Page 19 of Pack Apollo

"Where are we going?"

He glances over at me before looking back to the road,and I watch the small smirk pull his lips up. "I can't tell you. I have to show you, but you dressed perfectly for it."

"Okay fine." I tease. "Keep your secrets."

He drives us to the other side of town that I've never had reason to go to before. Literally everything, except houses and apparently, the wilderness, are on the other side of town that leads toward the city. After an almost thirty-minute drive, he pulls into an empty gravel parking lot. The sign he parks in front of says Camden Hiking Trail 3.6 miles.

When we step out of his car, he starts stretching, so I follow suit, knowing we’re probably about to be hiking this trail he’s brought us to. After a few minutes, he grabs a thick backpack out of his trunk.

“Ready to go?” he asks.

I nod and smile. “I think so.”

“Let’s go then,” he says, leading the way.

We're probably only about halfway through the trails when the ground starts to incline. I'd been enjoying the silent walk, listening to the birds and other nature sounds around us. That all comes to a halt when I have to start focusing on my breathing instead. For all the yoga that I do, it's nothing compared to cardio, which today now has me thinking I need to step up my game.

Cordell stops to turn around and give me a once over. "Doing okay?"

"Sure," I reply, trying to hide my heavy breathing. "I'm just trying to figure out which one is going to end up killing me first. You, or this hill."

His head tilts back with his laugh. Neither confirming or denying that he may have brought me out here to kill me. Though, honestly, I'd see that more of a Roz thing than him. Can't understand for the life of me why that alpha has that stick so far up his butt. Me? I get it. Worried that I might destroy hispack or ruin his family. That much I get. Kind of makes me want to stalk him just a little to see if he treats everyone the same way or if it's just lucky omegas.

I've still got Roz on the brain while fighting for my life with my hand now pressed against my chest like it'll help the air flow easier when we break through the tree line, and all I see is a bright blue sky.

"Holy freaking wow," I whisper.

Walking over to the edge of the bluff, I continue looking out where there's nothing but open sky and trees for as far as I can see. Looking down is a whole other experience all in itself. There's a small creek lined with big rocks that weaves through the trees at the bottom of the bluff. I'm not afraid of heights in the least, but if Cordell wanted to kill me, this would be the perfect spot. One small shove and I'd be adios amigos. Not that I truly think he would, but I still give him a quick glance over my shoulder.

He stands innocently still with his hands tucked underneath the backpack. "I'm not going to push you, if that's what you're thinking."

"The thought may have crossed my mind," I tell him, grinning.

I see part of his smile before I turn back around and shut my eyes. Laying my head back and holding my arms out, I can almost feel like I'm flying. The sun feels good against my face and exposed skin. I soak it up, knowing how cold it's going to be here in several weeks. I can't wait for the snow to come rolling it. I hope we get a ton of it, but I know that I'll miss these warm sunny afternoons, too.

Hearing some rustling behind me, I look over my shoulder again. He's got his backpack resting on the ground while he removes a thin blanket. When he stretches it out into its perfect, little square, it's not at all what I expect a manlyalpha to be carrying around. It's light grey with tiny, pink flowers adorning it.

"You keep this handy for all the outdoors dates?" I tease, walking over and helping him spread it out.

"I borrowed this from Roz, actually," he says, fully serious.

My laugh bounces off the trees behind us and echoes loudly.

"No, for real, I've never brought anyone up here," he admits. "Except Palmer, when he was going through his fitness and trainer phase."

"He was a fitness trainer?" I ask. When he nods, I question, "How many things has he tried?"

He smiles fondly. "Too many to keep track of at this point. But, I'm certain that he'll find the one thing that makes him happy enough to stop floating."

He starts pulling more things from his bag and laying them out on the blanket. A few containers of what looks like hummus with another larger container of fruits and veggies. While he does that, I set up my phone on a rock and prop it to just the right angle to capture me from the neck down and the glorious view in the background. I take a few pictures with the auto timer on, and one video that I already have the perfect song in mind to set it to.

“I’ve noticed that you do that a lot,” he mentions, pointing at my phone. “Do you record everything for the sake of recording it, or is there a reason behind it?”

“I got really good into social media and have a huge following, “I reply. “It started with small things, but it’s slowly progressed into more of a daily fitness and peace of mind kind of thing. It’s paid off in the end, because I’ve landed two side jobs with it.”

“That so?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I say, taking the last few photos. “I manage the bar’s social media account, and it’s drawn in a ton more followers, possibly even customers since I took over. Most recently I got offered to manage a different bar in the city. Sanders & Dixson. I haven’t done anything with that one yet, because I just accepted it but I’m hoping I can help the owners breathe life back into their page.”

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