Moonlight Desires

Chapter 4

In the days leading up to the full moon, Becky's emotions seemed to have their own tides, ebbing and flowing in strange directions and leaving the shores of her mind littered with half-formed thoughts and worries. At the preceding RAW, Seth had actually been impressively discreet, only pulling her aside once to confirm her hotel details; he was staying at a somewhat fancier chain just down the road and promised to pick her up. "Thanks again," he said as he started to step away. "This means a lot to me."

"No worries." Maybe she should have let on how much it meant to her too, but Becky wanted an exit strategy, and emotions had no part in those. Maybe she would utterly enjoy shifting with Seth, but if it was in any way dangerous—if she couldn't maintain her control—then she had to be ready to step away. Charlotte had asked if she had any plans before the weekend, and Becky muttered something vague about visiting friends in Vancouver, since it wasn't far from their Washington events.

When Wednesday finally rolled around, though, and she was waiting for Seth to pick her up, Becky's brain decided to second-guess everything, from the loose top she brought along for her post-shift outfit—was it long enough?—to whether she should eat a large meal and fortify herself or keep it small so she didn't give her nerves even more ammunition. She made a point of wearing an outfit similar enough in style and colour to her post-shift clothes that only a keen, purposeful eye would notice all the differences, but she would still be able to sit in a decent restaurant without looking like she had just come from a gym. "My bag's just in the back seat," Seth said when he pulled up. "Just throw yours back there."

Becky was a bit surprised to see a duffle bag there, all zipped up. "Don't you find zippers difficult afterwards?" she asked as she set her bag inside and shut the rear door. She actually had to hop up to get into the rental SUV, but she appreciated the higher vantage point it gave her.

Seth just shrugged. "I figured it was safer, I guess. Made it less likely that anything would fall out. I usually just sort of sprawl out for a while after anyway, so by the time I'm ready to change and go, I've got my dexterity back."

The thought of Seth just sort of sprawling out for a while—notably naked—didn't do much for Becky's nerves. "Oh, okay," she said, mildly as she could. "We used to do that when I was younger, but we always had blankets—"

"Brought one," Seth interjected with a grin. His expression sobered a bit when he realized how that could be interpreted and he quickly added, "Just for resting. Not . . . you know."

"I know." Becky forced herself to stare out of the side window. They had both chosen hotels not far from major roads and the highway, so it didn't take long to reach a forested area, and after that it was mere minutes until the trees were so thickly clustered Becky wasn't sure they would be able to run between them. "Wow. It's beautiful here."

"I know. I figured Daniel Bryan would know a few good places, so I asked him for recommendations for hiking trails." When Becky was about to protest, Seth added, "He said this spot was gorgeous, but the paths got overgrown really quickly in the off-season, so it wasn't a good bet." Then his mouth quirked in a smile. "Which makes it great for us."

"And potentially bears and regular wolves and all sorts of other animals," Becky pointed out, "but they probably know enough to avoid the roads, so if we keep the road in sight, we should be okay." She didn't want Seth to think she didn't appreciate the research he did, so she added, "It looks amazing, though. I wonder if we'll even fit between some of those trees."

"Only one way to find out." Seth stopped a few minutes later and pulled some papers out of the glove compartment. "Daniel also recommended putting some signs in the windows if I didn't want people interrupting my photo opportunities."