“Holy shit, you fixed it?” Hayden bounded out in basketball shorts and nothing else, black hair sticking up at odd angles. Sleep lines creased one cheek, but his grin stretched wide. “I thought we’d be walking to work for weeks.”
Behind him, Teagan appeared in an oversized T-shirt that hung to mid-thigh as he rubbed his eyes. The morning light caught those hazel irises, making them glow amber-green. Both of them were barefoot, rumpled from sleep, looking so domestic that Liam’s wolf wanted to crowd them both back inside and—
“Loose battery cable.” Liam cleared his throat and tried his damnedest to stop thinking about what he wanted to do to both of them. While naked. “Should hold fine now, but you might want to replace it soon.”
“Add it to my growing list of shit I can’t afford.” Hayden ran his fingers through his messy hair, which only made it worse. Or better. “What do we owe you?”
“Not a dime.” The thought of taking money from his mates made Liam’s stomach turn. “But there’s a pack barbeque at our place later if you want to come. Good food, great company.”
And a chance for his mates to get to know the others. They were family now, and Liam just bet the two would fit right in.
Or so he hoped. Hayden, definitely. Teagan? Questionable. He was the one Liam would have to work hard to earn his trust. Someone had broken it, made him wary, and Liam wanted to show his shy mate that pack was safe.
Pack was protection.
Teagan’s shoulders tensed slightly. “Pack?”
Shit. Liam had let that slip. The word had flowed so freely in front of his mates.
“Just what we call our group.” Aiden appeared beside Liam after parking the truck. “Big house outside town, bunch of us live there. Very commune-like without the weird cult stuff.”
“Free food sounds good to me.” Hayden glanced at Teagan. “What do you think?”
“We should probably—” Teagan started.
“Actually,” Liam interrupted, an idea forming, “how about breakfast first? Hash It Out makes killer pancakes.”
Teagan shook his head immediately, fingers twisting in the hem of his shirt. “You already fixed our car. We can’t ask for more.”
Something in his tone made Liam study him closer. It wasn’t embarrassment exactly. More like someone keeping careful track of debts, making sure the scales never tipped too far. His wolf didn’t like it. The wariness, the distance Teagan maintained even while standing three feet away.
“Nobody’s asking for anything,” Liam said carefully. “Just thought you might be hungry.”
“We are.” Hayden’s stomach chose that moment to growl pretty damn loudly. “See? Proof.”
“We have food here.” Teagan stepped back toward the doorway. “You’ve already done enough.”
The dismissal felt like a boot to the gut. Liam’s wolf pushed forward, not aggressively, just needing to be closer, to understand why one mate pulled away while the other leaned in.
“Look, I get it.” Liam kept his voice level despite the urge to crowd Teagan against the doorframe until he explained that guarded expression. “New town, random guy keeps showing up. That probably seems weird.”
“A little,” Teagan admitted, hazel eyes finally meeting his directly.
Electricity shot through Liam at that small connection. His wolf rose up fast and fierce, causing Liam’s gums to throb and his fingertips to burn. His beast wanted free, wanted to wreck Teagan in the most pleasurable way.
Get a fucking grip.
“How about this,” Hayden suggested, clearly trying to play peacemaker. “You guys come in, and we’ll cook breakfast here. That way nobody owes anybody anything. It’ll be our payment for giving us a ride, twice, and fixing our car.”
Before Teagan could protest, Hayden grabbed his arm and steered him toward the kitchen. Liam caught fragments of their hushed conversation—Hayden’s “just relax” and Teagan’s “I don’t like this” and something about “too helpful” that made Liam’s wolf huff in frustration.
When they emerged, Teagan’s expression had shifted to resignation. “Fine. Breakfast. But we’re cooking.”
“Deal.” Liam would agree to anything that kept him near them longer.
The rental interior matched the exterior. Worn, but clean. Mismatched furniture that probably came with the place, boxes still stacked in corners, the feeling of transient people who hadn’t quite committed to staying. The kitchen was cramped, with barely enough room for two people, let alone four.
Watching his mates navigate the space felt like a choreographed dance. Hayden reached for the eggs just as Teagan turned with the pan, their bodies sliding past each other without a collision.
