We Paid The Price (sequel to RPAP)

Chapter Nine

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."