Page 9 of Soul Fated

Lana and I stepped into the clearing, and I stopped in my tracks, taking in the scene. At least fifteen pack members were there, bustling around, setting up tents and campfires. The air was filled with laughter and the clatter of camping gear, the sounds bouncing off the towering redwoods surrounding us.

I spotted Rowan and Evelyn right away. Rowan was talking to Will and Marissa, who I recognized from the week before. Her pregnant belly looked like it was about to burst. Evelyn was chatting animatedly with a couple I didn't know. Probably more of the Black Lake pack. I scanned the crowd, noting Finn, the doctor who had initially looked at my arm, and Jasper standing near a cooler.

As I watched, a couple of kids ran past, giggling as they chased each other around the campsite. My heart warmed at the sight. What would it be like to run like that, so carefree? To not be constantly thinking about pain?

Rowan spotted us first. He nudged Evelyn, and they walked over, leaving their conversations mid-sentence.

"Callista, Lana, glad you could make it.” Rowan grinned.

Because I definitely had a choice.

“Isn’t it great out here? I swear the trees are bigger.” Evelyn sucked in a lungful of air.

I nodded. “Gorgeous.” Truthfully, I’d barely looked around. Everything that used to bring me joy seemed frayed at the edges.

Evelyn pointed at the bag in Lana’s arms. "Do you need help setting up your tent?"

Lana shook her head. "I think we’ve got it."

Not once had I thought about the fact that I’d be sharing a tent with Lana. Not that it made any sense to share with Evelyn now that she was with Rowan, but because I’d never corrected the image in my head, the one with me and her together was still there.

"Alright, well, let us know if you need anything. We brought extra sleeping bags and blankets, just in case." Rowan turned to me, assessing.

“Thanks.” I dropped my eyes.

They walked back to their friends, and I followed Lana to an open patch of grass. "I’m sure they’ve bribed you with something good to babysit me for the night, but you don’t need to do this. We could just go home.”

Lana laughed. "Yeah. That’s not happening.”

Before I could argue, Maya approached us with a warm smile. "Hey, Callista! Lana! It's so great to see you here." She was petite, with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. What was I, the community project?

Maya’s family had camped with us on a few occasions, but she was so much younger than Evelyn and me, I hadn’t paid her much attention.

Lana gave her a quick smile before dumping out the contents of our tent bag. “Just getting settled.”

Maya smiled. "Callista, remember when we all had that midnight snack raid on the cooler?"

My brows pinched, but then I remembered what she was talking about. "Blake just about murdered me when he found out we ate all the s'mores ingredients."

"It was mostly us little kids. You guys took the brunt of the punishment.”

That was true. My parents had forced us on a murderous hike the next morning.

Maya chuckled, her eyes sparkling. "It's funny. I never thought I'd miss camping, but here I am, nostalgic as hell."

She gave a small wave and jogged back to her side of the camp. Lana and I finished setting up the tent and rolled out our sleeping bags, then wandered toward the food.

". . . and if you think about it, the hot dog is essentially the perfect encapsulation of modern food engineering. It's convenient, high in protein, and—" Finn adjusted his glasses. "—has a decent amount of sodium, which, while not ideal for daily consumption, can be beneficial when we're exerting a lot of energy."

“Here we go.” Lana rolled her eyes as we approached Rowan, Finn, and Jasper.

Jasper stared at him, his expression deadpan. "Finn, you could make a sandwich out of drywall sound appealing."

Finn shrugged. "I'm just saying they're underrated. Nutritionally speaking."

Jasper snorted. "Right, because when I think of nutrition, I think of processed meat tubes."

Finn held up a finger. "Actually, if you look at the ingredients?—"

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