Ensnared

Chapter 4

Becky never used to dread the full moon. Growing up, it was like having a family reunion every month, gathering with aunts and uncles and cousins and running in the countryside, happy and free. Now it's a ping on her phone, a highlighted day on the schedule, yet another excuse she has to make up to keep herself out of Seth's bed. The scheduling has become second nature, but she doesn't think resisting her feelings is ever going to get easier.

It doesn't help that virtually everyone backstage knows that she, Sasha, and Seth are an open triangle—even though they're more of an arrow, with Sasha at the tip. Most of them seem to assume she and Seth are already fucking. She's heard all the whispered remarks, ranging from the incredulous (I can't even get ONE of the girls on the roster to sleep with me. How'd Rollins get TWO?) to the insulting (I didn't think Sasha or Becky were THAT stupid. Didn't they see those pictures? Guess we know what to expect in six months, huh?) and of course the salacious. Some don't even bother to whisper. Career-wise, they're all at a point where WWE has too much invested in them to cast them aside if there happened to be a leak or virulent rumour, but Becky doesn't place a lot of confidence in good will.

"Hi, bae-bae." Just like that, Sasha dashes up alongside her and slings an arm around Becky's waist. "One more night!" To Sasha, full-moon nights are like celebrating Christmas once a month, and Becky wishes she still felt the same. "I was looking online and there's some cabins to rent not far from where we want to go." She snuggles closer, letting her fingers dip under Becky's waistband. "And when I called, they said it's pretty much the off-season, so nothing's booked. They were stoked to get any interest." After the New Day walk past them, Big E shaking a finger at Sasha while grinning devilishly, she kisses Becky's cheek and adds, "so we won't have to worry about where to leave our clothes. We could even stay the night if we wanted."

Stay the night. Just the thought makes Becky's heart spin. It's easier to convince herself not to get involved with Seth when there are a bunch of doors and walls and other people in the way. Out in the wilderness, in a small cabin with just the three of them, most of her excuses will be stripped away. "Are you sure it's safe?" Once again she feels like a killjoy. "If they know we're famous, they could put up cameras. There could be cameras for security anyway, or wildlife-tracking equipment. And if they get any proof of us shifting. . . ." Footage of sex would be bad too, even just nudity, but if any of them were caught on camera shifting from human to wolf or back again, the ramifications would be dire—not just for them, but for their families as well.

Sasha narrows her eyes; she can tell when Becky's trying to wriggle out of something. "It's out in the middle of nowhere, Becks. It'll be fine. We can sniff around before if you want; we'd be able to tell if there was any recent human activity or electrical signals."

"True." Becky tries to sound enthusiastic, or at least convincing, but her voice sounds flat even to her. Anxiety sits like a stone in her gut, heavy and hard. "I'll have to make sure my phone's charged up so I can go hiking and take some pictures while you and Seth—"

"No." Sasha doesn't let her finish. Without even looking to see who's around, Sasha brings them both to a halt and presses Becky against the wall, kissing her roughly. "Becky. . . ." Stepping back, she cups both sides of Becky's face so she has no choice but to look at her. "We're a pack," Sasha whispers, voice thickening. "We need to talk about . . . whatever's going on with you and Seth."

Becky glances to either side, desperately hoping the New Day will return, that anyone—anyone but Seth, that is—will wander by and give her an excuse not to reply. The nearest person is at the far end of the corridor, though, and probably wouldn't be able to hear them even if they were shouting. "Nothing's going on." She knows exactly what Sasha meant, but the longer she can hold off on answering, the more time she has to think.