tension in the air as Lucy hands me a clean set of clothes.

“It’s not much…” She smiles lightly. “But until we can find you some clothes, we’ll be sharing.”

“Lucy…,” I say as she begins to leave, “thank you.”

I dress myself for the first time in days. I’m wearing a light-blue T-shirt and a pair of black workout shorts. I choose to leave the shoes off.

As I exit the tent, Derrick’s figure bumps into me harshly. His jaw is fixed as he looks down at me.

“Can I help you?” I ask dryly.

“We need to talk…” Derrick just stares at me. It seems as if he’s challenging me to say no.

~I met this guy less than twelve hours ago, and he thinks he can control me like every other male?~

~

“No, thanks.” I push past Derrick with my hands in tight fists. His hand wraps around my forearm before I have the chance to escape.

“Firefly…,” he mutters. “Please.”

I’m taken aback by the pleading hidden behind his eyes. Derrick slowly lets go of my arm as I look at him up and down.

“Fine…”

Derrick leads me to a tent in the back of the camp. He holds the flap open for me. The inside is a lot larger than it looks on the outside.

He has a queen-size mattress on the ground. There’s an old antique wooden dresser with metal handles. The back of the tent has a small table with two mismatched chairs on either side.

For a male, the tent is very well organized with storage containers labeled with masking tape and Sharpie. Most say ~WEAPONS~ in bold letters.

“Firefly.”

I put my hand up. “My name is Lake. I’ve had enough nicknames in my life.”

“Lake…” Derrick lets my name roll off his tongue with a small smile. I look at him in discomfort.

“Are we going to talk, or did I really just come here to get creeped out by you saying my name like that?”

“Oh, right.” Derrick clears his throat. “There are some…things you and I need to discuss.”

I roll my eyes at this thick-headed man.

“First, you have your men chase me. You capture me with a rope around my neck like I’m some dog, arrogantly flaunt me around this camp, and now we have something to discuss?”

“Yeah… Sorry about that…” Derrick rubs the back of his neck. “Being rogue, especially a rogue leader of a group this large, has its drawbacks…”

I scoff at his reply. “Drawbacks include doing that to a female?” Derrick nods his head.

A dead silence runs between us for a few moments. I stand with my arms crossed and my eyes set on his. My eyebrow is up.

“What did you need again?” I ask harshly. The sound of my foot tapping on the ground seems to be annoying to him. At least I found a button I can push.

“I needed to talk to you about possibly you being my ma—”

“Hold it right there, bucko!” I exclaim. “There is no way I have a mate. No second chance. No nothing!”

Derrick is taken aback by my outburst. My breath is rapid now, and my eyebrows are knit together.

“Lake, I didn’t mean to—”

I cut him off. “Come on! You know the mate thing doesn’t work out here! Rogues have been forsaken by the Goddess and stripped of that privilege!”

I know that I’m lying through my teeth right now. The Moon Goddess cares about all of us. But I’m not letting my heart get broken again.

“Is everything okay in here?” Lucy slowly enters the tent, worry planted on her face.

“Everything is peachy! Just peachy!” I growl and storm from the tent.

I can feel Lynne wanting to come out and run to relieve some of our anger. The ~nerve~ of that man!

I’m done with mates. I’m done with second chances. And I’m definitely done with this stupid camp.