CHAPTER NINE

~Tamara Rose

The thing that sucks about mates, is that no matter how much you want to hate them...

You can't.

I mean, you can. You can hate them all you want. But you'll always love them, too. That's the thing. Even if you have the worst, most absolute horrible excuse for a werewolf as your mate, you will still love them with all your heart.

I was mad at Dylan. Gosh, I was so mad, my fingers were itching to tear out his hair strand by strand.

But, at the same time, I just wanted him to hug me and kiss my tears away. I wanted his strong arms to wrap around me and pull me against his chest. I want him to whisper comforting things in my ear.

Then again, they would probably all be lies.

He was pretty gifted liar, after all.

I sighed, pulling my knees up against my chest. Last year, I had been in basically this same position, before my pack had ever returned to Sierra County. Before anything had happened--hating Dylan, reuniting with him, getting kidnapped, losing my memory--everything.

After all this time, I was right back where I started. Curled up into a ball on my bed.

"I hate everything," I sighed, too tired at this point to even feel angry or upset. All these emotions, they were just exhausting.

I really needed a day off. A day to just relax and forget all about...well, my life.

I bolted upright suddenly.

I jumped out of bed, throwing my bedroom door open and shouting a single sentence out until it echoed around the house.

"I have an idea!"

Josh poked his head out from beneath the stairs, having heard me all the way downstairs.

"Rosie?" he asked tentatively.

"I have an idea," I repeated, my voice firm. "And if you and the rest of the gang love me, you'll all do it. No protests."

Josh raised his eyebrows, looking intrigued and slightly suspicious. "Why do I feel like I'm going to hate this?"

I rolled my eyes. Jeez, he acted like I was going to drag him dress shopping.

The amount of faith these idiots had in me was just offensive, I swear.

~*~

"This was an amazing idea," Lizzie said eagerly, spreading a blanket out over the grass. I grinned.

Jordan and Josh both groaned from their positions on the ground, their arms and legs splayed out like starfish.

"This is so boring," Jordan moaned. "I'm going to die from boredom. Die. Is this what you wanted, Rose? My death?"

"We just got here," Eric sighed, rolling up beside me and Lizzie as we began unpacking the picnic basket. "How are you already bored?"

Jordan sighed, sitting up. "We can't all have secret crushes to entertain ourselves with at all times."

Eric glared at him.

"Will you two idiots help us set up?" Lizzie asked, exasperated. I watched in amusement as she leaned back, panting slightly from the small action of unpacking a basket. Mark, who was sitting behind her, began rubbing her shoulders.

"You're getting lazy, Liz," I remarked, laughing.

She stared at me, caught off guard. "I'm...what? Oh! Oh, right." She tried to laugh off her strange response. "Yeah, definitely. I need to get on a treadmill or something."

I narrowed my eyes, suddenly suspicious of how weird she was acting. "Liz..."

"Rosie, watch this!"

I turned just in time to see Jordan and Josh both do backflips, high-fiving midair before landing.

My mouth dropped open. "BRUH. What? When did you guys learn how to do that? How? More importantly, teach me!"

I jumped up from the picnic blanket. For the next twenty minutes, the guys tried to teach me the trick. I slapped Jordan in the face four times and Josh twice before they gave up.

Or maybe they were just trying to protect their faces.

Either way, we decided enough was enough and geared up for a run. We were all set and ready to shift, Jordan, Josh and I lined up like runners with our backsides in the air, and our toes and fingers touching the ground.

All of a sudden, I realized Eric was looking at the ground, trying to hide the look on his face.

Damn it, I forgot he couldn't shift anymore, I thought, a pang of guilt shooting through my chest. Some best friend I am.

With a sigh, I lifted myself into a proper standing position just as Josh and Jordan shifted on either side of me. I gazed at the two wolfs, wagging their tails and looking at me with their tongues stuck out, confused.

"I'm gonna go hang out with Eric," I explained. "He's much cooler than you two, after all."

Even as wolves, I knew they understood that wasn't really the reason I was leaving them. Jordan nudged my leg, biting my pants playfully.

"Hey, down, dog!" I taunted. His yellow eyes narrowed, a small growl shaping his mouth.

"Not the best idea to piss off a wolf, Rosie," Mark called from the blanket, him and Lizzie stretched out and watching all this from a safe distance. I scowled at him, sticking out my tongue.

"Wolf? Please, Jordan is just an overgrown dog in need of a severe attitude readjustment," I laughed. Jordan's growls got louder, but I could see Josh shaking with laughter.

