Page 7 of Mated to the Pride

“No,” Blake continued. “You’re right. We’re not all working together. To make sure we’re covering as much ground as possible in these initial stages, we’ll be operating in shifts. We won’t be sleeping or eating at the same time so that there’s somebody out working almost at all times.”

That’s intense.What are they really working on here?

“That doesn’t mean you need to make every meal twice,” Stone added. “We can reheat stuff. We’re not trying to work you twice as hard as we agreed.”

“You’re not eating reheated food if I can help it,” I insisted. Now that we actuallyhaddiscussed pay, I knew that I was going to be compensated for every single hour I spent here, even while asleep. There was no way I was going to slack off on those terms. “You’re going to be working so hard; I’m sure you’ll be exhausted. The least I can do is make sure you have something good to eat when you get back.”

“Just don’t feel pressured,” said Stone. “That’s all we ask.”

As it turned out, however, I didn’t think I could feel pressured if I tried. As the boys began working in shifts, we started to settle into a routine. Even with two sets of meals to prepare, I didn’t have much work to do. It felt like the greatest part of my day was spent relaxing, with very little to occupy my time except reading and messing around with the hand-weights that the Norths had brought to the cabin with them.

If the off-shift men were awake, we could spend a little time talking and hanging out. The more time I got with them, the more I grew to like their company. Before long, I knew I’d be hoping to spend even more time together. I just hoped that sometime soon, we’d get to a point where I didn’t feel butterflies in my stomach every time one of them made direct eye contact with me. ‘Cos this, right now, with all the blushing? This wasn’t me at all.

Stone

The first few weeks of the mission went by without any incident. It was easy to forget that we were here to hunt down an extremist sleeper cell that the government had identified as a national security threat. So far, we had seen neither head nor tail of their gun-toting selves — and every time we came in out of the cold, we either had a hot meal waiting for us, or just about to be served.

Even better than the meal was the company. Jess was already proving to be exactly the kind of company we needed. She had a great sense of humor, even if it veered a little too self-deprecating for my liking. She seemed to feel inadequate around us sometimes, as though we were some kind of superhero force and she was just our backup. I hoped she’d soon realize that we were just a bunch of goofballs who happened to have some pretty useful skills.

Well. A bunch of goofballs and Blake.

I loved the leader of our pride just like the others, but he had such a serious outlook that I couldn’t accurately call him a goofball. He seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I often wondered whether he got enough sleep at night. Even now, as he could hear Jess asking us a question, his eyes were so intense and serious that I figured something else must be on his mind — right up until the moment he answered her.

“It’s because Hale is my second in command,” Blake explained; she had asked, maybe just to make polite conversation, why we always went out in the same pairs. “We have to keep separate in case something should happen to one of us.”

“You’re in that much danger?” she asked.

I gave Blake a look, hoping that he wouldn’t alarm her. Luckily, he seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “It’s mostly a precaution,” he said, pouring himself another glass of water from the pitcher. “A military habit, I guess. They’re hard to kick.”

“Are you all military-trained?”

He nodded, but as he’d just taken a mouthful of water, I stepped up to answer.

“We are now. When the team was formed, Blake, Hale and Preston were all Marines. I wasn’t. I’d just been working on my medical studies, and I had to go through basic training before I could officially be considered a part of this. ‘Course, we already worked together as a team pretty well, since we’d grown up together, but… training made it official.”

“Wow,” she said. “All pretty hardcore, huh?”

“I’m going to assume you’re not teasing me,” I said. “For your own safety. That’s how hardcore I am.” I grinned at her laughter, turning to follow her progress around the table as she carried her own plate to eat with us. “Laughing to stave off the fear,” I said. “I see how it is.”

“I’ll make sure I don’t turn my back on you,” she said.

“That’s right.”

Blake glanced up from his maps, giving both of us a crooked smile. “The day Stone keeps his mouth shut for long enough to sneak up on anyone with their back turned, I’ll be shocked.”

“Hey,” I said, pretending to be wounded. “I’m not Hale.”

“You’re the next best thing, while he’s out,” Blake insisted. “Or next worst, I guess.”

“So, as I was saying,” I said, turning to Jess. “We workverywell together.”

Our eyes met. She gave me a wicked smile, chin propped up on her hand. The blonde hair she hadn’t gathered into a loose bun was falling into her eyes — and so was I. Maybe I was imagining things, but it felt like she felt closer to me than any of the others. That kind of made sense. I was the youngest, and acted like it; of the four North men, I was probably least intimidating to an outsider. Besides, Blake teasing me about being a mini-Hale wasn’t far off the mark. I was pretty good with people too and liked to think I’d done a good job of making Jess feel at home here in the cabin.

Whether that would lead to more, I wasn’t sure — but I had gained a friend I liked very much either way. It just remained to be seen whether I’d be pining over her in secret.

Well, it probably wouldn’t be a secret for very long. Hale would pick up on it the second he sees us together. For as much as we messed with each other, he was my best friend, and the other two members of the pride weren’t far behind. They’d be able to see my attraction to Jess written all over my face. I could only hope that she wouldn’t be able to read me so easily — or that if she could, she liked what she saw.

“Alright,” said Blake, folding up his maps. “I’m going to hit the shower, and then hit the hay. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

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