Page 54 of Soul Fated

“What?” I crossed my arms.

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked to the steps. I wanted to rush in after Kael and apologize for what Lana had said. You’re not even part of a pack.

Something wasn’t right. I hadn’t known Lana for long, but she hadn’t been cruel even when Kael had a knife to my throat. “I don’t think we can wait any longer. We need to leave for Swan Lake.”

I sat on my bed, threading my thoughts between that afternoon with Kael and my worries about what we might find at the pools.

I wanted him. I wanted to be safe. I wanted him to give up the dagger. I wanted to go back to my normal life. I wanted…

There was no easy answer. After tonight, I would hopefully be free of my wound. But despite all the reasons why I should want to be free of Kael, I couldn’t make it sink into my heart.

I ran my hands through my hair, then padded down the hall to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then walked into the hall. The door to Lana's room was open. She was stuffing her duffle bag.

I leaned against the doorframe. "Hey.”

She looked up, her eyes rimmed with red. "Hey."

"We should probably get moving. Bill said it was a bit of a drive to the lake."

Lana nodded. "I'll be ready in a minute."

I left her to it and headed back to my room to grab my own things. When I was packed, I walked out to the living room where Kael and Bill were waiting.

"Ready to go?" Bill asked.

I nodded, trying to keep my eyes from sliding to Kael. "Yeah, just waiting for Lana."

Bill grunted. "She’s probably packing up her emotions. Those are harder to fold."

Kael’s lip twitched.

I turned toward the door. "She's fine. Just tired."

"Seems to be going around." Bill gave Kael a sidelong glance. I searched for my boots.

Lana emerged from the hall with her bag slung over her shoulder. "Ready."

We all filed out the door and got into the trucks. Bill and Kael in one, Lana and I in the other. I buckled my seatbelt and glanced at Lana. "You good to drive?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

I settled back in my seat. My thoughts were so thick, I couldn’t wade through them to find a superficial bit of conversation. Instead I wandered through everything I’d learned over the past two days.

One weekend. It was laughable how different it had been compared to how I’d envisioned it. How much better.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Lana scoffed. “For what?”

“For holding the dagger. For making me feel so much better.”

Lana clenched the wheel. “It wasn’t hard.”

“Well, I’m grateful.”

She nodded once, and we slipped back into silence. The trees blurred by. The drive to Swan Lake was winding, and I had to train my eyes straight out the windshield to keep from getting woozy.

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