Christian

I can't believe that I've agreed to this. I initially said no when my sister asked my brother and me to go with her and her friends camping, but when Anastasia had asked with her lips pulled into a pout, her big blue eyes pleading me, I couldn't deny her. It's not that I don't like camping; I enjoy the outdoors. But, going with a bunch of college-aged kids is not my idea of a relaxing time. Plus, I've got too much shit to do at work. But, that blue-eyed beauty has her claws in me without even realizing it.

"I can't believe you brought that monstrosity to camp." Anastasia wrinkles her nose at the giant RV sitting on our camp ground.

"I have work to do. I need electricity and wifi."

I raise an eyebrow when she rolls her eyes. "And A/C?"

"I don't need A/C, sweetheart."

"But it's definitely a plus, right bro?" Elliot smacks my arm and heads towards the RV to put his stuff up.

"You can't be serious! You're not going to pansy your way through this, too?" Mia is pissed. She thinks that using the RV is cheating.

Elliot turns and gives her a grin. "Absolutely. If C is going to pay for this thing, I'm going to enjoy the A/C."

Sighing, Anastasia pushes some stray hairs off her face and looks over her shoulder where Kate, Ethan, and Jose are trying to put up a tent. "Well, Mi, we better get started on our tent. Do you know...?"

Mia laughs. "Not in the slightest. But, we've got to do better than them."

Anything would be better than what they're doing. Kate is inside the tent, trying to hold the center of the tent up while the two guys fight over how to put the poles together. I shake my head at the ridiculousness of it all. It's not rocket science.

"Jose. This is MY tent! I know how to put it up."

"But the instructions say-"

"Fuck the instructions!" Ethan grabs the paper from him and balls it up before throwing it toward the trash bin.

"Uh, guys, it's getting hot in here. I can't hold this much longer!"

Turning, I let them be, deciding against helping at the moment, to get my computer set up.

XxXxXx

I look out the window of the RV when I hear the two idiots raising their voices again. I can't help, but chuckle. Kate has given up on helping. The three girls are sitting in camping chairs outside their large, erect tent while the two dickbeaters fight over their own. it's half up but now there is a rip in the side.

I shake my head.

Elliot looks out the window beside me. "Should we?"

"I'm not." I take one more look at Ana in her chair sipping a beer before I concentrate back on my computer screen.

"They're going to kill each other."

"Damn." My sarcasm isn't missed.

"Whatever, dude. I'm going to help."

"Have fun!" Good. Now I can concentrate.

XxXxXx

Elliot managed to throw up the guys tent the correct way within ten minutes and found a tarp in his truck to throw over the top to hide the hole while the girls booed him. Evidently, he was taking away their entertainment.

"I'm hungry." Kate pouts.

"Grab your poles."

"My what?" Kate looks at Elliot, horrified while her brother laughs.

"You have to catch your dinner, sis. It's all part of the experience."

"But... but I don't want to know what my dinner's face looks like before I eat it! Can't you boys go while we stay?"

Ethan snorts. "What? So you three can gossip behind our backs? No, I don't think so. Besides, it's our time for some entertainment."

XxXxXx

"This is boring."

"Well, maybe if you stop saying 'here fishy fishy fishy' every God damn second and shut up, we'd have caught some by now!" Elliot yells at our sister.

"We're never going to eat." Ana frowns down at her line. It's been over an hour and no ones caught anything.

"For fucks sake." Elliot reels his line back in. "Fine. Truth is I stocked the fridge with hot dogs and hamburgers. Let's go."

The others cheer.

"You gave up too easy, El." I grin. I was hoping they'd suffer a little longer.

"You Hush! No he didn't!" Ana shakes a finger at me and hurries to him to jump up and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you, handsome! Let's go light the grill!" She marches off.

I laugh. His face is bright red.

"Shut it." He pushes me hard on his way past me.

"Someone's got a crush." I tease him on the way back.

"Christian. Don't make me deck you. If the girls hear you, I'll never hear the end of it."

"That would be such a shame, right?"

XxXxXx

Elliot is sitting on the couch drinking a beer while I'm reading through a business plan on a winery. The others have retired to bed and I'm thankful that the first day of our camping trip is coming to a close and there is finally some quiet.

"Did you hear that?" Elliot sits up straighter on the couch.

"All I hear is you interrupting my peace."

"Seriously, man. It sounded like an animal." I watch him stand and I don't know whether to be alarmed or not.

"It's probably just a coyote."

