Challenged - Skinwalker Book 2

Chapter 38

They eventually wandered over to the benches, lounging comfortably on top of the park furniture and each other as they admired their handiwork. Their good humour slowly dwindled as fatigue crept up. Adele snuggled affectionately against her brother, on the verge of sleep.

"Tonight was the best night of my life," she mused dreamily. She glanced back at Luc.

"Thank you for not freaking out about Bastian," she told him. "Ja t'eime."

"Ja t'eime," he replied, stroking her arm lovingly as she nestled against him even more then went really still.

Luc glanced over her at Sierra and mouthed 'thank you' to her. The skin walker nodded her head in recognition of the sentiment and smiled sweetly at him. She might get teased for the next ten years about her stunt in the club, but watching them right then had made it all worth it.

"I am glad you two are with us," Karina remarked after a few minutes of comfortable silence passed. "After Gabriel died, it felt like we had lost the head of our team. Now it feels as though we have found the heart of it instead."

"Aw... you're going to make me blush," Sierra replied gushingly. She felt terribly awkward, but warm and appreciated at the same time. She glanced over at Devon who was sitting quietly, smiling softly in the moonlight.

"I agree. It was a good night," Senka added.

Sierra saw her throw a wandering glance at the tomcat, but they were positioned in such a way that he couldn't see it.

Well hello! What was that? Maybe there's hope for the poor guy after all?

"Mmm... yes, a good night," Anthony mumbled sleepily.

Sierra wasn't entirely convinced that he was actually awake. She smiled to herself as some soft snoring rose up from somewhere in the pile of bodies, recognising that she, too, wouldn't be able to stay immune to the seductive lure of sleep much longer.

Karina, Sierra, wake up! Come on guys," Devon urged.

"Everyone hurry! It is getting light. We need to go!" Luc urged.

Everyone groaned as they began to respond. They'd only been sleeping for a few hours at best. As Sierra dragged herself to her feet, she realised that the sky was still dark. It couldn't have been later than six in the morning. She glanced at Luc grumpily and noticed that he was wearing his now dry pants. His dry shirt was still unbuttoned and flapping gently in the soft breeze that had begun to spring up. He caught her look and glanced back meaningfully with a playful grin. She followed his gaze to the flagpole where his boxers were flapping merrily in the draught.

"Devon helped me," he informed her with a smile as he handed his sister her jacket and helped her up chivalrously. Sierra chuckled softly to herself at the finishing touch to their little public park make-over.

The group raced off towards their car like the bunch of fugitives they were, arriving just as the sun's first rays of light threatened to breech the horizon.

"Who won shotgun again?" Anthony asked as they started piling into the car.

"Who cares? Get in!" Luc scolded nervously.

Before either Ken or Ant could respond to that, Senka climbed into the front passenger seat and slammed the door in their faces. They glanced at her in disbelief.

She shrugged uncaringly.

"You snooze, you lose," she told them with a hint of humour sparkling in her eyes.

Ken and Anthony glanced at each other in disbelief, unsure if it was her choice of a popular phrase or the glint in her eye that was the strangest part.