Page 64 of Fated to the Alpha

Kimberly went through the motions of work, filling orders and checking inventory in between taking new orders. Mondays were opportunities to catch up from the weekend and tended to be a little busier.

Working with flowers and opening up her creative side allowed her to focus in a way that nothing else did. Her mind replayed through the weekend, every conversation, every touch, every nuanced implication about what this thing was between her and Shane. Part of her wanted to respect his space. The other part, the part that had hope they could be something more than friends, that they could live out their fevered teenage dream of running off into the sunset together, refused to let this go.

What Shane said outside of Oakfield echoed in her head.

You’re mine.

They had no mating bond, no official declaration of possession, but Kimberly knew it was fact. She belonged to Shane. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she was helpless to fight it, even against herself. He belonged to Kimberly, too, even if she never proclaimed it.

That meant only one thing. She wouldn’t let him hide. She wouldn’t let him fester in this pack crisis. He wouldn’t go through it alone.

So, after work, she grabbed them both dinner and headed straight for his apartment. If he still wasn’t good company, then tough. She wasn’t going to leave him. They would work through this together.

Before she could knock even once, his apartment door flew open. Her lips parted in mild surprise at the way he looked. Hair tousled like he had run his hands through it too many times. He wore the clothes from the day before, suggesting that he didn’t shower and didn’t go to work that day. The shadows beneath his eyes told her that he was tired, but the spark of excitement in his posture said that her presence woke him up just a little more.

Kimberly stood in the carpeted hall, a brown sack inside a plastic bag in her arms and an amicable smile on her face that begged for acceptance.

“I’m going to assume you still like Chinese. Pork low mein with spring rolls and—”

“Wontons. Please tell me you got wontons.” Shane’s voice was breathy, with an almost desperate quality, as if he had been looking forward to this meal.

Kimberly’s smile widened. “Yes, I got wontons. They don’t taste the same as Jin Jin’s back in Warrington. The place here uses more cream cheese and their batter is different, but I kind of—”

Shane grabbed her by the waist and hauled her into his apartment. He kissed her, hard and fast like an addict taking a hit of their favorite drug after going without it for too long. The warmth from the bag of food between them seeped into her core and the smell of it overpowered his raw scent. It made her stomach growl with a need that didn’t take priority over a different sort of hunger. He missed her just as much as she missed him.

She held on tight to the moment and let the kiss deepen. Only then, when the worst of the craving for him was satiated, he pulled away.

Waxing giddy, Kimberly looked up at him. “Seems like you needed that.”

“I did.” He took the bag of food from her. “I hope they had your favorite. Orange chicken, right?”

Kimberly nodded. “Mm-hmm. Theirs isn’t as spicy as I like, but it’s got plenty of flavor.”

Shane brushed another kiss on her lips, then took their dinner to the kitchen. “I was actually about to call you. Good timing.”

“Are you better company now?”

A tightness passed across Shane’s shoulders as he pulled out two cans of pop from the fridge. The word choice had been intentional. This wasn’t about her. He wasn’t rejecting her. He was trying to save her from having to be around a stressed-out alpha. But he had to realize the separation hurt them both in the end.

“I am.” He gestured to the laptop. “I’ve reached a good stopping point in this proposal.”

Kimberly glanced at the laptop. “What proposal?”

“The proposal I need to make to Dominic so our pack can move to Oakfield.”

Our pack. What did he imply by that?

Shane continued, “I’ve been spending most of the day making phone calls and crunching the numbers to make sure this would work. I haven’t given the pack the final notice yet. Logistics need to be figured out first, then I make the pitch to Dominic for the financial help for the move and the first few months while we get on our feet.”

Again, there was that word. We.

Kimberly shook it off, still unsure how to feel about this change that seemed more like an inevitability than just a possibility. “What about Andy?”

“Andy is not my problem anymore.” He popped the top on the can.

Kimberly’s stomach dropped. “Why is he not your problem?”

“Kicked him out of the pack and out of Tolstone. I gave him until this morning to get out. When I stopped by earlier this afternoon, he was gone.”