Page 50 of Cold Foot King
She hadn’t been camping since she was a kid, but there was something special about the organized chaos of teamwork. King, Reed, and Wreck cooked a feast over the open fire. Dinner was steaks, baked potatoes covered in foil and buried in the coals along the edge of the fire, and cornbread baked in one of those cast-iron skillets over the fire. Dessert cooked while they were eating—peach cobbler made in the same cast-iron skillet the cornbread had been cooked in. It had been made with boxed cobbler mix and canned peaches in syrup, and it was possibly the best thing she’d ever put into her mouth.
“Here,” King murmured, handing over the second half of his peach cobbler. He was sitting in a camp chair next to her, and had been watching her eat like an absolute animal.
“This is the best meal I’ve ever had,” she said around a bite.
A few of the boys chuckled and agreed. Cash started telling a funny story about one of the food-service managers at the prison, and Katrina settled into her chair, took the plate from King, and ate a bite before she fed him a bigger one. She liked how comfortable he was with taking a bite off the same fork as her.
“I’ve got a couple announcements,” Wreck said as they all passed their empty dishes to Raynah, who was collecting them on the other side of the fire.
He wiped his hands on his pants, shoved them into his pockets, and stared at the fire between them. “I’m going to offer some of you spots in the Crew, and some I won’t. I can say I’m not the only one making these decisions.”
“The dragon has final say, huh?” Cash asked.
“He has a big say in it. So do some of the others from his mountains.”
“Like who?” one of the others asked.
“Lucia. Weston Novak. Beaston Novak. They have eyes on where we’re headed.”
Chills rippled up Katrina’s forearms.
“They don’t know us personally though,” a bright-eyed shifter named Kade said. “Why wouldn’t you be the one making the decisions? You’re the Alpha. It’s your Crew. Damon can’t run your Crew from Wyoming. Neither can the Novaks.”
Wreck canted his head and just stared at Kade, then leaned forward and pulled a pocketknife from his jacket pocket. “Kade, you have an invite if you want it.”
Kade went still, then arched his eyebrows high. “As I was saying, I think Damon and the Novaks are geniuses and should have all the say.”
The others chuckled, but Katrina couldn’t get past her nerves enough to laugh. He was giving places in his Crew. Right now. She glanced at King, but the giant beside her was just staring into the flames.
Kade got up, made his way around the fire, and took the knife Wreck offered him, then shook the Alpha’s hand, and then Timber’s.
“Reed,” Wreck said, reaching into his pocket again and pulling out another knife. “You have a spot in my Crew if you want it.”
Reed looked over at King first, but King was still staring at the flames. Reed stood and made his way over to Wreck as they all clapped. He shook his hand, and then Timber’s, took the knife, and made his way back to his seat on the other side of King. He glanced at King out of the corner of his eye, and then lowered his gaze to the ground. It should’ve been a happy moment, but Reed looked…confused.
“Raynah received her knife on the way here, and she will also be a part of this Crew. Katrina, as you all know, will be a part of it too. I have one more spot open. Depending on how tonight goes, I’ll be making that announcement tomorrow when we get back to Deadhorse, and begin preparing for travel to my territory in Montana.”
“Smart,” Cash muttered. “That way we all think we still have hope and don’t kill each other tonight.”
“No fighting,” Wreck advised them. “If you fight, it’ll make my decision real easy. I know what you all are capable of, I know what your animals are. You’re all good fighters. That won’t win you any bonus points. It’ll just piss me off.” He opened his hand, palm up, and a deep red flame appeared there, floating just an inch above his skin. Wreck arched his eyebrow and glared at them. “We’re not gutting each other here. Do you understand?”
“Fine,” Cash muttered, and the others agreed.
King was still dead silent beside her. Katrina slid her hand to his and squeezed. What if he didn’t get into the Crew? What then? What would they do?
“I understand some of you may need to Change tonight. The meds should be worked out of your systems. It may have been a long time since your animals have been able to have your bodies. If you are worried you won’t be in control, let me know, and I’ll keep an eye on things. I already assumed I would have to do that. Keep in mind that we have humans among us.” He twitched his chin toward the huge snow machines. “They’ll be sleeping in those tonight, and protected somewhat, but don’t give them a bad impression of shifters, yeah?”
The more she saw of Wreck’s leadership, the more she realized she and the entire Holland Pride had been so wrong about him. He was ten times the leader that Rook had been. He had taken one mate, and clearly loved her. That phoenix would burn the entire world for her, that much was clear from their bond. He seemed to deeply care about the Crew he was building, and every move he had made thus far had been completely understandable to Katrina.
He was trying, and there was enormous value in a trying man.
King helped clean up after dinner while a couple of the guys headed for the woods to Change, and the others made their way to their tents. It was close to four in the morning now, and the northern lights were faded almost completely out of the sky.
Katrina excused herself to the tent she would share with King, and set up their sleeping pallets so he wouldn’t have to do it when he came inside. Her mind was racing with what-ifs as she prepared their sleeping rolls beside each other. She brushed her teeth just outside the tent, and watched as King made his way toward her. He smiled, and she was relieved that he was still here, and still engaging with her.
“It’s going to be great either way,” she assured him.
“Hell yeah it will. We’re out of Cold Foot. No matter what, life has improved. No complaints.”