Chapter 2

Talon



The two took their time walking through the woods in human form. Talon wasn't sure his one-night stand had left yet, he smelled her arousal through the forest, but he didn't know if it was lingering from the path she had taken or if she was still around. He listened and looked, but did not sense her.

When they made their way to his dwelling, he looked for the nameless woman's car but it was gone.

As they reached the entrance, Talon opened the door for Cassie. He handed her one of his old T-Shirts as soon as they were inside, grabbing an old pair of jeans for himself. "Have a seat, I'll be right back." He grabbed the kettle from the makeshift kitchen area, and went to the pump for drinking water, filling the kettle halfway.

When he returned, Cassie was leaning against the wall, staring at the rumpled bed, a curious smile invading her face.

Her amusement in the situation only embarrassed him that he regretted bringing her here instead of heading back to the compound.

He set the pot to the boil on the portable electric burner sitting atop a makeshift cabinet he built. Talon pulled the top drawer open to grab two cups and a strainer from the cabinet. He grabbed a small canister of coffee from a shelf- something else he had built. Although he had tried to keep provisions in the cabin for nights like the one he had last night, he knew there was a good chance the coffee would be expired,

"Have a seat," he motioned to the small table in the corner of the room.

She nodded, "Thank you."

He pulled the chair back for her, "So how come you decided to go swimming again?" He asked as he sat across from her. "Won't your pup need feeding?" He motioned to her chest.

Cassie shook her head, nearly laughing, "Oh, she's a little big for that now," she stated, "Besides, I was never good for that either." She reached for one of the cups.

"Either?" He echoed the last word. "What do you mean by that?" He grabbed the sugar packet box from the same shelf, placing it in front of her.

Cassie scrunched her nose and shook her head, "What? Nothing." She laughed. "Just random words that came out of my mouth." She quickly reached for two packets, shaking them before tearing the top, spilling the contents into the still empty plain white cup. "So how often do you come back here?" She asked him.

Talon turned to the kettle, noticing it was barely beginning to bubble. Instead of sitting across from Cassie, he leaned against the wall, hooking his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans. "I like to stop by at least once a week, just to make sure everything is in order and to see if the old Rogues need anything."

She smiled at him. "And is that," motioning to the bed with head, "A weekly occurrence as well?"

He pulled his eyes from her. "I wish," he said, trying to sound jovial. He realized he failed. "That was just two bodies randomly meeting at crossroa-, needing to release a little pent up energy." He looked at the kettle again.

"Tsk tsk tsk, better not let Braden hear that," she said, walking over to him. "You know he'll give you another training session to lead." She placed a hand on hs bare shoulder when she stood in front of him. "Are you doing okay?"

He stared into her bright green eyes. "You mean besides the fact I'm still pining for you all these years?"

Cassie looked at him tenderly. "Still? Even after..."

"She was a one-night stand," he interrupted immediately. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Cassie's face fell forward. "You know I want you to find your happiness, Talon."

He reached down, holding her hand. He felt a pull between the two everytime he did so. He wanted to ask if she felt it too, but he knew that would be crossing a line he couldn't bring himself to.

"The world will be waking up soon. Let's drink that coffee and head back home," she suggested.

As much as he hated it, he had to agree with her.

They'd have to let their wolves take over and they couldn't risk being seen by humans.