He shrugged. “It was a little awkward, but I discuss those things online, so they'd find out eventually anyway.” He fiddled with his jacket zipper. “Um, why did you want your betas to meet me?”
I shot him an incredulous glance before returning my gaze to the road. “Because if we end up bonding, you’ll be alphamate. Second in command of the pack.” Shit, I’d assumed he’d realized. I needed to stop treating him like a wolf shifter. He wasn’t one. He stared at me with his mouth open, and I grimaced. “I’m sorry if you didn’t understand that part. I need to remember you’re not familiar with pack stuff.”
He inhaled as if he were going to speak, then he paused and did it again. “You don't even know me. How can you be thinking of bonding with me so quickly when I’d end up in charge of all of your people?”
I smiled at him before focusing on driving again. I wished I could hold his hand. “Elton, didn't your family teach you about mates? The magic only makes us compatible with those who are the best suited for us.” I shrugged. “Given the way our magics react to each other, I’d hazard a guess that you'll be the best alphamate my pack has ever had.” Based on how he’d identified a problem with Parker, and how he'd interacted with Ginny and her mother, he'd be a natural.
He was quiet for a while. I checked in on him a couple of times, but I didn't interrupt his thoughts. He stared out the window in front of him, but his hands were rubbing up and down his thighs. I wasn't sure he even knew he was doing it.
Eventually we reached Elton’s apartment building. I parked, and before he could stop me, I unbuckled my seat belt and jumped out. I jogged around to the other side of the truck and held his door open for him. “So, if tonight didn't scare you off too badly, can I have another date? Soon?” I held my breath as I waited for his answer. Hopefully he wasn't too freaked out to go out with me again. I was more certain than ever that I wanted Elton to be my mate, and my wolf wouldn’t be content waiting more than a day or so before we were back together with him.
He looked toward the apartment building, making a low humming noise. Then he turned to me and lifted his chin. “I'd be up for another date, but tomorrow's pretty busy. I have clinic hours in the morning, and in the afternoon I have to fill in at the bookstore while Daphne goes to her kid’s soccer game. But I'm free Sunday morning. My brother Lennon will be driving in from Austin later that day. He’s taking me to the surgery Monday. So Sunday we could do brunch?”
My wolf whined at the thought of Elton undergoing surgery. I held back my questions about where the surgery would be, whattime, and if his brother was accompanying him. Sunday would be a better time to ask all that. My wolf growled, not wanting to wait so long before we could be with Elton again, but I faked cheerfulness. “Brunch on Sunday sounds great. I'll text you tomorrow with a tentative plan.”
He didn’t want me to walk him up to his apartment, but my wolf whined, and he relented. We were both quiet on the way up the stairs, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. After he unlocked his door, he gave me a kind of jerky wave. “I guess I'll see you on Sunday.”
I let my eyes linger on his mouth. “I'm looking forward to it.” I gave him a slow seductive smile, but he stepped back before rushing inside and shutting the door. Shit, I’d pushed too much.
When I got back to my truck, Elton's scent had saturated the interior. I wondered if he’d be jerking off tonight like I was planning to.
As I'd expected, my betas were waiting for me when I got back to the packhouse. They followed me into my office, but I didn't ask them to sit down. “Okay. Out with it.”
Ward glanced at the others before facing me. “We're all glad you're putting yourself out there and dating, Alpha.”
I drew myself up to my full height and made eye contact with each of them. “Let me be very clear. Elton and I are not ‘dating'. My wolf has acknowledged him as our mate.”
Vinnie sputtered, “Then why haven't you bonded with him yet? Or at least created a connection? What's up with all that not touching bullshit?”
“Elton is not a shifter. Today was the first day we had an actual conversation. I was excited to introduce him to the pack.” I glared at them again. “I see now that was the wrong decision.”
Gordon harumphed. “I'm sure he's very nice most of the time, but I didn't appreciate him questioning Parker’s love of football.”
I blinked at him. “Gordon, I don't know what Elton sensed from Parker, but once he drew my attention to it, I felt something through the pack bond. You and Kathy can be present, but sometime this weekend I'm planning to speak to Parker myself. If he wants to play, that's wonderful. He's been doing a great job of keeping his skill level aligned with his classmates. But this pack is not about forcing people into roles they don't want to be in. If he’d rather do something else, or just not play football anymore, it’s his choice. We have plenty of funds to pay for his college if he doesn't get a scholarship.”
Gordon still looked angry, so I stepped into his personal space. “And make no mistake, I was delighted when Elton said something about Parker. As alphamate, I want him to act when he notices a problem. He'll be in charge when I'm not around, after all.” Ward wore a thoughtful expression, and Theresa and Vinnie nodded. Gordon pressed his lips together and stared over my shoulder.
I sent them all back to their families, grateful for some time alone at last. I hadn’t been able to savor my excitement at finding my mate yet. My wolf hadn’t been this happy since I could remember.
I got ready for bed, and, instead of jerking off like I’d planned to, I ended up watching Elton’s Instagram reels. He was witty and thoughtful, all while staying positive and upbeat. It made mewant to spend more time with him. I couldn’t wait to get to know him better. Was he attracted to me more than just physically? I thought he was, at least enough to go on another date. But beyond that? Sure, I was alpha of a pack, but that was a role, not who I was as a person. Was I interesting enough, emotionally intelligent enough, to keep someone like Elton happy?
All I could do was trust in my magic. And my wolf, I amended after he yipped at me.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
In the morning, I did some paperwork in the office for the construction company the pack owned, then I went outside and ran around in wolf form with some of the children for a while. After that I did my monthly inspection of the apartment complex property, making sure everything was in good repair and noting any landscaping needs. Several people came up to me to say they were excited to meet Elton the next time he visited, and based on his Instagram reels they felt he would be a kind and empathetic alphamate.
I was also informed multiple times that Elton had posted a new reel late last night where he complained to his followers about how I’d brought him to meet my family on our first date. I hadn't watched it yet, but hopefully I hadn't screwed things up too badly.
I was trying to be considerate of Elton’s need for space, but I kept thinking about how he hadn’t mentioned any dinner plans this evening. Would he react negatively if I asked if I could bring food over to his apartment?
“Alpha?”
Startled, I spun around from where I’d been contemplating a wobbly fence post for probably way too long. Nancy, one of my pack members, was standing there holding a blue sticky note in her hand. I smiled, hoping I hadn't been scowling when she first approached. “Hi, Nancy. What can I do for you?”
She handed me the sticky note, which had an address on it and nothing else. “You know how I work at the woman's hospital downtown, right?” I nodded. She’d worked in administration there for several years.
“There's a kind of loose gossip network among all the Wonders who work in the hospital system. Lately one of the big topics has been that we have a healer in town.”