"I don't think-"

Bang Bang Bang*

There is a rap on the door, cutting him off and we move quickly to the door to open it. Anastasia is standing there, her pillow clutched in her arms. We step out to greet her.

"Yes?"

"Um, you know how I said that the RV was cheating?" She looks behind her into the dark.

"Yes?"

"Um, I take it back."

"And why is that?"

"There's something in the woods and I'm scared I'm going to be eaten."

I crack a grin. "Is that so?"

"Christian... please let me in. I'll be quiet! I won't make a peep, I swear!"

"And what would have been your plan if I didn't have this giant monstrosity?"

She frowns and looks behind her again before turning her attention back to me. "I... honestly? I would have probably hid out in Elliot's tent hoping he's big enough to take on the human-hungry bear."

Elliot laughs behind me.

"Christian..."

There is a roar out in the dark that really does sound like a bear and everyone flees from their tent, running at full force towards the RV. Before I can put an arm out they go crashing into us, pushing through to clamber up the stairs.

"Oh, come on guys! I asked first!" Anastasia slides in between us to follow them up the stairs.

Elliot follows her, still chuckling, while I survey the campsite for any sign of an animal. Hearing rustling, I decide it's best I head in and lock the door behind me. My once peaceful RV is now full of people. The girls have the couches, the guys have the two chairs.

Still clutching her pillow, Anastasia turns towards me and gives me a sweet smile. "Christian..."

I sigh.

"I promise I'll only take up a tiny bit of room. You won't even know I'm there."

I squeeze the bridge of my nose. "Go before I change my mind." And blow an artery.

She hurries towards the back where the king size bed is with Elliot behind her. Reluctantly, I follow behind them, shutting the door to the small hallway to the bathroom and then shutting the second door to the bedroom area. I'm hoping that it'll muffle them in front enough to let me get a little sleep.

Anastasia climbs in the middle of the bed with her pillow while Elliot kicks off his shoes and slips in beside her on his side of the bed. I stand at the end of the bed. I don't know what this is going to do to me. I don't need to be so close to her for so long. My force is going to know. It's going to bond us. This is already so hard for me. I have to let this girl go somehow. I need to keep my guard up. I need to be careful.

"I'm sorry, Christian." Anastasia actually looks worried. "I promise to stick close to Elliot's side. I'll make him deal with me. I promise I won't touch or breathe on you at all. You won't even feel my body heat. Scouts honor!"

I guess I've been standing here too long. I finally move to my side of the bed. "Nothing to worry about. It obviously isn't safe out there, so we'll share tonight."

Elliot yanks Anastasia toward him, making her giggle and the sound makes my heart ache. "Don't worry, C. I'll make sure she stays close. It'll be hard, but it's my duty."

"You're an ass." She smacks at his chest while she's already snuggled up with her head in the crevice between his arm and shoulder. "A liar, too. You love snuggling."

"I told you to keep that under wraps, young lady." He tickles her side, making her squeal.

"Enough." I bark a little louder than I mean to. "Let's... let's just go to sleep." I just want to get this trip over with.

Elliot gives me a look and I know he's angry that I got loud with them.

"I'm sorry, Christian. I did say I wouldn't make a peep, didn't I?"

Guilt pools deep in my gut. "It's okay, Anastasia. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just tired. Let's try to get some shut eye."

XxXxXx

I wake up, confused. What time is it? I slept so hard I feel like I've missed a week. Taking a deep breath, I'm enveloped by my mate's sweet frangrance, making me groan. I move a little and tighten my grip on what I thought was my pillow, but it's a body. My head pops up from its place pressed up against the back of Anastasia's neck and find her craning her neck to look at me behind her.

"Looks like Elliot isn't the only cuddler in the family."

Pulling away from her, I roll to my back and rub my face. "Sorry."

"No reason to be. You haven't done anything wrong." She stretches and relaxes back onto her pillow.

I look the other way, feeling a bit awkward. I turn away from them to find my phone, giving me an excuse to separate myself from the situation.

"Hey." Her voice is soft. Her small hand on my bicep makes me still, but I don't look at her. "Really, it's no big deal. I'm actually really honored that you felt comfortable enough for that. I know that you like your personal space and you don't let very many people close to you. Knowing that you trust me enough to know you can get close and I won't hurt you or touch you... well, that means a lot. And I love that you were able to be comforted for awhile. You were sleeping so deep. I love that."

I finally meet her eyes. I don't know why, but I want to burst into tears. I hate that she pulls such strong emotions from me. And she always knows just how to speak to reach me. I quickly turn from tearful to frustrated and look away, finding my phone. I'm annoyed. I spent my whole fucking life trying to stay away from this situation and nothing helped. Everything was a lie. I have done everything I can to stay emotionally and physically away from the world, depending on no one but myself. And this little brunette with blue eyes is trying to break me. Fuck that.

