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“No perks for you in my kitchens, Alpha,” she called back. Emma was the kind of pack member that kept our morale up. She was stern and fair, when needed, but caring and made sure everyone was taken care of. She was the one with the most requisitions and nearly all were for others. Seeing her thrive here was one of my proudest accomplishments as an alpha, something my father would have spit in my face for. But that was the exact reason that packs like mine were the ones who’d survive. The old ways were on their way out, most younger pack members refusing to take their abusive and suppressing ways.
“Did your nose lead you here?” Vanya teased. “It seems to run in the pack.” She nodded her head to the side where Nyx was sitting on a counter, eating a plate with a slice of pie on it.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nyx gets pie but I don’t?!”
“Talk to your girl here, she’s got a softer heart than I do.” Emma laughed.
“It’s because my pie turned out ugly and I can’t let the pack see that,” Vanya said with a grimace. The way her nose scrunched up was adorable. Her long blonde hair was in a high ponytail and a streak of flour was going down her cheek. She was just existing and here I was in awe of how perfect she was. I had it bad already and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon.
“Join the testing zone then and stay out of our way,” Emma ordered, waving a rolling pin my way. Vanya was already cutting off a big slice of what looked like cherry pie and I took it with a grin.
“Thanks,” I told her. She bit her lip and her cheeks tinted pink. The usual snarky and feisty wolf was suddenly shy around me and damn if that didn’t make me like her more. She was that perfect mix of badass with a sweet side that I was a damn sucker for. I’d truly never met anyone like her.
“You here to kill me?” Nyx asked as I hopped up next to him. I glanced toward the women to make sure they wouldn’t be able to overhear.
“No. Leven’s a dick, you’re not fired.”
“Vanya told me.” He chuckled softly. “She was afraid I was upset with her after it. Nothing happened with us that night.”
“That night? Meaning something did happen another time?” I asked. Oddly enough I wasn’t upset. She’d made it clear she wasn’t wanting to be exclusive and we were all adults. Honestly, sharing a mate wasn’t uncommon in smaller packs so it wasn’t foreign to me, though I knew our pack was in the minority with that.
“Yeah. She’s different, man. I really like her and we’ve only spent time together those two times. She gets under your skin and suddenly you’re over here in the Vanya fan club eating pie and wishing she’d look your way.”
“I asked her about the full moon,” I admitted. “She doesn’t want to be exclusive though.”
“So you’re okay that I spent that night with her?”
I nodded at his question and his eyes went wide.
“Will me taking her to the full moon be an issue?” I countered. Apparently I’d decided to go all in on this and make everyone involved with her uncomfortable. But it was better to have all the secrets out there instead of causing tension in the pack.
His eyebrows furrowed as he thought it over. Finally he shrugged. “Like, I should be jealous, but I’m not.”
“That’s how I felt.” I laughed. “I think it’s because she doesn’t make it feel like competition. She gives you her full focus when she talks to you. And honestly, I know you wouldn’t do anything stupid and fuck it up with her.”
“Exactly,” he agreed, eyes flickering to her. The way his lips twisted into a small smile as he watched her and Emma dancing along to some ridiculous playlist said it all.
Vanya was so different here. She was free now, dancing without worry, laughing and being herself unapologetically. A flush of pride went through me, knowing this sanctuary I’ve worked so fucking hard to build played a part in that.
“Alpha, it’s time,” Nyx said, licking his fork clean before hopping off of the counter and tossing his dishes in the sink.
“Vanya, security meeting if you still want to come?” She looked from me to Emma, uncertain. “We can walk you back after.”
“That works. I’ll take me a bit of a break while you’re gone,” Emma reassured her, though not a single one of us bought that lie.
Vanya walked between me and Nyx on the way back to the security office. She was more quiet than usual, and I had a feeling she was working through something, likely the conflicting feelings she had for us. It wouldn’t be easy to figure out how to navigate this delicate situation. Because despite the hate going on between her and Leven, I saw the chemistry as well.
When we got there, the others were all sitting around the war table. Leven’s expression fell at the sight of us together but he fixed it quickly. The fact there was no glare there told me that he’d done a bit of soul searching. Though I wasn’t sure how I felt about seeing him with her, I’d seen enough to think he didn’t deserve her at all. He had some major groveling to do if he wanted to atone.
“Vanya is here since this directly involves her. Maybe she’ll have some more insight as well. Vanya, this is obviously Antonio and that’s his brother, Carlo Rivera, Daniel Tennison who does our day patrol outside of the gates. Vince Costa is another daytime guard since he’s got a baby at home. Then you know Leven and Nyx. We’re small but we all have different skills.”
“I’m the tech genius,” Antonio bragged. “My brother here is just an average guard.”
Carlo rolled his eyes. “I’m the tracker in the group. Sorry if that’s not good news.”
“Are you tracking me?” she asked with a laugh. He shook his head and she shrugged. “Then we’re good.”
“Good.” He nodded. “And in case you’re asking internally why I’m not tracking him. I’ve tried. He’s good at what he does. Only a tracker could evade one and he knows we’re on his trail now.”
