Page 104 of Pistols & Peonies

This time, she doesn’t fight it.

This time, she stays.

CHAPTER 33

Kane

Alpha won’t stop talking.

Something about a property dispute, or a contract, or an asshole he had to ‘remind’ about loyalty. The details blur together after a while, his voice droning on across the desk like background noise. I caught the first few minutes out of habit– years of training myself to pay attention whenever Gage opens his mouth– but at some point, my focus slipped, mind drifting back to the text Violet sent earlier this afternoon asking if I wanted anything from the takeout place she planned to order dinner from.

It was simple, casual, but she’s never asked before. Violet doesn’t text me about food or errands or anything remotely domestic– our communication is typically limited to sarcasm, arguments, or the occasional threat. So when her message popped up on my phone earlier, I stared at it for a solid thirty seconds before replying, trying to wrap my mind around the hard swerve in our usual pattern.

I’ve been looking forward to this dinner ever since. Even tried to slip out a little early, but then of course I got pulled into Gage’s office for a ‘quick’ meeting that’s been dragging on for over half an hour now.

I check my watch for the fourth time in as many minutes, barely stifling a sigh.

“You got somewhere to be, Commander?” Alpha asks sharply, pausing mid-sentence.

My gaze flicks up. He’s watching me now instead of whatever notes he’d been pretending to reference, irritation tightening the lines around his mouth.

“Just dinner plans,” I mutter, shifting my weight in the chair. “Wasn’t expecting to run this late.”

His entire demeanor changes on a dime. The irritation melts away, replaced with something far more amused, lips curling at the corners. “With your mate?” he asks, leaning forward with sudden interest.

I jerk a nod.

His grin widens, unmistakably smug. “I trust things between you are going well, then?”

“It’s working out,” I shrug.

Gage rests his elbows on the desk, steepling his fingers beneath his chin as he studies me like I’m some fascinating experiment. “Working out?” he echoes, clearly expecting me to give him more.

“Yeah,” I grumble, dragging a hand through my hair. “We’re making it work.”

“Uh huh,” he murmurs, eyeing me up and down. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the difference in you lately.” He sits back with a soft chuckle. “When I’m right, I’m right.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Of course he’d take credit for the entire thing– he’s got the whole pack believing he personally orchestrated some grand love story for the ages, when really, he just shoved us together and left us to deal with the fallout.

I bite back the urge to say as much, keeping my expression neutral. “Guess so.”

“Well, I won’t keep you too much longer, then,” he says, like he’s doing me some enormous fucking favor. He leans back in his chair, stretching comfortably. “Applications are already up for the next Pairing, but I expect we’ll get an even larger influx after people see you two together at the next full moon run.” His eyes glint with satisfaction. “Be sure to play it up for the pack, let them see how happy you’ve made each other.”

My jaw tightens, but another nod is the safest response.

As much as I loathe the way he’s turned our Pairing into a public spectacle, I can’t deny it’s a convenient distraction. While he’s focusing his energy on optics, it leaves him far less attentive to the quiet forces working against him. For now, that works in my favor.

As if he’s reading my mind, he asks, “Any news on the rebel front?”

“No,” I reply, keeping my tone level. “Nothing since the warehouse raid. They’re laying low.”

He taps his fingers on the desk, the sound echoing through the cavernous office. “That doesn’t bother you? All this… silence?”

“It bothers me,” I say. “But after a hit like that, it’s what I’d expect. They don’t know how much information we squeezed out of the rebels who were apprehended.”

“Not enough,” he growls.

“No, but they don’t know that,” I reiterate. “The raid forced them back underground, at least for a while. They’ll regroup eventually, but for now they’re licking their wounds. Best thing we can do is keep an ear to the ground and wait them out.”