Talk About the Direct Approach...

Chapter Fifty: Near

*Macy's POV*

I need a vacation.

Cayton relayed everything to me that I missed while I was traveling through La-La Land. The feud between the two packs was over. Negotiations are far from it, but as of now Joshua will try and fix what's broken in regards to his own pack. Alan will be reinstated as Beta--well, maybe. He hasn't decided if that's the path he wants to take. If he decides against it, Joshua's next level would take over. I don't know who that is, but it's essentially the equivalent of Trenton in our pack.

As far as Bethany is concerned, well... She's going to resume living in Dusk Valley territory with Carter, but she's going to sort of traverse between the two, helping Joshua when he needs it most. As you can imagine, Carter wasn't exactly thrilled but it wasn't his choice to make. Joshua neglected his pack in the years since his mate's death, so there's lots of work to be done.

And Roy, he's taken care of. Cayton didn't tell me exactly what that meant, whether he was dead or alive, but I've chosen not to think about it.

And now, we have a list of things to do once we get home. First and foremost, I need to be brought in as an official member of the pack--technically speaking, since I'm already fully mated with Cayton, I am, but there's...paperwork or something...I admit I started becoming super interested in the trees outside the car window at that point.

Then, there's apparently some members of Joshua's pack that want to join ours instead. Now that our innocence has been proven, and no longer are our packs enemies, many are just looking to move from the drama into a nice, friendly, quiet pack.

I laugh quietly to myself, because that may have been true a bit ago, but now we have two things that need to be dealt with at home. Carter, and Warren. Cayton cleverly avoided telling me what he and Carter discussed when I left them alone, but I no longer felt his white-hot anger when talking about Carter, so I can only assume it went okay.

Or he hired a hitman on him.

But, oh man, did I feel Cayton's anger when mentioning Warren. I didn't want to dwell on it too long with him, because of all the shit at the shit-show, that was by far the largest and stinkiest turd. But alas, it had to be dealt with eventually.

Leaning against Cayton, I take in a deep breath and sigh. "When all is said and done, you know what we should do?" I ask.

"Hmm?" Cayton says, absently running his fingers up and down my arm, only half paying attention.

"Go on a cruise," I say. "The Bahamas, or the Mediterranean." Cayton's fingers stop in their tracks, and I feel him tense ever so slightly.

"Or maybe we could...stay...on land," he says hesitantly. I look up at him, seeing the discomfort on his face. Quirking an eyebrow at his refusal to look me in the eyes, I continue.

"Imagine, a big boat in the middle of the ocean where no one can reach us..." I laugh internally at the anxiety blooming across his face. "Surrounded by nothing but water as far as the eye can see. And shuffleboard."

He laughs uncomfortably, shifting in his seat ever so slightly. "Or," he begins, "A nice cabin in the woods, or the mountains, still far away from people..."

"Cayton, are you afraid of water?"

"No!" he says incredulously. "Just...the ocean...and boats...that sail on the ocean."

I stare at him for a second before I burst out laughing.

*

When we get home, I run out of the car door before we're fully stopped. I take a moment to examine the outside, fully committing every detail to memory. I've only been gone a few days, but those days have been so packed with fun, fun, fun! That it feels like I've aged into the geriatric population. I take a lungful of fresh, home air. As I stand there, appreciating it all, Cayton comes behind me and wraps his arms around me, resting his chin on the top of my head.