Page 27 of Fated to the Alpha

She shrugged. “Bouquets, garland, and centerpieces. It helps when the bride knows what she wants, and she does. Ashley told me she’s been planning this since she was a teenager. It’s going to be a real big pack affair too. I’m doing the flowers, Gwen and Jaime are catering, Dominic’s mate is doing the photography … Have you met Erica?”

He nodded and accepted the soda she offered. “A couple of times. Must be a strong woman to stay with a guy like Dominic.”

Kimberly went back to the counter to pull two slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza onto her plate. She thought of what Erica had done for Tolstone, and indirectly for her. With a single shot of a silver bullet, she killed Nathan. Kimberly would never have to wonder if he’d be out there in the wild harassing and attacking other women. “She is, but I think they balance one another. They’re so cute together.”

He huffed. “Yeah, her balancing trick would have been nice yesterday.”

She went still, fingers pinching long tethers of warm cheese that connected the slice to the whole pie. “What do you mean?”

Shane popped the top on the can and turned his gaze to the television screen, reflecting its dark depths. “Dominic paid me a visit at the job site.”

Kimberly turned, plate in hand. If the Prime Alpha took time away from his shop to visit a shifter, it was a big deal. Something that couldn’t be settled with a phone call or text. “And?”

Shane took a sip of the pop and his nose wrinkled, whether at the fizz of the drink or the recollection of the meeting. “Just alpha stuff…” He glanced at her and must have thought better about being vague by the worried look in her eyes. “He gave me a list of places to check out and told me about a fight one of my pack started the other night.”

A shot of icy chill ran down her back. Shane was looking at new homes for his pack already. Well, of course he would. Any alpha looking to rehome his pack should jump into the task. So, why did it come as a shock? More than that, she so wanted to know the details. What places? How far away were they? Did he choose already? When would he leave? What about the fight? Was it with anyone she knew? How did Shane feel about Dominic, of all people, confronting him about these things? Did he do anything about them yet?

Kimberly, however, kept her lips tight together and refused to pry into matters she had no right to. She wasn’t part of his pack, and she certainly didn’t deserve to know what the alpha did behind the scenes. She wasn’t his mate and not privileged to any of that and never would be. What little tidbit of easiness she gained earlier was nearly extinguished by cold reality of what this was … or couldn’t be.

Shane must have seen the trouble spinning in her eyes because he gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere just yet. He only gave me a list. I’m still in the researching phase. I won’t duck out on you too soon.”

The balloon of anxiety popped, and her lungs filled with air again. “But … you shouldn’t procrastinate too long. You need to find your pack a home.”

“I’m well aware of that, and I’m working on it. But what I need right now is for you to park that pretty ass of yours next to mine, turn on the movie, and forget about anything and everything outside of this apartment for the next few hours. Tonight, it’s just you and me. No pack. No Dominic. Just us.”

If she had any hands free, she would have planted them on her hips.

Instead, she shot him a disbelieving look. “Excuse me? Who are you to say I have a pretty ass?”

Shane smirked. “You always have.”

“You never said as much back in Warrington.”

He huffed. “Because I was probably afraid your dad would overhear me and kick me out.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Fair enough. He probably would have.”

“But I did tell you how beautiful you are, didn’t I?”

Kimberly felt her cheeks go hot. “Yes, you did. Many times.”

Shane let his smile widen. “See? I wasn’t too dumb back in high school.”

A laugh bubbled up as she settled on the cushion next to him, plate in her lap and remote in hand. “So, how do you feel about Korean films? Netflix is lousy with them.” She navigated to the app on her television, but when he didn’t reply, she glanced his way. He had an odd, serious look on his face. “What?”

Shane’s eyes jumped to the two feet of space between them, then back to her with a wordless demand.

One of Kimberly’s brows lifted, and the corners of his mouth rose in that sly, charming way that she couldn’t resist, not at seventeen and not now.

She knew what he wanted. They were supposed to be recreating those old movie nights and never, not once, did they sit this far apart. Back then, it was all thighs-touching, arms around one another, Kimberly would eventually make a pillow of his shoulder or chest and they’d lay down. Of course, things normally progressed from there as long as they thought her parents weren’t paying attention. Making out wasn’t in the plans tonight, but she didn’t mind his flirting. It had been a long time since anyone flirted like this with her and it felt good. It made her wolf feel good, who seemed to perk up at the idea of getting closer to Shane.

With a roll of her eyes, Kimberly took a couple of graceless bounces on the sofa before her hip bumped into his. His heat was comforting and the feel of his arm around the back of the sofa behind her was just as amazing as she remembered. She had wondered if it would feel awkward, but Kimberly found it to feel more home than this apartment, than her father’s house, or even their old hometown. This was turning out to be a great idea.

“Korean, you said?”

Kimberly took up the remote again and had difficulty putting her brain back in order to find the right category on the app. Tiles of dramatic, colorful movie covers filled the screen.

“Wow. That’s … interesting.”