Midnight Serenade

Chapter 21

Sawyer and I didn't have a lot of time to recover from our adventure. When we returned to his house, we were informed that we had a pack meeting in about an hour. Which left us time to get cleaned up, eat, and leave.

With everything else going on, I hadn't thought to ask about what a pack meeting entailed, so as we headed over, I was still picturing something out of the Jungle Book. I knew I'd sound like an idiot if I mentioned it though, so I kept quiet. I was glad I did when we arrived and I saw that it was more like a community barbeque. Someone in the pack owned a few hundred acres that were surrounded by an impressive fence, so the meetings were usually held here. It was secure enough that no one had to worry about outsiders seeing something they shouldn't.

Honestly, I thought it was actually kind of fun. It was like the party with my family, but much bigger, and I wasn't anyone's prime focus. So I was free to enjoy the familial atmosphere without any pressure.

Pretty much everyone in the pack was in attendance. Which, unfortunately for me, meant that Ashley was not the only one giving me the stink eye. I still wasn't sure who everyone was, but I guessed that Kaleigh and Amber were among the hostile looking group of girls that Sawyer and I passed when we arrived. Well, they were hostile to me anyway. If they thought Sawyer was looking, they tried to seem pleasant.

The complete turnout also meant I had some friends too. Leah came over as soon as she saw us. "Hey, guys!" She sounded way too enthusiastic for a simple greeting and I instinctively knew it was because of the full moon last night.

"Hey, Leah," I said. "How's the meeting going?"

She waved a hand. "Same old, same old. How are you guys?" She grinned. It was obvious she wanted to elaborate, but she'd wait until it was just the two of us.

Sawyer laughed. "Guess I'd better go make sure there's no emergencies for me to worry about."

As his father was maybe two hundred feet away, it was a flimsy excuse, but Leah didn't care.

With a wink that made me want to sigh like an idiot, Sawyer walked away. As soon as he was (maybe) out of earshot, she grabbed my arm. "So? Was it incredible?"

I couldn't keep the happy grin from spreading across my face. "It was pretty incredible."

She squealed quietly. "I knew it. See? You were worried!"

"I know." I nodded. "It still seems nuts, but I couldn't fully wrap my head around it until it happened. But it was fantastic. You'll love it."

"And did you guys....?"

"He stayed with me," I said. "I'm sure I'd have lost my mind if he didn't. It's really weird."

She was happy, but looking for more. "Yeah...And did you guys...you know?"

It took me a second to realize that the reason she looked so intrigued had very little to with being a shifter at all. I gasped and blushed. "Oh my gosh, no! I told you. We're not... together like that."

She wilted. "You guys didn't do anything fun?"

We did lots that was fun, but again, she wasn't thinking about our run through the forest or trying to pin each other down. At least not as wolves...

"I didn't say that." I smiled.

"Yeah?" Her eyes shone.

"We've kind of kissed a lot."

She squealed again. "Was it phenomenal? We've always thought he'd be a phenomenal kisser."

My face warmed, knowing Sawyer was listening. Sure enough, when I looked passed Leah, he was leaning against a tree, watching us with an extremely entertained expression.