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We sit in silence in the sunlight.

No one asks me to say Evan and Beau’s names. It’s like saying them out loud is dangerous, as if death is infectious.

“Evan.” I allow every ounce of pride I feel about the Beta who once kissed me beneath this tree and made my life worth living with the dream of Acorn Inn to seep into that single word.

Luca turns his head, and suddenly we are breathtakingly close. “This was where you sat with him.”

I nod.

I have too many memories crowding my head to say more.

“Your garden’s mostly weeds now,” Luca observes. “This is too much work for one Omega. I can help.”

My chest is tight. “You’re a guest.”

“I’m a volunteer. I have no idea how to do this. I’ll leave it to my other Alphas to direct me on the heat. But I know how to garden. Let me fix this?”

Something in me lightens.

This seems important to him.

I push myself to my feet, brushing down my jeans. “Well, I don’t want you to think that I’m a lazy Omega. Get your ass up then, Alpha. Let’s go on our first dawn walk. I’ll show you the butterfly garden. I warn you that it’ll also need work.”

Luca’s eyes brighten. “Butterfly garden?” He prowls to his feet like a white lion. “I was surrounded by a swarm of hackberry butterflies out in Butterfly Creek this morning.”

I lead the way across the lawn to a small butterfly garden, which is enclosed by a low, white fence. Shallow dishes filled with pebbles sit between the flowers.

I blush when I realize how overgrown it has become. “Looks like you could help save this too. It’s a mess, huh?”

“Not for the butterflies.” Luca smiles, spinning on the stone path.

Monarch butterflies with burnt-orange wings flutter around him, as if he is twirling in the heart of sparking embers.

I reach to touch my tattoo.

“They like you,” I tease.

“I like them. I wasn’t allowed pets when I grew up in foster care. But there was always a garden or park that I could find. Birds and insects didn’t expect anything from me. They seemed to understand me just fine, and I learned to understand them.” He glances at a butterfly as it lands on his shoulder. “I reckon it’s why I want to protect them now.”

He says it factually, as if he’s not unmasking the side to himself that I have been itching to see all week.

Carefully, I step closer.

“Is that why you work as a game warden?” I ask. “To be around nature?”

Slowly, Luca turns to face me.

I feel pinned by his piercing gaze. Then he stalks closer.

“May I touch your cheek?” He asks.

I am breathing fast. But I nod.

Luca’s fingers are long and elegant, as he caresses down my cheek, as if he is mapping out my face, careful and precise.

“I became a game warden.” He is standing so close to me that I am inches from his delicious scent, struggling not to nuzzle against his throat, as he continues his careful exploration of my face. “Because I didn’t want anyone else to lose their family like I did. I reckoned that if I became an expert in search and rescue, then I could reunite packs. That way fewer people would…” He breaks off, before finishing quietly, “Being able to work solo in the peaceful forest, while protecting animals, was a bonus.”

“Did your family go missing?” I whisper.