Page 6 of Alfie

Alfie waited a heartbeat, picking up the scent of the male’s fear, and then released him. He took a few steps back and folded his arms, watching as the male rose to his feet, took a few unnecessary moments to brush off his knees, and then stalked off. He cast a furious look at the woman that made Alfie’s wolf seethe.

How dare he!

Waiting until the male was out of sight, Alfie turned and walked toward the female.

“Are you okay?” he asked, nodding at his friends, who nodded back, all with smiles. Amadeus gave him a thumbs-up.

She rubbed her arms and shivered. “I am, thanks to you. You’ve got great timing.”

“Happy to help.” He opened the door for her. “I’m Alfie.”

“Myla. Nice to meet you.”

He breathed in silently as she walked by, picking up the sweet scent of her. His wolf practically swooned in his head.

What were the odds that his soulmate had simply walked into the bar that night?

Well, according to Amadeus, it had been a 100% chance.

“I’m meeting my brother and his fiancée here. I had a bad date with that asshole and skipped out, and they asked me to meet them here,” she said.

“Can I wait with you at the bar? So you’re not alone?”

She smiled in relief, revealing a dimple in her cheek. “That would be wonderful, thank you. I’ve never walked into a bar by myself, and I nearly got hauled outside of one right off the bat.”

Since he and his friends had come in, the counter had cleared a little and there were several empty stools. He sat next to her and she ordered a soda, while Nathan brought over his half-empty beer.

“I’m sorry your date went sideways,” Alfie said. “Did you know him well?”

“No, he’s the friend of a friend and it was a blind date. He was giving off red flags while we were talking at the restaurant down the road, and then he gave off major creepy vibes right now. I was texting with my future sister-in-law in the parking lot, and he must have seen me and followed my car.” She shivered and looked over her shoulder.

“If he comes back, which I doubt he will, I’ll handle him for you.”

She smiled. “I appreciate that, thank you. And you don’t need to apologize for me having a crappy date. It turns out the evening is kind of looking up.” She took a drink of her soda and giggled a little, and it was freaking adorable.

Just like she was.

They talked quietly, sharing the sorts of mundane details that strangers—who could become more—shared. Their jobs, their opinions on the cold weather, and bad dates. Of which Alfie hadn’t been on that many—he knew on sight if a female was his soulmate or not, but he’d gone out on dates before. He’d never been out with a female who gave off as many red flags as Myla’s bad date did, though.

What an ass.

There was a time to talk about the future and expectations, but it wasn’t before the main course arrived on the first date.

“Hey, there you are!” a female said.

“Oh, hi, Alice,” Myla said. She swiveled on the stool and hugged a female and then flipped off the male with her.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“I owed you from when you told mom this weekend that I used to go throw rocks in the lake when I was supposed to be studying after school.”

“I had to tell her something,” he said. “She was dangerously close to finding out that I got suspended in school for fighting that one time. She could definitely still ground me, and I don’t need that.”

“You’re too old to be grounded,” Alice pointed out. “You’re twenty-six. And you don’t even live at their house anymore.”

“You know Mom,” Myla said. “Milo’s not wrong. Anyway, this is Alfie. He saved the day when that creep Eddie found me here and tried to pull me outside. This is my brother, Milo, and his much better half, Alice.”

Milo shook Alfie’s hand. “Nice to meet you, man. Thanks for watching out for my sister.”