Page 146

I am sure that Walker realizes it.

I deliberately deepen my pheromones. “Touch that steak, and you’re only eating potato salad all night.”

He mock gasps. “Threatening an Alpha on your territory when you’re hosting a cookout. Breaks Texan rules.”

“So does stealing an Alpha’s steak.”

“I like mine medium rare and not bloody…” He takes a deep swig of his beer. “Yours still answers to its name.”

I roll my eyes. “I know how you take your steak.” As if I haven’t cooked it for him enough times. “And that joke was old when I joined the department.”

“So was I.”

I snort with amusement.

What is Luca cooking for dinner? My Alpha has many talents, but cooking isn’t one of them. He doesn’t cook or clean. It’s Angel who has taken over those duties in our pack.

The fact that Luca is trying now to be fair and allow Angel to finish up the last of his day with Paige shows how much he loves both of them.

But it may also lead to them suffering from food poisoning.

Should I tell them to eat something simple like toast and bring them some of this food back?

My brow furrows.

Distracted, I reach over the grate and shift Walker’s steak (not mine) further into the heat. A burst of flame rolls over it, and I pull my hand back from the fire just in time.

“Careful, Chief.” Walker adjusts his cap. “Think any harder and your head will fall off…or you’ll burn yourself…again. I bet that it’s about that Omega you tried to postpone this evening for.”

“I signed an NDA with the clinic. I can’t talk about her with anyone outside pack.”

“This is me, Rhett. If you can’t talk to me, who can you talk to?” Walker leans closer. “I ain’t asking you to break an NDA. But you reckon at my age I don’t recognize the signs, even with a grumpy forty-year-old bachelor Alpha like you?”

“Flatterer,” I say, dryly.

“You want someone to kiss your ass, then talk to anyone else in this damn town. But I’ll tell you what you need to hear, rather than what you want to hear.”

“Don’t I know it,” I mutter.

“You’re falling for her.” Walker sets down his beer.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why? Because she ain’t falling for you?”

I can’t meet his eyes. “I don’t know. And even if she is, I don’t reckon it’s right for her.”

He huffs. “Has being Chief all these years turned you into a god too? Who gave you the right to make that choice for her? Even if you claim her by asking her to bond you, and it turns out that she rejects you, then here’s the thing about love. It ain’t conditional. Her not loving you doesn’t change your love. You can still do what’s best for her.”

Shocked, I meet his gaze.

Hell, is that what Luca has already worked out?

I reckon that I am better at understanding people and emotions than he is, but he’s ahead of me on this.

Luca is offering Paige friendship whether she only wants him as her Alpha temporarily.

Does Angel feel the same?