Omega Blues (Gay Romance)

Chapter Nineteen: Forest Tunnel

Bren

Two weeks after the full moon saw me at my strongest, so it was an excellent time for Matt to visit.

I mentioned that to Matt during one of our nightly phone calls. He hummed and cited his homework load, so I tried to ignore the ache of loneliness and to not get my hopes up.

It was midmorning on Saturday when my horse Aspen perked her ears up and nickered, turning her head in the direction of the road.

"What is it?" I murmured. "Visitors?"

A few moments later I heard a car on the driveway, then the slamming of a car door. Matt's voice called out, "Bren? Bren, you home?"

I glanced at my ranch hands. They were grinning at each other.

I cleared my throat. "Look, I should..."

"Go. We've got this."

I nodded, hoping I wasn't blushing. I was too old to be blushing over a boy. Too old to be caught up in a boy at all.

But it didn't matter. It was worth suffering any embarrassment for the peppery skipping feeling in my chest and stomach.

I rode around the side of the house and Matt came into view, flanked by the rest of the band. They stood around my porch, rubbing their hands and huddling close together for warmth. As soon as he saw me he let out a happy cry and raced up, spooking the horses, though I could hold Aspen steady beneath me.

"Surprise!" His cheeks were flushed, from the warm car or the change to cold. Or maybe he was just excited to see me, and embarrassed that all his friends were laughing at him. "Good time?"

"Great time," I confirmed, all thoughts of my workload fading. Matt was here. All that joy and bouncy-haired happiness focused on me. It was still amazing to think that Matt would come all the way out here just to see me.

"We were all coming up to stretch our legs," Will said. "So I thought..."

"Yeah." I slipped off Aspen's back and held my arms out for Matt to leap into. "My hands are still nearby, and they're human."

"We can hear them," Connor said. "Don't worry, we're not going to shift in front of them and blow our werewolf cover."

Will said, "I thought we could park at my house, hit the forest from there. But Matt wanted to stop here first and see you."

"It was the right call," Matt said happily. "Seeing you're not doing anything, I can hang out with you? All day?" His voice rose like he was asking a question, but his grin said he knew the power he had over me.

"All day," I agreed. "We can go into the forest as well—at people pace, not wolf speed."

Matt tilted his head to either side, thinking, then went up on his tiptoes to whisper into my ear, "Or maybe we could stay inside? In your bedroom?"

I coughed. "Werewolves can hear you." Chop let out a bark of laughter, and the others looked into space politely as if they couldn't hear. I lowered my voice as far as I could, hoping the band would be polite enough to not listen. "And you're noisy—my hands would hear you from my room. Wait for tonight."

"Okay. Walking's fun too." Matt didn't look remotely embarrassed.

We said our goodbyes to Will, Connor, Chop and Liv; and Matt ferried his bag and bass into my house while I brushed Aspen down.

"You'll want good shoes," I called out as Matt bounded off my porch in his sneakers. I paused to watch him, not holding back my smile. "There's snow."

"Oh! Yeah." He looked down at his wet sneakers and, grinning, ran back inside.

*

We meandered up the mountains, pausing whenever Matt got excited about animal tracks or to peer into rabbit dens. Trees had shielded the worst of the snow so the ground was mostly dry, and the day was still warm enough for walking. I wore a backpack crammed with blankets and, after a while, the layers that Matt shed as he warmed up.

"This way," I said, branching off the main path to follow a goat track down toward water.

The stream was delightfully clear and swollen broad with snow melt. Matt cheered when he saw it, and tried picking out a path across on rocks.

"Come on! Bet we can make it to the other side!"

I leaned against a tree, watching him but not coming near. "Definitely not. That water's frigid. If you slip, you'll never warm back up."

"You'll warm me up!" He wiggled in place, spreading his arms wide to mimic losing his balance. "If I fall in, you'll cuddle me to save me from hypothermia. Maybe I'll jump in!"

"No way." I laughed. "I don't want to get cold. I'll walk home and leave you on a sunny rock to dry off."

Matt turned shock-widened eyes to me. This time he nearly did fall off the rock. "You wouldn't!"

"You're right," I relented. "I'd wrap you up in a blanket. And then I'd leave you to dry off."

He stuck out his tongue, but he was careful as he skipped along the boulders back to me.

Back on solid ground he asked, "We've been this way before, right? Following the wolves?"

"Almost. This is the same stream, but lower down. There's something I want to show you."

"Rabbits?"

"Better."

"And it needs blankets?" His voice dipped and his eyebrows raised.

I winked, trying to appear flirty and casual, like my heart and body weren't singing with want and the miracle that he wanted me back.

It wasn't a long walk to the tunnel, but Matt spent the time darting to the water's edge, leaping to climb trees, and doubling back until he was ruddy-cheeked and breathless.

"Here," I said, pushing aside the wall of leaves and branches that hid the entrance. "It's a natural tunnel. A dried-up stream."

Matt squinted into the green-tinged space, a narrow path between dense trees with forest canopy overhead. The ground was coated with crisp dry leaves instead of the wet mulch and mud outside.

"It's magic!" His eyes sparkled as he grinned up at me, then he threw his arms around my shoulders and dragged me close for a kiss. "You're magic. This place is amazing."

His hand was wound tightly with mine as I led him inside.