Summer Camp Mates

GOING BACK HOME

✨ Jaxson’s POV

Ugh…

My head was pounding.

Sunlight cut through the blinds like a blade, hitting me straight in the eyes as I groaned and rolled onto my side. My throat was dry, my body heavy, and the faint smell of alcohol still clung to my skin.

“Damn it…” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face.

Last night was a mistake.

Again.

I’d gone out with the college guys before heading back for the summer—same as always. Loud music. Too many drinks. Too many distractions.

Anything to stop the dreams.

But it never worked.

It never worked.

Because no matter how much I drank…

I still saw her.

⸻

Melanie.

⸻

Her face. Her voice. That night.

That damn night.

It played in my head over and over again like a curse I couldn’t break.

And the worst part?

It was my fault.

⸻

✨ (FLASHBACK)

I had just gotten ready for bed when I heard it.

A low, powerful howl echoing through the night.

It wasn’t just any wolf.

It was Beta Jason.

Something was wrong.

I stepped out of my room, frowning, my senses instantly on edge. The pack house felt different—tense. Uneasy.

Voices drifted up from downstairs.

I moved quietly toward the railing, listening.

“…she’s gone.”

Jason’s voice.

Rough. Panicked.

My brows pulled together.

Gone?

I leaned a little closer.

“I can’t find her anywhere,” he said, his voice breaking just slightly.

Then—

“Melanie is missing.”

⸻

Everything inside me froze.

⸻

“What?” I whispered under my breath.

My heart slammed against my chest as I turned and sprinted back to my room, grabbing my phone with shaking hands.

Two messages.

From her.

Unread.

⸻

My stomach dropped.

“No… no, no, no—”

I opened them.

Jax… please meet me. Our spot.

Please.

⸻

I was already running.

⸻

I flew down the stairs, nearly slipping as I rushed toward the front door.

“I know where she is!” I shouted.

Both my dad—Jacob Blackwood, Alpha of the pack—and Jason snapped their heads toward me.

“She’s at the Falls!” I said, breathless. “She texted me—I just saw it!”

Jason didn’t hesitate.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone—shifting mid-stride, his massive wolf bursting through the door as he tore into the night.

I moved to follow.

But a hand clamped down on my arm like iron.

“Don’t.”

I turned sharply.

“My dad—”

“This is not your concern,” my father said coldly, his Alpha voice laced with authority. “This is a family matter.”

My chest heaved.

“She is my concern!”

His grip tightened.

“You will stay here.”

⸻

Rage exploded inside me.

⸻

“If I had seen the texts sooner, I would’ve already been there!” I snapped. “She’s out there alone!”

“And her father is handling it,” he replied firmly.

I yanked my arm free.

“You don’t get it!” I shouted.

But he didn’t move.

Didn’t budge.

Didn’t care.

⸻

I stormed back upstairs, slamming my door so hard the walls shook.

My hands trembled as I grabbed my phone again.

I tried to text her back—

But the anger… the frustration… the guilt—

It all crashed into me at once.

“WHY is this my life right now?!” I yelled, launching my phone across the room where it shattered against the wall.

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Suffocating.

⸻

I dropped onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling, my chest rising and falling too fast.

“Please…” I whispered hoarsely. “Just let her be okay…”

For the first time in a long time—

I prayed to the Moon Goddess.

⸻

Morning came too soon.

⸻

I didn’t sleep.

Not really.

The second the sun rose, I was out the door.

Running.

⸻

I made it to their cabin in record time, my heart pounding with something between hope and dread.

I knocked.

Hard.

No answer.

I knocked again.

And again.

Minutes passed.

Each one worse than the last.

⸻

Finally…

The door creaked open.

⸻

Beta Jason stood there.

But he didn’t look like himself.

He looked…

Broken.

Like something inside him had been ripped out.

⸻

“Sir—where’s Melanie?” I asked quickly, stepping forward.

His eyes met mine.

And everything inside me dropped.

⸻

“I’m sorry, son…” he said, his voice rough, hollow.

“You’re too late.”

⸻

My ears rang.

“What…?”

“They’re gone,” he continued quietly. “She left last night.”

⸻

No.

No, no, no—

⸻

I didn’t stay.

I couldn’t.

I turned and ran.

⸻

The forest blurred around me as I pushed myself faster, harder, until my lungs burned and my legs threatened to give out.

But I didn’t stop.

Not until—

The Falls.

⸻

I stumbled to the edge, dropping to my knees as I stared into the water.

It still glowed.

Still beautiful.

Still the same.

⸻

But she wasn’t there.

⸻

A strangled sound tore from my throat as I clenched my fists, anger and pain crashing through me all at once.

“I was too late…” I whispered.

Again.

⸻

I looked at my reflection in the water.

And made a vow.

Right then.

Right there.

