Avery pulled back, giving Genesis a teary glare. “It took you an eternity to get this far. Surely you can turn the pace up a littlefrom molasses in January. Your silver foxes aren’t getting any younger.”
Isaiah cleared his throat and they both turned to look at him. “I’m glad to hear that your intentions with my boss are pure. I’m happy for you. Now, I suppose I should get back to work.”
“Wait!” Avery exclaimed, before he could get up. “My beta nose can’t tell a difference, but yours probably can. This whole temporary pack thing was supposed to change Gen’s scent so alphas wouldn’t go all feral around her or whatever. Does she smell less tempting to you?”
Isaiah’s blush returned and he stammered a bit before managing to form a coherent sentence. “She smells like Pack Rossi, but her scent is still appealing—maybe because I’m so familiar with the pack’s scent that hers stands out. But any alpha would know she’s spoken for, even without any permanent claim marks.”
Genesis felt a surge of pride. She liked smelling like Pack Rossi. She put a hand on Isaiah’s arm, giving him a genuine smile.
“Thanks for putting up with my silly friend,” she told him. “And thank you for taking such good care of Orlando.”
Before anyone could say more, the door banged open, and Avery’s sons burst into the cottage. Luke followed them in, wearing an unusually wide grin. His expression soured when he saw Genesis and Isaiah.
“Auntie Gen, Mr. Luke let us help with the cows, and ride horses, and we met the chickens!” Noah exclaimed, his eyes bright with excitement. “Did you know Duchess can escape the coop? We put her in there, but then when we turned around to walk away, she was right behind us! I think maybe she can teleport.”
“Mr. Luke gave us each twenty bucks for the swear jar!” Xavier added. “He called Duchess a–”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Genesis warned. “Mr. Luke has a very colorful vocabulary.”
The boys noticed the shopping bags and, after getting Avery’s permission, they happily began to dig through the contents. They made a lot of noise, completely distracting their mother, which was good. It kept her from noticing the silent confrontation happening behind her.
Luke narrowed his eyes, homing in on where Genesis’s hand lay on Isaiah’s arm, before turning his midnight glare on the young alpha. Isaiah started to shrink away, but Genesis didn’t let him. She’d grown tired of Luke’s hot and cold behavior toward her, and though she knew the source of it, it still stung. Genesis decided it was time to poke the bear.
“Thank you again, Isaiah. It was great to finally meet you in person. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.” She gave him her brightest smile.
“Great meeting you too,” he said, rising quickly and putting as much distance between them as he could manage without running out the door. “Oh, and Mr. Rossi asked me to tell you that lunch is about to be served.”
“Good, I’m starving!” Xavier shouted. “Farming is hard work.”
With Luke still in the doorway, Isaiah seemed unsure what to do. Luckily, Avery wasn’t as distracted as Genesis thought. She wrangled her boys quickly, tossing Genesis a little smirk over her shoulder as she moved toward the door.
“This place is huge and I’m hopeless with directions. We’ll come with you, Isaiah, so we don’t get lost. Genesis, I know you had that thing you wanted to show Luke, so we’ll just see you at the house when you’re done.”
Avery steered her sons out of the cottage. Luke stepped out of her way, touching the brim of his hat as she passed. Isaiah kept his head down and didn’t look at Luke as he quickly followedAvery, but he could probably feel Luke’s gaze boring into his back.
Luke turned slowly back toward Genesis, his expression stormy. A little thrill shot through her belly, but she tried to keep her face neutral as he prowled toward her.
“Do you want that boy fired or fucked up?” he growled, caging her against the island with a hand braced on either side of her on the counter.
Genesis lifted an eyebrow. “It would be stupid to fire a great employee for doing his job. I’m sure Orlando wouldn’t agree to it.”
“So, you want me to fuck him up then?” Luke said, eyes narrowing. “Because that little shit was too goddamn close to you and I could smell the arousal on him.”
Genesis lifted her chin defiantly, returning his glare. “And what of it, Luke? I’m unmated and free to do as I please. We’re only pretend courting, remember? Of course you do, considering you’re barely even trying to pretend!”
“You don’t know anything!” Luke exploded, stepping back and crossing his arms. “You think I’m not trying? You think this is easy for me?”
“You think it’s easy for me?” Genesis snapped back, planting her hands on her hips. “You think it’s easy for me to trust you, to let down the walls I’ve been building my entire life?”
“You don’t understand,” Luke said miserably, his broad shoulders drooping. He suddenly looked incredibly tired.
Genesis closed the distance between them, laying a hand on his arm. He flinched and she swallowed down the hurt she felt at his reaction. She looked earnestly up into his face, trying to see past his defenses.
“Then make me understand,” she replied gently. “Explain it to me.”
Luke shook his head. “You can’t understand what it’s like to lose the person you love most in the world.”
Genesis exhaled a frustrated breath. “Just because this is my first time being in love, it doesn’t mean I don’t understand loss.”
