“I think if we all go, it will overwhelm her.” Dax agreed with me. “We have to court her slowly. She’s skittish from what I can tell.”
“Same here. I thought I’d go by myself this time.”
“You’re right. And it might be easier to talk to her in person with only one of us. Until we learn to communicate better, one on one might be best.”
Talon was right. We had already started learning some signing on YouTube, but it would only be with alot of practice that we could have real conversations with Sylvia.
“I’ll call when I leave, okay?”
Talon nodded. “Wait. Here’s the address.” He plucked the business card from the fridge and handed it to me.
I laughed. I’d been in such a hurry that I almost left without the address. I also thought that Sylvia’s brother Benji might be a roadblock to be able to speak to her, but I had to take that chance.
I had more patience than a lot of people, but we had to make some kind of gesture, proving we were serious about her.
One stop at the florist and another at the chocolate shop and I was on my way. The florist had a lavender and deep-purple arrangement I thought was best. And I may or may not have bought the biggest box of chocolates I could find plus some hot chocolate bombs.
I questioned myself and what I was doing over and over as I made the drive to see her. There was a chance she wouldn’t even come out, but at least she wouldknow we were here and thinking about her—wanting to see her.
It was something.
Over an hour later, I pulled up to their home, her brother’s pack’s home. I looked up to the second floor and swore I saw her move in the bay window.
I got out of the car with my offerings in hand. The front screen door slapped against the frame and an alpha came barreling down the steps. He had the same dark hair as Sylvia. The same nose.
“You must be Benji,” I said. “I’m Archer. Alpha of our pack.”
“I am Benji. Sylvia’s brother. I’m assuming she’s why you’re here.”
I chuckled, releasing some of my tension. “The flowers and the chocolates are not for you. Sorry.”
Benji laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to play who is the bigger alpha. But I’d like to talk to you a bit about my sister first, okay?”
I nodded. “Of course. But first, I brought this as an official request to court her. This is the first of many courting gifts. We are serious about her.”
“Good. She deserves that. The choice is hers but let’s talk.”
Chapter Eleven
Sylvia
I was up in my turret painting when I happened to glance out the window and see Archer speaking with Benji. Two big alphas, facing off, and it seemed they were arguing. There was some pacing that reminded me of a couple of the roosters I’d seen stomping around each other when making a point about chicken yard business. I tensed, ready to rush down and stop whatever was going on when suddenly Benji gave him one of those back-slapping man hugs and confused the crap out of me.
Face pressed to the glass, I watched, trying to figure out what was happening and whether I needed to save anyone, when Archer looked up and waved. He didn’t look traumatized or upset, at least.
Waving back, I looked around for my phone and sent him a text.What are you doing here?
Just dropping something off,he replied before climbing in his car and driving off.
Okay, so that was weird. And I needed to know what happened. So, I set down my paintbrush and descended the turret stairs to the main house where my brother now sat in the living room.
“Sylvia, I’m glad you’re here.”
Where else would I be? I never went anywhere except the farmers market, and it wasn’t for sure that I’d go again. I hadn’t decided yet if I was brave enough.
“I know you saw me speaking with that alpha, Archer. And I imagine you’d like to know what we said, since it concerns you. Come and sit down.”
The whole encounter had seemed odd. The initial argument, if indeed it was one, followed by the brotherly hug. People had made decisions for me all my life, up until now, and an awful feeling came to me that this might be another similar situation. Benji had been loving and supportive, but who wanted to keep some female around forever when she should be starting her own life?