⸻

“No matter what…” I said hoarsely, my voice shaking, “this will always be our place.”

“Our spot.”

“And I’ll find you again.”

⸻

✨ (END FLASHBACK)

Jaxson’s POV

I jerked awake, breath uneven, the remnants of that damn dream still clinging to me like smoke.

“Damn it…” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face, rough against my five o’clock shadow. Even with the pounding hangover, she still found a way into my head.

She always did.

Two and a half years.

That’s how long it had been since I made that vow—since I walked away. And somehow, not seeing her, not hearing her voice, not looking into those ocean-blue eyes… it hadn’t gotten easier.

If anything, it was worse.

I could still remember the first time I saw her like it was yesterday.

First day of camp. Summer heat. Chaos everywhere.

And then—her.

She had burst out of her dad’s truck like a storm, too busy taking everything in to watch where she was going. Full sprint.

Straight into me.

We cracked heads hard enough to make my vision blur, and back then? I had a temper. Still do. But back then, it was fire without control.

I snapped at her.

And she snapped right back.

God… she didn’t even hesitate.

Fire and ice—that’s what she was. Sharp words, fierce eyes, and a spark that hit me square in the chest before I even knew what it was.

Something shifted in that moment.

And just like that… we were inseparable.

Best friends.

Or at least… that’s what we told ourselves.

I exhaled slowly, the memory twisting in my chest.

From the moment I met her… to the moment I lost her.

Two and a half years, and I still didn’t know if she ever thought about me. If she remembered. If she cared.

Or if I was just… a chapter she closed without looking back.

I clenched my jaw.

I needed to stop.

Because thinking about her didn’t just mess with me—it stirred Draco too.

My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless. He was massive, jet black, with that white s***h over his right eye like a scar he’d been born with. Bigger than any wolf in the pack—even my dad’s.

An Alpha’s wolf.

And right now… he was hurting.

Training had always been easy for me. No one wanted to spar with the Alpha’s son unless they had to. My dad. Jason. A few of the top warriors.

Jason… he was the one who really taught me how to fight.

Even when the years started weighing on him, even when I could see the strain behind his eyes, he never showed it. He carried it like a soldier—quiet, steady, unbreakable.

That’s why he was my father’s Beta.

That’s why I respected him more than anyone.

A sharp pang hit my chest, and Draco’s voice cut through my thoughts.

…I miss her…

I shut my eyes for a second.

“Me too, bud,” I said under my breath.

And that was the truth I never let anyone else hear.

⸻

I finally dragged myself out of bed, muscles stiff, head still throbbing. College had only been part of my life for a year, but it already felt like a cage.

Necessary, though.

If I was going to take over as Alpha, I needed more than strength—I needed control. Strategy. Discipline.

My dad made that clear.

One more summer.

That’s all I had left before everything changed.

Before I stopped being just Jaxson… and became Alpha Blackwood.

I let out a low growl.

I wasn’t ready.

Didn’t matter.

I didn’t have a choice.

At least this summer… I had one thing pulling me back.

Camp.

The same camp where everything started.

The same place where I lost her.

I told myself I was going for “closure.”

But deep down?

I knew better.

⸻

“Hey, we gotta move!”

Zander’s voice snapped me out of it as he pushed into the room.

I grunted, slinging my bag over my shoulder. The flight was going to suck, but it beat driving.

Zander—next in line to be my Beta. His wolf, Tobias, was just as restless as Draco.

And just like me… he was itching to get home.

We didn’t say much on the way to the airport, but I could feel it—this strange tension, like something was waiting for us.

Like this summer wasn’t going to be normal.

⸻

On the plane, Zander nudged me with that stupid grin of his.

“You know what would be wild?” he said.

I sighed. “What?”

“What if that girl you were obsessed with showed up this year? What was her name again? Marissa? Marie—”

“Melanie.”

The name came out colder than I expected.

His grin widened. “Yeah, Melanie. I mean, she’s gotta be—”

“I doubt it,” I cut in sharply. “Drop it.”

He raised his hands, laughing. “Dude, relax. I’m just saying—”

“Zander.”

The warning in my voice was enough.

He backed off, muttering something under his breath.

But the damage was done.

Because now… I was thinking about it.

What if she did come back?

What would I even say?

Would she look at me the same?

Or would she look right through me?

I shook my head hard, shoving the thought away.

Not happening.

It couldn’t.

⸻

Still… as I stared out the window, clouds stretching endlessly beneath us…

That feeling wouldn’t go away.

Draco stirred again.

Not restless this time.

Something else.

Something… expectant.

And for the first time in years—

I wasn’t just dreading this summer.

I was wondering if it might change everything.

******That’s the end of this chapter sorry it’s taking me so long to publish but I do have a full time job and have a life so I’ll try to publish more as soon as I can.. this store will continue!*****