Unsurprisingly she was the first one in the car. She was wearing her favourite jeans and shirt with a full face of makeup. Her dark eyes shone with excitement and her skin glowed. It was the first day in a long time that she felt herself enough to dress up a little. Taine was last to enter the car. He spent time on the phone with his Beta trying to make sure the pack would be okay. She didn't understand why. It was only a few hours and she wasn't going to try and overstay. She knew it was a busy time for him.

In the time it took for him to get his shit together, she and Taine's Italian driver Alfredo had become fast friends. He was teaching her Italian profanities when she saw Taine walk towards the car. Camila wondered if he would sit in the back with her, or in the front. He made a beeline for the passenger seat and Camila looked out the window pretending it didn't bother her. She wouldn't let it. She was too happy to let her broody mate rain on her parade. Alfredo, to her annoyance, decided to get involved and make something up about the airbags in the front seat not working, he was not even trying to be subtle.

The silence in the car was only broken when Camila had a question.

"Al, how long left?"

"Sorry Miss Kadner, I really don't know." Camila met Taine's gaze.

Breaking eye contact he checked his watch "Another three hours or so."

Camilia's jaw dropped and her face said it all. She didn't expect the trip to be this long. She was going to have to speed pack her things and not spend too much time socialising.

"The hours left? Seriously. Time flew last time!"

"Last time you were asleep." He answered curtly.

No, she was unconscious. But she wasn't going to blurt that out in front of Alfredo.

Silence.

Camila wanted to break it and on a normal day she would, but today she had too many emotions. Too many bubbling feelings to trust that she wouldn't burst from excitement or say something stupid to put Taine in a bad mood. She needed the trip to go smoothly.

-------

"15 minutes Miss Kadner."

Alfredo's warm accented voice woke her up from her reverie. Camila was a planner. She had compartmentalized all her things and knew exactly how she was going to approach it, to maximise time. At the 10 minute mark, Camila began to bounce in her seat uncontrollably. Intently watching the familiar streets and houses whiz by. She didn't even realise it until Taine killed her excitement like he always did.

"Camila you are shaking the car, please stop that."

She glared at him.

As soon as the car reached a halt, in fact even before that, Taine watched the seatbelt fly off Camila's seat. He watched her practically tumble then sprint out the door without so much as a glance in his direction. He tried not to let that sting. She should have contained herself and walked in with him. She may have been part of this pack and was 'free-spirited,' but now she was the mate of an Alpha and it seemed all her inhibitions had gone out the window.

Another reason that pricked at him, was that he didn't know if he could ever make her happy like this. He didn't know how. He didn't know if she could or would ever miss him that much. He watched as she bolted to the door and even though he was still in the car he could hear her scream in delight as someone she knew opened the door and screamed with equal vigour. Alpha Hart came out and squeezed Camila until Luna Hart told him she was going to snap.

There was no question about it. Camila was incredibly loved.

After directing Alfredo to his paid for, hotel and unloading the two small duffle bags. Taine could see her absorbed in conversation with twenty different people and he was not in the mood for making new friends. He tapped her on the shoulder and watched her turn around in surprise when she registered his touch. He could see in her expression that she completely forgot he was there. Even though she wouldn't see it, he was trying to not let his mood ruin the day for her. But at the same time, Taine just wanted to leave and he hadn't even walked through the door.

She didn't know what to call him now they had an audience. Calling him 'Alpha' didn't seem right anymore and calling him 'Taine' made it seem like they had gotten friendly over these last few weeks. And they hadn't.

"Oh, Tay-..I'm sorry. Guys, I'll be right back I will just show Alpha Taine to his room." She settled for the formal title which earned her some questioning looks. She led Taine through the house which was mostly empty. Most pack members were at school or work. They walked up a staircase and Taine couldn't help but stare at the way she bounced up the stairs, an air of lightless surrounding her. She already seemed so different here, so...happy.

They silently walked up the flights of stairs and ended on a floor with many rooms. Camila broke the silence, "I'll put you in a room with a balcony. There's a desk where you can work and a bathroom." The way she said that made Taine feel like she thought he was some kind of hermit.

A young woman about Camila's age walked past them and did a double-take. "Omg Cami, You're back!"

"Zoey, hi! Yeah! Not for too long though, just to pack my room up and get some other stuff sorted. A couple hours at most. Alpha Taine has to get back asap."

She looked between Camila and Taine, surprised. "Well, I would have loved to catch up but..."

"Next time," Camila interjected.

"Well, when will next time be? We need to jam again soon!"

Camila went quiet. She looked up at Taine, unsure. "Zoey, I really don't know, hopefully soon...um anyway, I think I should get started."

"Yes, of course, I'll maybe see you before you leave."

They said their goodbyes and Taine and Camila kept walking. This time it was Taine that interrupted the silence. "What did she...that girl...mean...' jam.'"

Camila smiled a sad smile. " I play..well I used to play the saxophone and her and I ...and some friends used to all play together. I miss it."

" I didn't know that."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Alpha Taine."She regretted her last words realizing how awfully sad she had been sounding. She was here now and she was going to make the most of every second even if she spent most of her time in the company of cardboard boxes.

"Don't call me that. It makes me feel like--"

"Like what? Like we hardly know each other?" Her words were brutal but they were the truth. Her thoughts about the matter in the long car ride had resulted in an emotional outburst. She tried to ignore the pain they caused her. She didn't meet his penetrating gaze.

Camila stopped outside a room and fished out a key from underneath a pot plant next to it. "This room is diagonal to mine, but a floor below, and it has a balcony. Also a really great view of the forest. I'm sorry we couldn't find you something better, something more up to your alpha standards.

"It's nice."

Camilla showed him around the room and was then ready to leave. "Okay, If you need anything let me know, there is a map of the house in one of the drawers."

She pointed to a pedestal by the bed. "And I think you are all set. So um... I guess see you later." She spun out of the room and closed the door behind her. Leaving Taine to work on his laptop.

---

Three hours had passed and he needed some fresh air. The sun was shining brightly as it had just reached the afternoon. He was daydreaming, looking at the trees when he heard shrieks coming from what he assumed to be Camilla's room. It was on the floor below his, underneath the balcony to the left of him. He went into panic mode but he realised they were shrieks of delight. The words spoken were hardly comprehendible but he could hear;

"I missed you so much!"

"No, I missed you more!"

"I'm so glad you are here!"

"No, I am more glad you're here!"

The excitement and laughter and tears? continued for a while longer before it eventually simmered down. He felt guilty eavesdropping but he couldn't hear anything clearly and just the sound of Camila laughing and talking was enough for him to stay where he was. He heard the balcony door open fully and the girls stepped outside. He took a step back out of sight, just in case.

"Are you sure you can't come, Mila? It sucks you are leaving later!"

"Yes I'm sure, Taine needs to get back and I made a promise to him. He doesn't want to overstay and I don't want him to think he can't trust me." She rested her head on her friend's shoulder and sighed. "I would love to, I really would but..."

"Speaking of your sexy Alpha mate, how are things between you two?" Camila snorted then walked back into the room. Her best friend Liberty closed the balcony door behind them. It was at this point Taine could no longer hear anything.

Camila sat at the foot of her bed.

"I don't know what to say Lib. I mean I've spoken to you on the phone about it ...I never wanted to make you feel like I wasn't happy."

"Remember I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, I could tell something wasn't right. You don't look good Mila, not like you used to."

"Well, then you should have seen me yesterday." Camila flopped down on the bed and Liberty joined her. They spoke for hours, talking about mates and happiness, sharing secrets and for a moment Camila forgot what her life was really like, what the feeling of being sad and lonely was.