Page 143 of Moon Claimed

Wade overtook me so he led our queue. “I just find everyone here so limited. You know? I wonder sometimes if this is the right place for me to really thrive. But then, the game, I could never leave.”

My smile faded. “If the game didn’t exist, where would you go?”

He looked at the sky. “Bluff City. Maybe overseas. I’ve saved a good amount of money.”

It was easy to get caught up in my own woes. Other people were making sacrifices too.

I relaxed more, confident my wolf was on the job. “What about you, Cam? If the game didn’t exist, where would you be?”

“Right here.”

Huh.Surprising.

“I always thought you’d be the first to go.” Wade beat me to the punch.

“Things change.” She swished her hand in the water.

Wade changed the topic after a leaden silence, and I counted the number of drinks they’d consumed, unable to resist laughing as their antics and comments took on a wild edge.

“Another cider, Andie?” Cameron asked.

I took another, handing back my empty which she shoved in her pack. She squealed, encountering the waterproof speaker in her bag, and soon the music was pumping.

“Your taste in music issomuch better than Wade’s,” I moaned, half my mind on Sascha’s location. We weren’t so far away from him now, and assuming he was atThe Dens,the tube ride would end well before Wade and Cameron drowned secondary to intoxication.

Wade scoffed. “You were born in the wrong decade, baby girl. Your taste in music is old as shit.”

“Music is music,” I disagreed.

“You know what King Wade wants?” He cut me off. “You to serenade me on the saxophone. Dressed as Lisa Simpson.”

Not happening.I wouldn’t play ever again.

I shut my eyes. A calm lulled me as we floated downstream.

Maybe I could get used to this.

Water pounded, and I sat up, peering ahead.

“You might want to put your pack on properly.” Wade swung his behind and tightened the waist strap.

The pounding increased. “Why?”

Cameron was doing the same, tucking the radio and tins away.

My mouth dried as I hurried to do the same. “Where are we in relation to the start of town?”

“Just at the top of the cascade,” Wade chirped.

“We godownthose?” I shrieked, searching for the closest land.

We were moving fast, and more importantly, the others seemed set on going over.

“You guys are crazy!”

Cameron tossed her hair back. “Bet neither of you stay on for all three drops. Amateurs.”

Oh my god.