Chapter 3

Serenity's POV

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"Your dog is freaking me out," Tank said, his words muffled by the bite of food he'd just taken.

I didn't have to look up to know what he was talking about. The huge wolf had been following us since we'd started this little hike. Except now that we'd stopped, he was laying a bit away from us, his ears twitching with every little sound.

If we were being honest, I kind of liked having him around. I felt safer with him near us because if anything came after us, I knew he would defend us. Or at least, I had a really strong feeling that we were protected. It wasn't like I could read a wild animal's mind, just like I wasn't even sure it was a boy…it just seemed masculine.

"Seriously, though," Macie grumbled, her blonde hair starting to tumble out of her bun. She sat on a stump, picking at her sandwich. "I still think it's the one doing those animal attacks."

Breaking off a piece of my sandwich, I tossed it at the wolf. It was the oddest thing, but his expressions almost had a human quality to them. Especially his gray eyes. If I didn't know better, I would've said it was a human staring back at me.

Looking at the sandwich bit before raising his head, the wolf shook out his fur. Then he stretched out and ducked back into the trees so I couldn't see him anymore.

He'd been doing that as well, the disappearing thing. Although I knew he'd come back, I was still a bit anxious every time I couldn't see him. Not because I was worried about us—I was, don't get me wrong—but because I was worried about him. As if this giant, black wolf couldn't take care of himself.

"Maybe he doesn't like wheat bread," Chels said.

"You shouldn't feed the wildlife anyway," Nat rolled her eyes. She tugged at her ponytail, eyeing all of our sandwiches suspiciously. "And honestly, do you know how processed that ham is? You guys are literally poisoning yourselves."

"Oh god. Here it comes," Tank groaned. He popped the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth, leaning back on his elbows so he was almost in a full recline on the ground.

"All I'm saying is that processed foods are the leading cause of cancers and disease," Nat wiped her hands on her jeans before pushing herself off the ground. She looked into the forest, searching probably for the wolf. Or some other, less-friendly predator.

"And where'd you get those stats?" Tank asked.

Glancing over at him, I was amused at the way he shamelessly ogled her. And I almost kissed him. Maybe even more. Idiot. At least the wolf had put a quick end to that. It was definitely a welcome reminder that I'd waited this long to lose my virginity, I might as well wait a little longer. Wait for my knight in shining armor.

Or at least someone close.

It had someone who would actually take care of me before, during, and after. Maybe I wouldn't marry him, but at least I wouldn't just be a conquest for the night. Because I really didn't want to be a conquest. I just wanted…well, I didn't know what I wanted exactly. But something in my gut told me if Tank had been my first, I would've regretted it.

"Welp…" Jake slapped his thighs and stood up, brushing off the back of his legs. "Are we ready to continue this hike?"

"Do we even know where this trail goes? We could be on the wrong one." Nat crossed her arms and jutted her hips to the side. I was probably being a bit judgemental, but I really couldn't get over her Queen-Bee vibe.

"Well, we will when we get to the end," Tank shrugged before pushing himself to his feet as well. The rest of the group followed his lead, but I ended up being the last person to rise. Only because I still had a little chunk of sandwich to scarf down first.

Checking over us all, Jake gave a quick nod of approval before leading us all up the trail again. Before we'd even started this trek from camp, he'd decided that he should be the one in charge since he'd been a Boy Scout where he grew up. Which, of course, Macie backed him on. The rest of us really didn't care, since we were just killing time.

However, I started thinking we should've taken a real vote when a bunny running across the trail made him jump a little. That happened barely five minutes into the hike, now four or so hours ago. Our fearless leader…where would we be without him?

As we walked up the trail after lunch, though, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. However, I'd checked my pack while we walked and still had snacks and water so nothing vital was missing. The only thing I could come up with was that the wolf hadn't returned. Not even after fifteen minutes of walking deeper into the forest.

Glancing around, I tried to see if he was just keeping a farther distance from us, but nope. Just trees, berry bushes, and more brush that anything could've been lurking in. Well, anything except a seven-foot-tall wolf. And probably not a grizzly bear. Okay, so anything big was definitely not going to be very hidden in the brush.

