Do not melt. I repeat, ignore how he gets it. And his mouth. Ignore it all.“I would love to finally clear the basement, though.” She winced, mentally seeing it. “It’s full of mystery boxes that had been there since, possibly, 1985, each one heavier than the other and dusty, so I keep pushing it off.”
“I can help.”
Her brain stalled.He—he would? He would help?Her pulse did a ridiculous jump. “That’s... that’s nice, but I think you’re busy enough as it is. I couldn’t ask you for more.”
He sighed. “Believe me, sometimes I need a non-pack afternoon.” He looked at her, and damn it, he seemed earnest despite the shrug. “I’d love to help.”
Keep cool. Keep it together. Just nod. Maybe breathe.“Then I’ll accept. Might be the time I finally get my ducks in line and clean that nightmare.”
And she wouldn’t do it alone. Jade would absolutely come and help, but this was personal and... that basement had been inthe same state for as long as she could remember, and cleaning it felt like cleaning away part of her grandpa, no matter if it was a health hazard.
“You don’t have to throw away anything,” he said gently, as if he’d read her mind—or smelled her emotions. “We’ll just see what’s in there, make sense of it, and clear up the dust.”
She ignored the sudden knot in her throat, nodded, and was saved by the waiter bringing their food. Her meat pie, and another one for him. With a side of steak as big as her head.
God, he’s actually going to eat all that?Her eyes flicked to him.No. Don’t stare. Not at his hands. Don’t... Why does he look that good?
“I eat a lot,” he said with a self-aware chuckle, taking in her stare.
“Is that a wolf thing or a you thing?”
“Little of both. We burn through energy faster, but I’m also...”
“Big?” she offered, then swallowed hard when she realized what her comment could imply.
“That.”
“Is that why you’re the Alpha?”
She took a bite of the pie. It was, indeed, exceptionally good.Focus on the pie. The pie is safe.
“Not only.” He cut into his steak like he meant business. “Strength matters. You can’t protect anyone if you can’t stand your ground. And let’s face it, we can be... temperamental. You need to be able to break up fights and kick butts every now and then.”
She watched him carefully now, because there was something fascinating about the solidity of him. Not just physical—emotional.How does someone just... hold it together like that, as if whatever was going to come at him, he would deal with no fuss?“But it’s not only that,” she added.
“No. Tempers, grief, bad decisions—you name it. No matter what goes wrong, everyone looks at you. If you panic, they panic. But if you stand, then they’ll stand with you.”
“So you stand.”
“I do. My pack relies on it. The best Alpha isn’t necessarily the biggest, it’s the one who can serve the pack best.”
No arrogance, no chest-thumping, just knowing your place in the world and what it meant. She almost—almost—forgot to breathe, then remembered. And the pie.
He glanced at her, a cheeky smile on his lips. “Being big also helps when you need to move heavy stuff from basements.”
She chuckled, teasing back, “I’ll make sure there’s enough meat ready for you when you show up.”
The conversation drifted, effortlessly, to familiar things. The strange customer who made her roll her eyes. The tale of when a cat, not hers nor anyone’s she knew, got stuck in a box meant for shipping. Local news. Somehow, they ended up talking about books—what they loved as kids, which opened up a treasure box of memories from both their early years. Regrets, music... topics just seemed to chase one another, and they were both all too happy to go with them.
She liked how he never tried to take hold of the conversation but shared it with her, thoughtful, funny, and solid. More drinks followed long after the empty plates were cleared.
The conversation slowed after yet another round, a comfortable pause that stretched long enough for her to notice how his eyes caught the light, how his fingers drummed absently on the table, and how she felt both calm and wired all at once.
And all the while, her thoughts ping-ponged from admiration for how solid he seemed, to disbelief that she was sitting here laughing and talking with him like this, to that faint edge of fear—what if he knew exactly how much she was loving all of it just from a sniff?
The hour passed with ease. Drinks refilled, stories swapped, laughter spilled into quiet lulls, and she realized she hadn’t once felt the need to check her phone or think about anything else.
That was, until Rob walked in.
