Page 38 of Vicious Wolf Mate

I look at Jac and Natalie. They both just shrug and follow. I follow as well as our group sets off. Today somehow just got even more complicated.

The journey is tense for a while. Mace and Drario walk silently beside each other, both trying to be the one in front. I try to follow them as closely as possible, in case things heat up and Mace needs me.

Eventually, Drario freezes. Everyone follows his lead. He looks around and sniffs the air.

“What is it?” Mace looks around, seemingly not seeing what Drario is.

“Do you know where we are?” A smile spreads on his face.

“Um…” Mace starts looking around again. He looks confused then starts laughing. “No way!”

“I haven’t been here in years!”

“What? What is this place?” I look around and see nothing out of the ordinary. Some trees. Some rocks. Nothing special.

“When Drario and I were younger,” Mace starts, trying to suppress a laughing fit. “We snuck onto a nearby farmer’s ranch-” He starts laughing.

“We wanted to ride the horses-” Now Drario can’t hold back laughter. “We accidently set them all free out of the barn. So, the farmer started chasing us with a shotgun.”

“Drario and I hid behind that rock-” Mace points. “For hours and hours, too scared to move.”

Mace and Drario share a laugh together and we continue on our way. The walk is no longer tense. It’s full of two old friends reminiscing about their childhood together.

As we move along, I hear about all the hijinks they got up to. Mace was quite the trouble maker. “Mace was always the idea guy,” Drario says looking back at me. “He’d come up with some crazy ideas that would always end with us in trouble.”

“Really?”

“There was that time we accidentally ruined his mom’s flower garden-” Drario starts before Mace waves him off.

“I rememberthat onebeing your idea.” Mace chuckles.

“Yeah, but it was to helpyouout!” Drario looks back at me with a cheeky smile. “He had this huge crush on a girl and-”

“We don’t need to talk about that.” Mace looks back at me nervously and then straight ahead.

Drario looks at me with a big smile and we both laugh. It’s honestly cute to see Mace act like this. Not wanting me to know what he did for a crush as a kid. When this is all over, I hope to sit down with Drario, Jax, and Gnash and hear all the Mace stories I can.

Soon, our group finds ourselves at a small creek. Drario looks at us. “We’re pretty close now. I think we should stop here to rest for a minute. Because as we get closer, we won’t have many more chances to.”

We all nod and I take a seat on a rock. My feet are killing me. If I never have to walk again after this, I’ll be happy.

Nearby, Mace approaches Drario. “Hey, can we talk?”

“Of course! Have we not been?”

“No, I mean, about something more serious. I think, as part of our truce, our clans should combine territory. If reuniting with you has shown me anything, it’s that our clans have spent too much time apart, fighting.”

I’m shocked. But I’m also impressed. I never expected Mace to put his pride aside like that after two decades of fighting. I never thought I’d see the two clans make peace, let alone get to have a front row seat to it. Reminiscing with Drario must have unlocked something deep in him.

This level-headed side of him turns me on a bit. His face starts to look more handsome. His skin is clearer. His muscles are bigger. Mace is already attractive on the surface, but the more time I spend with him the more I find what’s inside attractive too.

Drario is about to answer but before he can, another voice rings out through the area, “Stop! Put your hands up! Get on the ground!” The next sound is the unmistakable click of guns.

We all follow the command as my mind swirls. I know that voice. I know I know it. But from where? Who is- Oh fuck. Not him. Anyone but him.

27

MACE

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