After a while, I found myself falling a bit behind the group as I kept an eye out for my wolfy companion. Unfortunately, I was disappointed each time I looked. No twigs were crunching, no brush rustling. He'd really left. Probably because he got bored with watching us.

Or something happened.

The thought made me stop dead in my tracks. My heart pounded while my stomach dropped. God, it was like losing my cat all over again. Except Fluffy had been hit by a car, and I wasn't even sure if the wolf was hurt. Not that it was really my concern if he was.

What the heck was I going to do if he was? Help? The best I could do was call Fish and Game, but there was no service out here.

Yes. I already checked.

"You okay? Twist an ankle? Need me to carry you?" Tank asked, walking back towards me. Jeez…when did they all get so far ahead of me?

"Oh, no…" Come on. Think, Serenity. Lie! "Um…I think I have a rock in my shoe?"

"Want me to check?" Tank grinned, stopping in front of me.

"I think I can handle a rock." Popping off my shoe, I balanced on one foot while I dumped an imaginary rock from my shoe. "Got it."

"Really? I must've missed it because I didn't see anything." Tank grabbed my arm to steady me as I put the shoe back on.

"Would you two quit making out and get up here? We're burning daylight and I want to see the falls!" Tate bellowed from where the group was standing, waiting for us. For the most part, they all look pretty patient. Everyone except Nat, of course. But I doubted she liked Tank flirting with me.

"We're coming!" Tank called back. However, he didn't let go of me when we started walking back to the group. Instead, he just slipped his hand into mine, interlocking our fingers like we were a couple or something.

If looks could've killed, Natalie would've iced me right then and there.

But of course, looks weren't murderous so I lived to see another day. And the group continued like nothing was happening. Like Tank wasn't walking hand-in-hand with me, or that he was purposely keeping our pace two strides slower than the group.

My heartbeat quickened, and I really hoped my wolf would come back. There'd been a couple of times earlier in the hike that the wolf had blocked Tank from getting too close, but now the wolf was gone. I was sure that was part of the reason Tank was emboldened.

Also probably because he thinks you're still interested, Serenity. Come on now. You're literally holding his hand.

Slipping my hand from Tank's, I rubbed the sweat off on my jeans. I could feel his eyes burning holes in the side of my face, so I just smiled sheepishly up at him. "Sweaty…"

"Ah…right…" Tank nodded, staring back at the group in front of us.

An uncomfortable silence passed between us, filled only by the sound of our shoes on the dirt. And it stayed like that for quite a while. Just this uncomfortable silence while we walked and our friends talked about random stuff. Stuff I couldn't even bring myself to pretend to pay attention to. Probably because I was too busy looking for my wolf.

But he was nowhere to be found.

"I think it's starting to rain." Chels lifted her hands up, and nodded. "Yep, raining."

No sooner had she finished her statement than the skies just opened up and started pouring rain. Nat and Macie squealed as the guys all scrambled to figure out how to keep us covered.

"Look, I think if we just keep heading this way, we should be able to find the trail again," Jake pointed up the hill.

"We lost the trail?" Nat screeched.

Jake narrowed his eyes at her, retorting "Temporarily!"

"Jesus Christ," Tate grumbled.

"Why don't we just head back down the hill?" I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. "We can backtrack and—"

"We're closer to the falls at this point, so we might as well just get up there and find the trail. Besides, the falls have covered areas we can hide out in until the rain stops," Jake replied, shaking his head at me. "Let's just do it my way."

"Dude, we've been doing it your way and now we're lost!" Tuck snapped.

"Just figure it out! I'm getting soaked!" Nat wailed. I had no doubt in my mind that she was seriously crying, but the rain hid any tears she may have at.

"Let's just…let's follow Jake." Macie wiped the water off her face, but it didn't help much since the rain just kept pouring. "We've been walking for most of the day on the trail so we really can't be too far from it."

The rest of us all mumbled some disgruntled agreements before Jake took the lead again. Only this time, we were jogging. Despite our best efforts to find the trial again, we continued to come up empty-handed. It didn't help that the rain just continued dumping in big, thick drops that soaked through our clothes.

And as absolutely insane as it was, all I could think was…

I really wish my wolf was here.