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“Wonderful! The dress code is casual since we run after little ones all day. Heather at the front desk will help you with the paperwork, and you can start tomorrow. The hours are seven-thirty to four, Monday through Friday.”
__________
I was grinning from ear to ear as I walked into the Tumblewild town hall building. In one hand, I held a cup of fresh coffee and in the other a to-go box filled with agenerous helping of meatloaf from the diner we visited the night before. I stopped at the front desk, unsure where to find Gabe or even if I would be allowed to personally give him the meal.
“Good afternoon, I am here to deliver lunch for Gabriel Daniels,” I said when the receptionist turned toward me. “Should I leave it here, or can I go to his office?”
The female wolf didn’t try to hide her excitement. “You must be Ella. I’m Linda. It’s so good to meet you.” She leaned over the counter and extended her hand. I set the coffee down to shake it, grateful to find another friendly face. “Gabe mentioned that he had a friend from out of town staying with him.”
“It’s good to meet you, too,” I said. I tried not to show any surprise at the way Gabe had explained our friendship. It was kind of him to act like we were old friends rather than what we actually were: strangers who had just met each other less than a day ago.
She smiled at my shy response and used the phone at her desk to call Gabe downstairs. Her eyes twinkled when she mentioned that a special friend was waiting for him.
Gabe must have guessed who the special friend was. His smile grew to match my own when I handed him the coffee and meatloaf. He turned to go back to his office, motioning for me to follow him into the elevator.
“Thank you so much for the recommendation, Gabe. Ms. Jenner hired me on the spot!”
It took everything I had in me to wait until he was seated at his desk to share the good news. He gave me a knowing look and struggled to keep a straight face.
“I bet. You don’t look like you’ve done any hard time andthey are desperate for help,” he said.
I wanted to reach across the table and nudge him for the dismissive comment, but I resisted, remembering how he had pulled away from me that morning. While I certainly wasn’t trying to flirt with him, Gabe seemed concerned about any touching at all, and I wanted to respect his boundaries. So, I rolled my eyes instead.
“Yeah, I’m sure that was it.”
“So, when do you start, Ella?” he asked, taking his first bite of meatloaf.
I had to grit my teeth together not to correct him with my real name. “Tomorrow, seven-thirty in the morning. So, I might have to be the one setting the coffee pot.”
He laughed again, adding some of the mashed potatoes to his fork. “You slept in today, but tomorrow you’ll see that I was already up for a few hours before you even came out of your room. Unless you plan on waking up at five, I’ll continue making the coffee.”
I should have known that he was an early riser. He probably had a whole morning routine.
“So, what do people do for fun in Tumblewild? I’m assuming there’s not another pack run this evening.”
He shook his head. “No such luck. We only have them about once a month during the full moon unless our alpha calls for an additional one.”
“I haven’t met your alpha. Do I need to introduce myself to him?” I wrung my hands under the desk, suddenly worried and hoping that I hadn’t offended the leader of the pack by not seeking him out already.
Jeremy expected visitors to introduce themselves as soon as possible, and he was the only alpha I knew. Hisexpectation made sense; the alpha was charged with the pack’s safety, and to protect the pack, he had to keep tabs on everyone who entered.
To my relief, Gabe shook his head. “I texted our beta after you settled in last night. Visitors usually go through him, since Tumblewild is pretty large and our alpha stays busy with other things. Lately, he’s been even more swamped than usual. He wasn’t even at the pack run.”
I shot him a surprised look. Jeremy never missed a pack run. He said it was an important time for him to connect with everyone and it was one of the reasons the pack looked forward to them so much.
Gabe shrugged and shook his head, agreeing with me without saying as much.
“So, was your beta alright with me staying here until my visitor’s pass expires?”
Gabe’s ears turned pink, which must have been his own version of blushing. “He welcomed you to stay at Tumblewild. He was…skeptical…of you staying with me, but that’s only because he knows that I want to pursue my true mate. I plan on touring some packs next summer to see if I can find her.”
I tried and failed to stifle a laugh. His beta was afraid that Gabe was going to bone me. “You know that wolves can have sex without claiming each other, right? Does he know that?”
“Of course. But it is the belief of my pack that the goddess requires her wolves to be celibate until mating, and I want to uphold that law for myself. Besides, something tells me that it will be worth it when I find her.” His explanation was simple, and he made no apology for it.
“I think that’s very romantic, Gabe. For what it’s worth, I promise that I am not secretly after your virginity.” His ears deepened to a darker shade of red, but that was the only indication of his discomfort. The rest of him relaxed like he had been a little worried about ulterior motives on my end.
“I should get out of your hair. I know that you still have a lot to get done, but I just wanted to say thanks for everything. I mean it, Gabe. I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got here.”
