Page 50 of Fated to the Alpha

Shane smirked, thinking about how it would be to go on a road trip with her. “Ready for an adventure like the old days?”

She smiled, the first she had graced him with since she strutted into his apartment. “Always.”

Chapter Eleven

Kimberly slept for the majority of the ride to Oakfield while Shane nursed a Monster energy drink through the night. The further they drove from Tolstone, the more her spirit slipped into a state of total calm, like sliding into a hot bubble bath after a long day. Being with Shane, the air mostly clear between them, was just what she needed. And by the kiss he gave her in his apartment, it was what he needed too.

That kiss lit her up like a Roman candle, the sparks only fizzing out when he released her lips. Every bunched nerve in her was released in that one instant, and everything seemed rosy again, despite her ranting. If her wolf were a physical being, it would have been wagging its tail happily after the treatment they received.

It was foolish to think all had been forgiven, but it certainly felt like it when she awoke early the next morning to find her hand securely nestled in his over the middle console as they arrived in the town. She flexed her fingers, relishing the feel of his big hand holding hers. It was something she could get used to, but something she never wanted to take for granted. Had he taken her hand somewhere in the night, or had she reached blindingly into the sleepy void for his comfort and he answered her plea? Whichever way it was, Kimberly didn’t care. Like everything else having to do with Shane, it felt right and comfortable. Like slipping on an old hoodie that she thought she lost but found tucked in the back of the closet, forgotten but no less loved and appreciated.

The decision to come with him on this road trip was one-hundred-percent impulsive. She had the weekend off since she worked overtime for the wedding, but she refused to tell a soul that she simply packed an overnight bag and hopped in Shane’s truck without a moment’s hesitation. It wasn’t something the sensible, grounded Kimberly would do. It wasn’t what Kimberly, who had lived ten years with regret and struggled to find herself again, would have done. It was what seventeen-year-old Kimberly would have done if Shane simply offered out his hand and asked her to come away with him. Shane didn’t exactly ask that in her apartment, but she was taking the moment for herself. Time would tell how much trouble she’d be in.

Muscles stiff and sore from sleeping at an awkward angle in the passenger seat, Kimberly stretched out her legs and her one free arm.

Shane smiled but didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Good morning.”

Kimberly ran a hand through her hair and forgot that it wouldn’t be tangled at all. There was hardly anything to tangle. “Good morning.” She checked the clock on the dashboard and saw it was just half past six in the morning.

A glance out the window told her this town had a decent business district, with restaurants, offices, and stores lining the main thoroughfare. The residential streets branched off the main road and plenty of stoplights impeded their straight shot through town.

In Tolstone, there would have been next to no one out on the streets at this hour. In Oakfield, the place was already alive with activity. Kimberly peered ahead to check out the chain restaurants and outlet plaza signs. “I assume you have a plan for the day?”

“Yes, but first, food. Can you grab my phone and punch in Ralph’s Diner? It’s supposed to be a good spot for breakfast.”

Kimberly regretfully slid her hand out of his and reached for his phone that sat crooked in the cup holder. “You did your research, huh?”

“I had to. Everything down to the freaking demographics. This is one of the places Dominic suggested and the closest fit to everyone’s needs. Hopefully, what I find will make it work out, and I won’t have to do so many of these scouting trips.”

Kimberly punched in the restaurant on the map app. “What makes it work for everyone?”

Shane then went into an exhaustive list of who needed what. Wanda needed a good gym. John needed a school that was hiring. There needed to be available and reliable childcare facilities. A college was only about a fifteen-minute drive into a larger neighboring town for Trent. She only recognized a few of the names of his packmates, feeling a slight tug of nostalgia at the mention of her childhood pack.

“Does it have everything you need too?” she asked as Shane flipped on his blinker to turn into the diner’s parking lot.

“What I need is sitting right next to me.”

Kimberly wanted to smile but simply couldn’t. Reality was a bitch, and while his answer warmed a deep part of her core, she couldn’t let it settle.

So many things got in the way of Shane having everything he needed. She had no dominance and wasn’t a good fit to be his mate. Running away with him would have been much easier and less complicated when they were kids and before he became an alpha. Not to mention the issue of her inability to shift, which was well on its way to being resolved, but not completely. She still belonged to Gage’s pack. How could she possibly turn her back on Gage and Declan after all they had been through?

“I sure hope they’ve got good coffee,” Shane said, drawing her out of her own black thoughts.

“Likely served out of a carafe that hasn’t been cleaned in years.”

They looked up at the front of the restaurant with its stucco siding and windows painted with the weekly specials that probably hadn’t changed in the last few decades. The building itself was definitely dated, and she would have guessed it was built in the seventies.

“You think it’ll be a greasy spoon?”

Kimberly could already smell the bacon fat, and a bit of nausea tickled her gut. “Sure looks and smells like it.”

“Well, if it’s no good, you can pick where we eat lunch from my carefully curated list.”

Kimberly eyed him. “Please tell me we are not going to spend all day sampling every mom-and-pop restaurant in the town. I don’t think my stomach could handle it.”

Shane put the truck in park and shut off the engine. “No, not every restaurant.” He stretched, lifting his ass out of the driver’s seat as he tried to extend his leg against the floorboard. The top of his head nearly touched the roof of the cab. “But I promise you won’t go home hungry.”

As Shane stretched, his spine cracked and popped, prompting a deep and relieved sigh to escape him.