73. Camping

73. Camping
Torin’s pov

Raelyn came home, and there was this shift in the air. She was pissed off.

“I need a new therapist.” She said as she walked in.

Therapy had brought out different emotions in my mate. Sometimes she’d come home sad, tired, or even looking more traumatized than before, while some days she’d come back and look like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
But tonight, she looked angry.

“Okay, we can get you another.” I said.

“Good. She doesn’t get it.”

“Okay, maybe I can help?”

Raelyn scoffed, “no.” She took a deep breath, “sorry, no, thank you. But no. I’m okay. I’m just…”

“Do you want to vent a little bit?” I asked, patting the bed next to me. “Or I can distract you?”

Raelyn has allowed me to distract her a few times a week now. Some of those times I had offered, but most of the time she had asked. Which I figured was great progress.

“She said we had to go away for a weekend or something. Like that would fix everything. Like the pack doesn’t hate me.”

“They don’t hate you.”

It’s actually a lot more complicated than that. Long story short, in the few weeks since Enya’s birthday party, the pack has been uneasy. There’s no other way to describe it really.

It’s like there’s something brewing.

I haven’t gotten to the bottom of what is going on, but I know the council is involved. They always are.

I also know that Louisa has joined a pack nearby that has wanted to take over my pack ever since my dad died. And there have been more wolves spotted near our border recently.

I would love to give Raelyn a weekend away from all this, but I’m worried about what might happen if I take off. If they see it as an opportunity to strike.

Raelyn scoffed again and walked to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Part of me felt glad she was feeling frustrated and angry, that she felt safe enough to feel these things and express them to me. But I hated not being able to help.

I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling until an idea popped up in my head.

I knocked on the bathroom door, “Yeah?” Raelyn shouted through the door.

“Would you like to go camping with me?”

“What?”

“Camping. Just me and you.”

The shower stopped, “just come in; I can barely hear you.”

I opened the door to see a very naked Raelyn drying her hair.

“So, what were you saying?” She asked.

I stared at her body, “yeah, um.. camping. Uh, soo…” Every thought had left my body.

Raelyn giggled, “you see why I ask you to grab some clothes every time you come back from shifting…. It’s distracting.”

“Goddess, you are beautiful.” I said, staring at my mate.

She blushed and grabbed a towel, “so, camping?”

I shook my head, trying to bring myself back to planet earth. “Yes. Why don’t we go camping? Or glamping if camping is a bit too, -“

I couldn’t finish my sentence, “too what? I grew up in a cabin near the woods. I can handle camping, Tor.”

I chuckled, “alright. I was thinking we could make a fire, roast marshmallows, and sleep under the stars.”

Raelyn smiled at me, “that sounds nice.”

“Yeah, so do you want to pick out a tent with me? I’ll get us a nice camping bed as well, and if you’re cold, I can always shift.”

“And I can use Corbyn as a blanket?” She teased. “I love your wolf, but I’d rather sleep next to you.”

“Good,” I replied, although I could feel my wolf would have loved more time with Raelyn. But I’d give him that time out there. Now that she was healed, she could ride on my back.

I’d have to buy a light tent so I could carry Raelyn and our stuff or maybe go set everything up before, but I’d figure all that out later.

“So, since we figured that out, you can drop the towel again. I don’t need to be able to form a coherent sentence right now.”

Raelyn giggled, turned around, and dropped the towel to the floor. Then she jiggled her butt and told me to get out of the bathroom so she could do her hair.

“I’ll do it.” I offered. “I liked combing your hair when you couldn’t do it.”

Raelyn got dressed in some cute shorts with a matching pajama top and sat down in front of the bed while I carefully combed out all the knots.

“You’d tell me if I was making your life harder. Wouldn’t you?”

“I can’t imagine how that would be possible.”

“Tor… Will you tell me?”

I grabbed another lock of her hair, working from the ends to the top. “We’re in an adjustment period, that’s all. People weren’t happy when I took over either. And now they’re okay, and they will be okay with you too.”

“And if not?”

“Then we’ll go camping forever.” I joked.

“I’d be fine with that.”

I sighed as I let her wet hair glide between my fingers, “we’ll figure everything out. I promise. Just don’t give up on me.”

“I won’t!” She quickly turned around, and her hair slipped out of my fingers. “None of this is your fault. It’s mine. I know you’re trying hard to make things work.”

“Okay, so don’t give up on us, then.” I pleaded. “What we have is worth it.”

“It is.” She replied with a smile. “It is. I just need a break, okay? I’ll be okay.”

“It’s alright if you’re not okay, though. Everyone might act like this is all normal, but I know it’s not. Your life took a one-eighty. Everything got turned upside down, and honestly, you’re handling it better than I could.”

Raelyn looked at me and took both my hands in hers. I loved that I could touch both hands again. “What does that mean?”

“When my world was turned upside down, I pushed everything down. I ignored all my grief, all my feelings, and just went into work mode. When I met you, it was the first time in my life that I started to prioritize myself and what I wanted. Which was you, by the way,” I said with a smirk. “But you’re working on yourself; you’re doing your best to heal. I am so proud of the way you’re handling all this, dimples. I really am.”

Raelyn stood up and hugged me, my head now resting against her chest. “Why don’t we forget about my problems tonight, and you tell me more about your dad?”

“Is this some way to avoid talking about you?” I asked.

She kissed the top of my head, “no. I just want to take care of you tonight. My problems aren’t going anywhere.”

We talked all night about my dad. Some of these stories I had shared before with Raelyn on our runs, but they were never the full story because back then she didn’t know we were werewolves. So it felt nice to share everything.