Claws // Colby Brock

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☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎

Colby didn't care. Didn't give a single shit.

"What are you asking?" he mumbled into my hair, sounding almost annoyed that I'd brought it up.

I was frowning to myself — had been for the past few minutes. "I'm... I'm asking if it will bother you when Cassie and I go to that other pack."

"The only thing that bothers me is that you're going there almost alone and you said they don't like you."

"It's not that they don't like me, they just didn't appreciate that for a moment they had hope their alpha wasn't going to be alone anymore, but I left barely without giving my name."

"Does he know your name?"

I shrugged. "Maybe?"

To my surprise, Colby snorted behind me, forcing me to roll onto my back and look at his face. He adjusted himself so he was looking down at me, propped on his elbow. "Do you want it to bother me, Ames?"

I huffed. "No, I'm just confused."

"About?"

"Well... the only reason it wouldn't bother you at all is if you trust me but-"

"I trust you," he interrupted simply.

I narrowed my eyes. "There are a lot of meanings for the word trust."

"And I trust you in every single one of them."

My heart stuttered and I didn't even know why. It should have been obvious, in a way; he didn't question the things I did or why, or my judgement. Although he was hesitant to allow Tom to align himself with us, that was due to his own prejudices rather than distrust that I was making the right decision. He was just being stubborn.

Glancing between his eyes, searching for any sign that he was lying anyway, I said, "Then that means you trust me not to break your heart."

He exhaled heavily as he leaned down, so close he could have kissed me if he wanted to. "Yes, it means I trust you not to break my heart."

☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎

"It's somewhere around here," I murmured, surveying the wilderness surrounding the car.

Cassie cast an uncertain glance at me — one of many since we'd turned off the main road and ended up on dirt paths that, to her, probably all looked the same. I was so used to the woods that I'd gotten used to the small differences in trees and where they lay. This route looked very familiar, so I was willing to follow it through a little longer.

"How long have we been driving?" Cassie asked, pulling her phone from her pocket. "God, an hour. We could've run here in less time."

I rolled my eyes. "How would I have given you directions, then?"

"We could have stopped every now and then," she pointed out. "How do you even know this is the right way? Can you smell them or something?"

"I'd have to open the window to smell them. I just recognise the route."

"Didn't you only come here once?"

"I'm good at navigating."

She fell silent as she twisted her head toward the trees, scanning them as if she had any idea what made them unique. I left her to it and began to turn, when suddenly she reached over to grab my arm. I instantly hit the brakes. "Over there," she said.

"What?" I turned my head but couldn't see anything.

Her head tilted to one side. "I can hear people — doesn't sound like hikers, more like someone fighting. A lot of people fighting." Her voice lowered. "You said werewolves fight in groups, right? So maybe they're training."