Chapter 57

Ollie’s POV

I don’t have work the day of the date, which is a relief, because I still haven’t talked to the brothers about staying at my job. Hopefully they could tell by my wordless retreat that I intend to do what I want with or without their permission. As they aren’t watching me twenty four/seven, I hope I can get away with it.

Declan’s threat about the collar is not something I want to experience, I don’t think, despite how the idea of it does make some curious desire spark in the pit of my stomach.

For most of the day, I hide away in my room, though I do go up to the kitchen for breakfast and lunch, keeping my promise to Hugh.

Nearing five, I sneak out of the estate to make my way to the forest. Without the use of a car, it’s a long walk, but once I reach the edge of the woods and can shift to my wolf, it’s all worth it.

I allow Scarlet to run free until it’s time to actually meet Wes. She’s too often caged inside of my mind, forced to make herself small so that we don’t give ourselves away. It feels cruel, sometimes, hiding who we are, and it makes us both weak.

But in the end, our future freedom will be worth the trouble we have to sustain now.

Moments like this are a well-earned reprieve, and as we rush through the forest, Scarlet and I have a taste of the freedom we will be sure to experience in the great frozen north. No one will look for us or chase us there. No one will try to control us.

As my internal clock registers that it’s nearing six pm, I take control once more and lead us to the cabin, where I shift back into human. We is already here, I can hear soft music coming from inside and can already smell the fish. So I hide the back of my ‘Ollie’ things out in the brush, then walk up to the door.

I knock and then open it. Wes is standing in the small kitchen at the stove, so similar to how he looked last night. This time, though, when he sees me, he breaks out into a big smile so bright that it steals my breath away.

“You are here,” he says.

Gods, he’s so handsome. I’ll never understand why he’s never had the same number of girlfriends as his brothers. The only reason I can think of is that he is shy…

Or maybe he’s just been waiting for his mate.

My insides twist up into knots at the thought. For a moment, I feel a twinge of guilt, knowing that I will soon leave him without word or goodbye. Will he mourn for the relationship that could have been?

I can’t allow myself to feel the same. It’s not a relationship I’m escaping, it’s chains.

Looking away from him, I step more fully into the house. Immediately, I’m surprised by the difference. The entire place has been… cleaned? The furniture is polished, all of the dust is gone. There’s even a new mattress and fresh sheets on the bed.

This place, abandoned as it was, has only ever felt like a secret escape, rundown but secluded. Now, it feels more like someone’s private little getaway.

Our little getaway?

“Sit,” he says. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

I do as he asks, moving to the small two-person table that is covered with yet another table cloth and a pair of lit candlesticks. I sit, wait only a moment, and then he brings out the same honey garlic glazed salmon that I tried the other night. This time though, it’s paired with asparagus and scalloped potatoes.

Everything tastes absolutely divine, better even than it had the other night.

“This is delicious, Wes,” I tell him, and love the way his cheeks tint red at the compliment.

This time, he makes no efforts to hide his affections for me. He looks back at me with open awe and wonder, even as he blushes, which sends my own heart racing.

From the coffee table nearby, his phone is playing soft instrumentals of big band classics, most of them old romantic tunes that our grandparents probably would have danced to 60 years ago.

When we’ve finished our meal, he stands and holds his hand out for me.

I look at him in confusion.

“Dance with me,” he says.

It’s been some time since I’ve tried to dance. I’m probably all left feet now, which gives me cause for hesitation.

“I want an excuse to hold you in my arms,” he admits, which finally makes me give in.

I place my hand in his and let him guide me further out into the open living room space. Now that there is a clean bed, there’s no reason for the blankets I would have usually bunched down on this space. Not that I need to do that with Wes, anyway, as he has not yet made any sexual advances with me.

It’s as if he wants me to feel safe with him. I do, so much.

With his arm around the small of his waist, he pulls me close to him. With his free hand he holds one of my own. I place my right hand on his shoulder and then we slowly start to sway with the music.

He doesn’t push me. We only move in a simple circle, swaying around and around. There’s no need to memorize steps. His hands on me are gentle, touching me so lightly yet making me feel so safe.

Too soon, the song comes to an end and we stop.

“Come with me,” he says. “There’s something I want you to see.”

Easing back from me, he takes my hand. In this moment, I would probably follow him anywhere he wanted to go.

He leads me out the back door of the cabin and then, together, we climb up a small ridge. From here, there’s a break in the trees leading straight west. Through that break, we can see the rainbow colors of the sunset as the sun sinks to the horizon line.

It’s breathtaking. The world is truly beautiful. Sometimes it’s so easy to be caught up in my own problems that I miss it.

“I wish I could paint you like this, in this light,” Wes says. I glance over and find him looking at me, not the sunset. “You are always gorgeous, but there’s something about your face just now…” He pauses a moment. “Would you come to my art studio sometime, if I asked you?”

Immediately, I started to clam up. I even tried to take my hand away, but he persistently held mine.

“I’m sorry,” he says at once. “Forget I asked. This is fine. Do you like what I’ve done with the cabin?”

“I do,” I tell him and feel myself relaxing once more.

I’m not ready for this… situation to expand to places other than the cabin. It’s too risky. I could be seen, and someone could put all the pieces together.

For now, and maybe forever, the cabin will be all that we have.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he says.

“I’m not,” I tell him. “But I want what little time we have together to be spent here.”

He looks at me, a hint of alarm in his face. “Little time?”

“Yes,” I say. Did Hugh not tell him this part? “My time in this pack is only temporary. In a few months, I’ll be moving on.”

Wes hears my words, but he doesn’t seem to take them in. Instead, his panic calms. “I’ll convince you to stay,” he says with certainty.

It’s such a beautiful night that I don’t want to argue. Inside though, I know I will have to steel myself against my own growing affection for this man.

I can’t let him convince me to stay here.