"It's nine already. We need to get this shit rolling." I throw the blanket off of me and start shuffling through my bag, looking for my clothes for the day.

Elliot

Christian has been in a pissy mood all day. I know he hates all the emotional shit and I think that Ana pushed him too far this morning. He already hates this whole situation and her being so fucking raw with him is making it worse. I'm surprised he hasn't left already. Ana keeps sneaking glimpses at him when he doesn't notice, a pout on her face. She knows that what she said to him upset him and I hate how much he has affected her. She's supposed to be having fun today. Instead, she's spending the day worrying over my asshole brother who has the emotional capacity of a spoon.

"Everyone ready for the hike?" I shove my water bottle in my side short's pocket and hear Mia groan. "Come on, little sister, it'll be good for you."

"I don't want to."

"Come on, Mi. We'll be on top of the bluffs. The view is amazing." Ethan smiles at her and her pout disappears.

"Yea, okay. I'll go."

I roll my eyes. Of course she'll go when her boytoy encourages her. She used to follow me around everywhere, willing to do anything just to hang out with her older brother. Now I mean jack shit.

"Ana, are you going?" Jose eyes Ana and I think he's hoping she'll stay back. There is no way in hell I'm leaving the two of them alone together.

"Of course she's going." I hook an arm around her neck and drag her along. "Right, sweet cheeks?"

She laughs and it makes me smile. "Right. I want to see the view."

I look back at Jose and cock an eyebrow at him when I notice him scowling at me. "You coming Rodriguez or are you going to sit back and read your little books?"

Ana backhands me in the stomach, making a puff of air pop out of my mouth. "Don't be a jerk." Pushing my arm off her shoulders, she turns towards the little wanker and waves an arm. "Come on, Jose. It'll be fun."

I really enjoy the outdoors and the hike up the side of the cliff is a beautiful one. I started as the lead, but I found that the others kept falling behind as they played around and teased each other so I ended up dropping back behind them while Christian surged ahead, keeping his distance. He doesn't seem to give a shit about keeping any of them safe and it pisses me off that I am stuck watching these damn girls, making sure they come back in one piece. It is my duty as a brother, a friend, and a mate. My Lycan blood makes me fiercely protective, but I guess Christian's missed the memo.

"You know, when I was little we used to rub dandelions on our cheeks and if they turned yellow, we said it meant our crush was thinking of us." Kate laughs at the memory as she plucks one off the ground.

"Oh, yea! I forgot about that! We did, too." Mia swipes up one of the dandelions and hurries to Kate. "Let's see if your crush is thinking of you."

I snort out a laugh while I watch Mia scrub the flower on her friend's face.

"Well?" Kate turns her face towards Mia.

"It's yellow."

"Awesome." Kate smiles. Her eyes find mine and she blushes before looking away.

Oh, no. Please tell me I am reading that wrong.

"Ana... Anastasia, no." I swing around and see Ana coming toward Jose with a dandelion and a giant grin on her face.

"Aw, come on, Jose. Let's see if we can make those cheeks yellow."

He snorts. "You don't care if my crush is thinking of me, you just want to make me yellow!"

Laughing she twirls the dandelion around her fingers while she makes her way closer. "Jose..." She pouts and I see his eyes soften. He's a bit of a highstrung asshole, but he seems to have a soft spot for my Ana. I don't like it.

Throwing his hands up in defeat, he allows it. "Fine. Hurry up."

She gives him a happy squeal and she rests her palm against his cheek while her other hand rubs the small flower against his skin. His eyes scan her face and when she looks up into his, a smile forms on his face. Eyes locked on his, she bites her lip.

I'm about to move in to pull them apart, but Ana takes a step back and clears her throat.

"So, am I yellow now?"

She gives him a smile. "Yes. Your crush is thinking of you."

"I know." He gives her a teasing grin, making her throw the flower at him.

"Menace."

"I know that, too."

I hiss the air out of my clenched teeth and grab her by her backpack to get them to move along. "Let's go. We're burning daylight."

XxXxXx

We're all stuck in this RV again tonight because everyone is too afraid that the bear will come back and the girls just got back from their showers. Ana's hair is still wet and I watch as she twirls her hair around into a bun and secures it. Her tank top rides up and her sweet pale stomach and belly button stick out, making me want to nuzzle into her.

Someday. With any luck.

