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“We’ll manage,” I said. “Lately I feel like I can’t eat enough food. There’s a reason the song says ‘Hungry Like the Wolf.’”

“Yeah, well, not all of us are shifting into wild animals regularly,” Connor said.

“I’ll make sure we have room. We aren’t going to miss dessert.”

Luis came to the table then, holding a few to-go containers and bottles of water. “Come back and get more if you need it, but honestly, Jack can probably eat most of that for you.”

I let out a low growl when Luis winked at Connor. It was silly. Luis was a mated wolf, his mate was not even fifty feet away, yet I was jealous. Connor was mine, and I wanted the world to know it.

“All right, all right,” I said, looking a little bit annoyed. “No flirting with my date, Luis.”

He laughed and gave me a mock solute. “Enjoy, you two.”

“This really looks delicious. I don’t even know where to start,” Connor said.

“I know.” That didn’t stop me from digging in though, because if I was eating, then at least I wasn’t saying anything stupid.

“It seems like you’ve really gotten to know several members of the pack.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s been really great. It’s amazing how many there are and how different they all are. One of our pack members is the CEO of an investment firm in the city. He and his family have a house here, and a condo there. Crazy, right?”

“Yeah, that’s crazy. I love that you are getting to know them.”

“Me too. It’s been great meeting them and learning where they come from.”

“I’m so happy to hear that,” Connor said. “I was worried about you a couple of days ago. You seemed so lost, out of sorts, run ragged.”

“Yeah, shifting into a wild animal will do that to a guy.”

Connor laid his hand over mine. “You’ve taken it all in stride, though. You haven’t let it get you down, and you’ve been amazing for Maya, knowing that she’ll be going through the same thing someday. How is the timing of your shift determined, anyway? Seems crazy that it happens out of the blue like that.”

I coughed into my hand. “Um, I’m not sure.” I absolutely was sure. It was triggered by having your mate near, or old age, like me. In the cases of people who didn’t have mates, it was random, but those were rare. “I don’t know what I would have done if Mason hadn’t shown up, and you. Especially you, Connor.”

Connor shook his head. “I didn’t do any—”

“Mason might have introduced me to the pack, but Connor, you’ve kept me anchored, and I really appreciate that.”

Connor hit me with a soft smile, and my whole body lit up, like I was some sort of randy teenager. Fuck, I just wanted to take him away from here and have my wicked way with him —as long as he wanted that too, of course. I would never force myself on him.

I cleared my throat and pulled my hand away. I needed to slow this down. We had so much we needed to know about each other.

“Is something wrong?” Connor asked, real concern in his voice now, and I was fucking this all up.

“No, everything’s fine. It’s just if I keep touching you, I’m never going to make it through this date without doing something embarrassing. Mason said the first month of shifting can feel like a second puberty, and he wasn’t kidding. I feel like I am a walking hard-on right now.”

Connor burst out laughing and covered his mouth to contain the sound. “Oh, good! It’s not just me who is walking around like a teenager, getting hard every time I think of you.”

Suddenly my vision changed, and I knew my eyes had shifted. “No, Connor, it’s not just you.”

“Good,” he said, and he picked up a taco and took a bite. “So, what else have you been doing while I’ve been at work?”

I sighed. Talking was good. Talking would hopefully keep my hard-on at bay. I blinked until my vision returned to normal. “Apparently, I signed up to help with a remodeling project on the pack property. The bathroom in the pack house needs some updates. Actually, the whole house needs some updates because we haven’t gotten around to organizing it. That will come in due time though.”

“Is Mason the leader? I still don’t understand completely how pack dynamics work. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that werewolves exist.”

“You and me both,” I said. “Mason is great, don’t get me wrong. But he’ll be the first one to say he’s not equipped to lead. In fact, there are certain people who are natural-born leaders of packs.”

“Alphas?” Connor asked.