Biology. Loud and undeniable.
And then there's Jasper.
His attention doesn't gravitate toward her. It doesn't gravitate toward anyone, really—he's too controlled for that. But when he asks questions, when he makes observations, his gaze comes back to me more often than it goes to her.
Not obviously. Not enough that anyone would call it favoritism.
But enough that I notice.
And enough that Marie notices too.
Her smile gets tighter as the meal progresses. Her answers get slightly sharper, like she's trying to pull focus back.
"I reorganized the pantry this week," she offers at one point. "To make everything more efficient."
"That was Vee's system before," Eli says mildly.
Marie's cheeks flush. "Well, yes, but I thought—I mean, as your scent match, I have a pretty good instinct for what you guys need. Organization helps everyone."
The phrase hangs in the air.
As your scent match.
Jasper's gaze flicks to her, then to me, then to Ragon.
"Scent match doesn't mean mind reader," he says evenly. "Instinct and experience are different things."
Marie's flush deepens.
Ragon makes a small sound of approval.
I stare at my plate and try to process what just happened.
Jasper—this stranger, this alpha I've known for three hours—just defended me.
Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just... matter-of-factly. Like it was obvious.
The conversation moves on, but I feel Marie's eyes on me more than once for the rest of the meal.
Later, after the dishes are done and Marie has disappeared upstairs with Drake, I find myself in the kitchen wiping down counters that are already clean.
Jasper walks in, pours himself a glass of water, leans against the counter.
We don't speak for a long moment.
"You're evaluating us," I say finally.
"I'm evaluating the situation," he corrects. "There's a difference."
"Feels the same from where I'm standing."
He takes a sip of water, studying me over the rim of the glass. "You don't trust easily."
"No."
"Good," he says. "Neither do I."
I turn to face him fully. "Why are you here? Really?"
