He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “Well I can see why you are different from the rest of the girls I know now. I’m not going to lie. I like you a lot, but I get where you’re coming from, especially if this is all new for you.” He grabs my hand and slowly interlocks our fingers. I’m sure some girl somewhere would be fighting to keep her heart rate in check because the gesture is super sweet, but it’s nothing for me.
I know the brand is doing its job and I don’t know if I would be interested in him as more than a friend even if it wasn’t, but I also feel bad for this boy who is showing me patience and kindness and affection and there is no way for me to truly reciprocate.
“I just know that mates are really important and I’m afraid of what might happen if I get attached to anyone and they don’t turn out to be my mate. How devastating would that be? For either person. It’s just really confusing. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be all hot and cold with you, I really just don’t know what to do.”
Our food arrives at that point and he is saved from having to answer me. The homestyle meal is amazing. Pancakes, bacon, biscuits with sausage gravy, a side of fruit and coffee and juice. It makes me think of home and Gretchen cooking for me when I was by myself all the time. I would just sit at
the island eating and watching her bustle around the kitchen. It was always a quiet peace, lonely, but peaceful.
I close my eyes and savor every bite, lost in the memory for a second.
“Why is that so hot? You really enjoy your food don’t you?” I actually forgot I was alone. My eyes snap open to see Tyler watching me.
I swallow slowly making sure I don’t choke while he just stares. “What person doesn’t enjoy food after basically torturing themselves in the gym?”
“I know a lot of girls who don’t eat much, period.” He lowers his voice so only I can hear him. “Human girls are the worst about it, but she-wolves aren’t much better. Most think it will mess up their figure, but if they actually worked out their wolf the way you’re supposed to be, burning calories shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I just eat what I want and when I’m hungry, it’s really not that big of a deal.” I try to shrug it off.
“Well, the sounds you make when you enjoy your food are making it a very big deal.” He shifts slightly in his seat.
Did he just…? Oh man. I need to change the topic, we keep venturing towards s*x and I need information, not for him to want to jump me.
I set my fork down because apparently eating turns him on. ”
You said you ‘had’ a sister. Past tense. What happened to her?”
His face goes dark and I feel bad for prying, but we need to know if it was the Rogue King who attacked his pack and if Tyler and his friends joined up. I have to keep reminding myself I am ona mission. “When my pack was attacked, it was chaos. We had no idea it was coming, we weren’t at war or even in a disagreement with any other pack that I’m aware of. My dad and mom worked in the packhouse so we usually knew what was going on just from them being around the leaders. The wolves were organized and had a clear plan of attack, it was not random. They knew where to go and who to go after first. I don’t know when it happened, but I found my sister later on our front lawn.”
He stopped to take a breath and I let him have the moment.
Reliving that kind of trauma in your head sucks, I know. I reach out and touch his hand lightly, not sure if that’s what he needs right now or not. He gives me a small smile and squeezes my hand back.
“You said you were stuck. Why didn’t you just leave or choose another Alpha and rebuild? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be nosey, I just don’t understand.”
“We weren’t allowed to leave. Their Alpha took over. Said it was by order of the Alpha King, so no one was coming for us, our pack was found lacking and needed a change.” He
still has this dark haunted look in his eyes, but something else is there and I can’t describe it but, I am genuinely scared of this look.
