Chapter 191 - Hiking

"You finally decided to take a break from your girlfriend?" Emily asked in a teasing tone as she approached Domenic who had finally stopped working on his laptop.

Her brother looked at her with arched eyebrows and she just shrugged in response before she too turned towards the beautiful view of the stream and the fresh running water.

The two stood there in silence for a while but soon their attention was pulled towards the van that was approaching the location.

"They are finally here." 

Emily heard Crist speaking as he moved to help the Sullivans. Her eyes landed on Kaiden who was wearing a black see-through satin shirt with black jeans, a color in direct contrast to his long silver hair which was left open. 

Was the man trying to seduce her? Emily thought as she tried her best to not check out his well-built upper body that his shirt failed to protect from prying eyes. He was looking so different than usual but still as handsome and ethereal as always.

His icy blue eyes landed on her for a mere second before he turned away to talk with Daniel. But Emily caught the small smirk that had appeared on his lips.

"The rest of your brothers won't be giving him a break on this trip," Nick told her as he noticed the yearning look in her eyes as she observed her mate from the distance.

Emily took a deep breath and then slowly nodded her head in acknowledgment before speaking, "He will have to win them over. There's no other choice. Let this trip be a test of his abilities to impress and turn the tides in his favor."

A small smile appeared on Nick's lips as he looked at his sister. It was clear that she had already started to feel bad for Kaiden but the fact that she still chose to stand beside her brothers, warmed his heart.

Emily turned to look at Domenic when she felt his gaze on her. "What about you?" She asked and then waited with a racing heart to hear his response.

She knew that Leo and Crist were mostly playing around with Kaiden while Mark was being grumpy because he was still angry with her, so he was giving the same treatment to Kaiden. Simon was just being protective and Daniel was only helping his annoying younger brothers. 

Her brothers were no longer angry at Kaiden. Their anger had already evaporated with the disappearance of the previous night. They still were bothering him because they were enjoying it. 

But Domenic was different. Though he had acknowledged their bond, she still wanted to know his thoughts because they mattered a lot to her.

Domenic remained silent for a while as he observed his sister who had grown up into a strong and beautiful young woman. 

"If I have a problem with him, I would have rejected his proposal last night without a second thought." That's all he said in response to her question but it was enough to evaporate all of Emily's worries.

She smiled softly at her brother but it was a sincere smile filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Nick." She whispered and closed her eyes when she felt her brother softly patting her head.

The two of them soon returned to where the others were setting up the tents. While Domenic started helping them to set up everything properly, Emily settled down on a chair with a packet of chips in her hands.

A few seconds later, Shadow approached her with another chair and settled down beside her.

"Why are you sitting there? Come here and help us!" Leo immediately fired as he saw another person being lazy and not helping with the work. 

Shadow did not reply to Leo. Rather, he turned his attention towards Emily and whispered in a calm tone, "I wanna rest for a while."

"Sure. Go on, rest here. I'll handle him." Emily hurriedly nodded her head in approval with a warm smile on her lips before she turned to glare at Leo.

"There are so many of you. Do you want me to call a special team to help you out?" She asked or more like reprimanded her brother who scoffed in response but fortunately returned to working on the tent that he and Simon were settling up.

Soon enough, the team of handsome men finished setting up the tents and other stuff. The campervans were parked on either side of tents and a huge space was left between the vans and in front of the tents.

Mark and Rylan opened up the side roofs of the vans while Daniel and Kaiden laid out blankets and tables.

By the time they finished, it was already past eleven o'clock. 

"Since you guys are finally free now, let's go hiking in the mountains. There's a trail on the south end to the first peak that's not too long and we would be back in two and half hours." Emily excitedly suggested only to find her brothers and Rylan groaning in response. Only Domenic and Kaiden did not show any reaction.

"Seriously? We are here to have some fun. I'll give you guys only two minutes to grab whatever you want to carry along and then we will set off. No negotiations." Her voice came out sharp and demanding which surprised even her.

It was not like she could do anything if they refused to agree with her. She could only get angry and throw a fit but that was all she was capable of doing against her brothers. 

But fortunately, her brothers decided to take her words seriously as they all hurriedly grabbed their phones and some snacks and drinks from the refrigerators. Even Mark did not try to reject her idea as he too picked up his small backpack.

"You can stay here and rest for a while. I'll be safe with so many people around." Emily told Shadow who was about to shake his head in disapproval but then his eyes landed on someone behind her and he stopped.

Emily looked over her shoulder and found Kaiden standing behind her as he and Rylan whispered about something to each other. 

"Is everything alright?" She asked Shadow in a worried tone and immediately relaxed when the man nodded his head with a small smile on his lips.

"I'm alright. Make sure to stay closer to either him or Rylan and no matter what, don't wander around." He instructed, making Emily smile as she nodded her head in agreement before leaving with the others.