I see her climb into a sleeping bag on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

She looks over at me. "Everyone has taken all the comfy spots and... and I didn't want to displace you and Christian again." Her eyes wander to Christian who is hiding behind his laptop at the small table.

Christian looks over at her, his lips firmly pressed together in a straight line, his brow ridge wrinkled. I've always had a hard time reading him and I can't tell if he's going to agree with her or if he's pissed at her for bringing it up.

I watch him smack his laptop closed and the RV goes quiet. Sliding out of the bench seat, he stalks toward her and I stand to stop him but stop when I see him bend down as he reaches her.

Christian grabs the end of her sleeping back and starts to pull her down the aisle. "If you think that I would ever leave you to sleep on the fucking hard floor, you're god-damned mistaken. Like I'm going to offer you a luxury apartment and then force you to sleep on the ground on a trip like some rodent." He's murmuring under his breath the whole way dragging her towards the back bedroom while she giggles in her sleeping bag. "Now get out of the dirty sleeping bag so we can go to sleep."

"You're so bossy." With a huff, she shimmies out of her sleeping bag. "You can be nice about it, mister."

The corner of his lip raises in a half a grin. "That's not my way, Anastasia."

I look over my shoulder and see the other four staring so I kick the sleeping bag out of the way and shut the door to the hallway and then follow them into the bedroom shutting the bedroom door. For some reason I don't like the others snooping on their dynamic. Maybe I just don't want to share her time with them. Maybe I don't want them to start asking questions about the two of them. I try my hardest to share my time between all three girls when Kate and Mia are around, but Christian doesn't bother to mask his fondness for Ana.

"You know, you climb into bed with two men awfully eagerly, Ms. Steele."

I know Christian is joking, but he's so dry I don't know if Ana can tell.

"You bossed me into this bed! It was either this or deal with whatever you had up your sleeve for punishment!" She grins. I'm sure he's never punished her, but then again, after some bickering, she usually does what he says.

He's full blown grinning now. "The corner or over my knee. I'd let you pick."

"You're ridiculous." Ana snuggles into the middle of the bed and I toe my shoes and socks off so I can get ready for bed. I defintely want the closeness with my girl. "Besides. It's you and Elliot. You're safe."

"You sure about that?" I cock an eyebrow. "Christian just threatened to beat your ass." I pull my shirt off to change into my t-shirt to sleep. When I pull the clean one over my head I find her staring, her mouth open and she clicks it shut when our eyes meet. I like that she likes what she sees.

She clears her throat. "Very funny. I know you two would never hurt me. You guys have done nothing but make sure that I am safe and secure... even spending a ridiculous amount for an apartment I'm staying in and giving up your house so you can move in across the way to make sure we're safe."

"I moved in because-"

"Yea, yea. You moved in you say because you want to build. But you haven't taken any steps to start any of it. You aren't slick, Elliot. You care for us. And I appreciate it. I've had two fathers die on me, another step father who can barely stand to look at me, then a man who was supposed to be safe make me feel uncomfortable, try to groom me, and when I voiced those concerns, threw me around like a ragdoll. I haven't had a great track record with men... but you were there. You two were there for me to pick up the pieces when they weren't yours to fix and you were possessive and patient and sweet and have been nothing but gentlemen. I know I never have to worry when I'm with either one of you. You are my safe place. Honestly, sleeping between you... well, I can't remember ever sleeping better. It makes me feel invincible."

"Ana." Christian slips into bed and wraps an arm around her, turning her so she's turned away from him.

"Hey! She's my snuggle buddy. Get your own." I slide into bed and try to pull her away from him, but he grumbles and hides his face in the back of her neck.

She gives me a smile. "There's enough of me for both of you." Sliding a little closer, her head rests on the front of my shoulder, one hand going to hold my own, the other to rest on my bicep. She rests her leg on mine, her knee bent a little so the arch of her foot can rest on my lower leg while her thigh rests on mine. Christian's arm is snug against her waist, so I rest my other hand on her leg, her bare thigh feeling so soft against my rough callused hands.

"This okay?" I don't want to make her uncomfortable.

She yawns and her eyes are already closed. "Mmhmm. Night."

Christian and I make eye contact and grin. I love how comfortable she is with us. How quickly I can make her fall asleep just being next to her. It means we're taking care of her like we should be.

I find my own eyelids drooping. She has the same effect on me. On both of us. She's cracking through that wall Christian has created. This bond is going to make or break him. I can't imagine how he'll survive denying fate. But if he doesn't deny fate, I have to share. I don't want to.

It fucking sucks.