“I’m meeting Anders at the clinic. He’s swinging by to give the pack members there some encouragement.”
“He’s beenmuchbetter about that stuff the last little while. The whole pack is talking about it,” Gran said, reaching over and patting my hand. “I think a special someone has touched his heart.” She winked at me, and I did my best to smile as though I believed that.
She was right about him changing. Ever since he’d surprised me at the overlook, he’d spoken and acted like a different person. Though, part of me still wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t an act. It didn’t fit his personality, and I could tell he was forcing it sometimes. But, it appeared he was forcing itforme, which seemed like a good step in the right direction—at least, I hoped it was.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “After that, we’re supposed to go to a luncheon at the country club with a bunch of the wealthier members of the pack. Anders wants me there to get used to being with him for these things. I’ll be the alpha’s mate; it’ll be expected of me once we’re officially together.”
“When do you need to be at the clinic?” Grandpa asked.
Checking my watch, I pushed away from the table. “I should head out. I’d rather get there early than late.”
“Have a good day, sweetheart,” Gran said as I stepped out the door.
My car sat in the drive. Funny. People had always looked at me strangely for driving all over town. Most shifters simply ran anywhere they needed to go and only used vehicles for long-distance trips. I gave the small sedan a glance, then shifted and ran down the sidewalk.
The run invigorated me. Being in this form allowed me to push aside many of my more human thoughts and bask in the animal nature of my inner wolf. Still, it didn’t fully push out the thoughts of Levi that continued to trickle in. I kept having flashbacks of the look on his face when I’d left, and it haunted me to no end. Iknew, deep inside, that it had been the right decision, but that didn’t make it any easier. How could I love a man when a piece of his heart would always be with someone else?
“There she is,” Anders called as I trotted into the clinic’s parking lot.
I shifted and joined him at the door. “Good morning. You’re early.”
“Had to have a meeting with the clinic administrator. Alpha business, you know?”
Anders leaned forward and kissed me. It still didn’t come naturally, but I allowed it. Having his lips on mine was a bit like putting my shoes on the wrong feet. Not awful, butdefinitelynot comfortable either. Thankfully, I’d managed to train myself not to pull away when he showed affection. I kissed him back, but kept my lips closed, preferring that to the open-mouthed spit swap he seemed to enjoy the most.
He took my arm. “Ready?”
“Sure.”
The morning was both funanddepressing. Even shifters had illnesses and injuries that didn’t always heal. One teenage boy had been struck by a falling tree, which had crushed his leg. It had been too severe for his healing powers to fix it, so the limb had been amputated. He looked dejected and sad, but meeting with Anders and me did bring a smile to his face.
“I appreciate you coming,” he said, shaking Anders’s hand.
“Anything for a packmate,” Anders replied with a wide grin.
He was more a politician trying to curry favor and goodwill, rather than actually caring, but at least he was trying.
When we were done at the clinic, we headed over to the Idlewild County Country Club. It was one of the few places within the town that was used by both shifters and humans. In fact, over half the memberswerehumans, which was strange in a shifter town, but the club brought in lots of money and provided things for the community—the swimming pool, golf, and a venue for parties or mating ceremonies. As the alpha, Anders would want to ensure we kept a good relationship with them.
As ready as I’d been to do all the duties of an alpha mate, I hadn’t anticipated the luncheon to go on for more than four hours. It was the most mentally draining thing I’d ever had to go through. It seemed that every single man in attendance wanted to talk to Anders about how he’d scored the winning touchdown when Idlewild Prep had won the state title back in our senior year. I swear to God, I had to hear that story at least ten times.
As I sat in the ballroom of the country club, watching everyone eat at tables adorned in white, sipping drinks from crystal glasses, and enjoying petite sirloins and roasted potatoes on shining white plateware, I longed for the simple pleasures and surroundings of Hidden Grove. The gleaming white floor tiles reflected the sunlight through the large bay windows and gave me a headache.
“Anders, Anders, tell ’em again how you got that cornerback to fall on his ass,” one of the men said.
I sat back, sighing softly, as Anders launched into the description of the play for the third time that hour.
“All right,” Anders said, a big grin on his face. “It was third and seventeen, we were backed up on our own five-yard line.” Standing, he mimicked holding a football. “Center hikes me the ball, and I drop back. Whole damn defensive line is rushing me.My O-line can’t hold them back, and I’m already in our own endzone, about to get tackled for a safety.
“Anyway, I spot my boy Brock down the field, but he’s covered by a cornerback. Linemen are all up in my face, and I do a little pump fake with the ball, and this dumbass cornerback thinks I’mactuallygonna throw it. He slows down, thinking he’ll snatch an easy interception. Instead, I chuck the ball over his head, and Brock pulls that bad boy out of the sky like it’s nothing. Cornerback realizes he messed up, spins to tackle him, but trips on his own feet. Falls flat on his face and has to watch Brock run in the touchdown with only ten seconds left on the clock. It was beautiful.”
“I was there for that,” one of the other men said, slapping Anders on the back with more enthusiasm than was warranted. “Dropped my popcorn when I started cheering.
“No big deal,” Anders said, shrugging and trying to pull off some form of modesty that had never been part of his repertoire.
Finally—blessedly—the luncheon ended. It was late afternoon by the time we finally left, and I was fairly exhausted by it all. Several hours at the clinic, followed by this? The responsibilities of an alpha mate was a little unnerving.
“You want to grab an early dinner?” Anders said.
