Book 3: A Way Forward

Hollis

I watch Candace disappear through the still mostly leafless trees, and that thing in my chest crunches. Fuck that. I crunch it back. That was… fuck, I don’t know, a mistake. A lapse in judgment. But sleeping with her makes sense. It’s all animal. Wishing she would stay? That’s unacceptable.

Slowly, I dress. Most of my clothes are in one pile, but I tuck the cravat soaked with her saliva in my pocket. Nobody’s going to notice I’m not wearing it anymore. I’ll just drop it in the laundry, and no one will be any wiser.

Our tent is on the north side of camp, so I turn and march toward it. And Eva. Who’s supposed to be my mate. I tracked down Candace to protect Eva, not hurt her even worse. It was a stupid fucking plan, all emotion and no logic.

The lights on the old oak fade back into view, along with the memory of Candace’s face when I said I believed her. Was it such a stupid plan? Candace has the kind of heart I honestly didn’t believe p