"I'm just kidding," I chuckled, bending down and petting both their heads. "You're both my favorite mutts. Happy?"

Jordan nipped my hand, turning and making a run for it before I could react. Josh trotted after him, the two of them disappearing into the woods.

I walked over to Eric, sitting down onto the blanket. Lizzie was stretched out beside me, her head in Mark's lap. I shifted and went to sit in front of Eric's wheelchair. Using his legs as a backrest, I leaned against them and titled my head back into his lap.

"Having fun down there?" he asked, chuckling.

I smiled. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Eric scoffed. "You forget that I share a room with Jordan. There isn't much that could make me uncomfortable."

I scowled. "Oh, ugh. You're right. I forgot. I feel sorry for you." My eyes lit with an idea. "Hey, if you want, you could sleep in my room."

He was silent for a moment. "That's...um, thanks for the offer, Rosie, but I really don't want Dylan to rip my head off."

My good mood soured faster than rotten milk. "Dylan doesn't get to decide who I sleep with."

"Rose!" Lizzie gasped dramatically. "You whore!"

I stared at her in her puzzlement before it registered what I'd actually just said. A blush spread wildly across my cheeks as Lizzie and Mark bursted into laughter.

"Shut up," I muttered, sinking further against Eric's lap. "That's gross. Eric's my brother. Gosh, ew."

Eric was quiet. I was a bit surprised he wasn't joining in on the teasing, but then I realized this entire thing was probably making him just as uncomfortable as it was me.

"I'm sorry they're such idiots, Air-Bear," I said jokingly, patting his knee. He gave me a strained smile. Obviously this had disturbed him a lot more than it had me.

I sighed. "Way to totally ruin the mood, you guys."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "If you hate us that much then why don't you and Eric go find your own private little corner, Rose?"

I stuck my tongue out at her. "You know what, I think we will."

"We will?" Eric asked, surprised.

"We will," I confirmed. I stood up and brushed the grass stains off my jeans. "Come on, Eric."

The two of us began heading towards the winding hiking trail that led through the woods. Eric rolled steadily beside me as I walked.

"I hope Jordan and Josh don't sniff us out and decide to attack," I muttered.

Eric chuckled. "If they do, I'll protect you."

"My hero," I teased. He laughed and we continued talking. Eric and I, side by side, strolling through the woods as laughing and talking and teasing each other the way best friends should. For the first time in a long time, the word seemed normal.

"So who's this mystery girl you like, hm?" I piped up.

Eric made a face. "Ugh, not you too, Rosie. Jordan was just teasing me."

"No, I know Jordan too well," I argued. "He says a lot of BS, but even when he teases you there's always a layer of truth behind it. You definitely like someone. It's just a matter of who it is."

He scoffed. "I don't like anyone."

"Liiii-aaaar," I said in a sing-sing voice. He glared at me and I smiled cheekily.

"It doesn't matter who she is, anyway," he finally gave in, sighing. "She'll never like me. Not the way I like her."

I gasped. "Eric! Don't say that. Any girl would be lucky to have a guy like you care about her."

He gave a strained smile. "She just doesn't seem to have the same...strength of emotions that I have for her."

I snorted. "Okay, that's just BS. Have you actually told her how you feel? Or are you just assuming all this?"

Eric ran a hand through his hair, exhaling in frustration. "Rose, just drop this subject, please. I'm begging you. Trust me when I say she does not love me."

"How can you say that?" I demanded, extremely upset now. "You can't make assumptions about a girl's feelings, Eric! Maybe she's head over heels for you and you don't have a clue because you haven't told her how you feel yourself!"

"Would you shut the hell up!"

I froze, my breath catching in my throat as I stared at him. He wasn't looking at me, glaring down at the ground, panting with anger.

"Eric," I whispered. Tears pricked my eyes. "What..."

I couldn't believe he'd yelled at me like that.

Suddenly, a rustling came from behind us. I turned to see Mark sprinting into the woods, coming to an abrupt stop when he saw Eric and me standing there.

He gave me a strange look. "I heard yelling. I thought...um, I thought maybe Dylan had shown up."

I sniffed, drawing a hand roughly across my eyes and wiping away any signs of tears. "No. Not Dylan." My gaze shifted towards Eric, and my eyes hardened.

"Just another asshole."

With that, I brushed past Mark and walked briskly back towards the picnic blanket. My stiff spine and raised chin couldn't hide the tears still streaming down my cheeks.

I honestly was so done with guys.

~*~

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