Page 5 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

“Don’t you think you’ll end up feeling lonely after a while?”

“There are ways to temporarily cure loneliness,” I said with a wicked smile. “Ways of relieving stress and finding some company on cold nights… If you know what I mean.”

Georgie rolled her eyes. “Cute. So you’re just going to live as a spinster and have a one-night stand or two whenever things are too quiet? That’s real classy.”

I laughed and rocked back a little on the stool. “Hey, I never claimed to be classy. And you were the one talking about weddings and soulmates. I told you what I was looking for in a soulmate, which is probably the most I’ve opened up about that kind of thing to anyone. You should consider yourself lucky.”

“I do consider myself lucky,” she said, looking back at the purchase receipts from the day and writing stuff down in her ledger notebook. “But not because you’re opening up to me. Rather, because that man who left you his number spent even more money than I thought he was going to. Why didn’t you tell me he walked out of here with over $200 worth of stuff?”

“I didn’t want you to force me to go after him and flirt some more,” I admitted. “I was worried you would try to get me to make an even bigger sale.”

Georgie looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “You’re right… I probably would’ve. But hey, a $200 sale this time of year is something to celebrate.” She took a couple of twenties out of the register and then shut the drawer with her hip. “Let’s go to Cal’s. Drinks are on me.”

I hopped off the stool. “You don’t need to ask me twice. I’m right behind you!”

At the bar, Georgie and I found a booth near the back, which we tucked into, both of us sitting on the same side so we could people-watch. We sipped our beers, and Georgie pointed out the bartender with whom she’d gone on a date a while back. “He never called me after that,” she added. “Which was a bummer because I felt like we had a really good time.”

“Forget about him,” I said. “If he didn’t call someone like you back, it’s probably because he’s an idiot, and you don’t want to date an idiot.”

“I guess that’s true…”

“Oh hey, that guy is kinda cute. And he’s looking over at us. Maybe you should go and talk to him.”

“He’s looking at you, not me.”

“You can’t tell from this far away! Besides, I’m sure if you go up and introduce yourself, it won’t even matter who he was looking at before. He’ll be so enamored with your gorgeous smile that you’ll have him on the hook.” I gently nudged her out of the bench seat. “Go on! He’s got a nice face, and unlike the guy who came into the shop, this one actually has style.”

Georgie shot me a look but ended up leaving the booth anyway. She pulled her leggings up and straightened her shirt. “How do I look?”

“Adorable. I would absolutely date you.”

“Ugh,” she whined. “I hate it when you say things like that. If we were bi, we wouldn’t have to deal with all these annoying men and could just ride off into the sunset together.”

“Alas. It wasn’t meant to be. But maybe it’s meant to be with that guy. Now go!”

“Right. Okay. I’m going.” She pushed her shoulders back, took a big swig from her beer, and then turned around and met the man halfway. He had been making the journey over to our table already, and his face lit up when she came to talk to him. After a few seconds, he pointed to two open places at the bar, and Georgie joined him. I smiled, happy to see my friend having fun, and pushed myself further into the corner of the booth. This was how I preferred to drink anyway, tucked away in a dark corner, all alone but also surrounded by people.

Thankfully, nobody tried to talk to me for the rest of the night, and when Georgie and I walked home later, she told me all about her new crush, Dylan, and how he was 100 percent the man she was going to marry one day.

Chapter 3

Andreas

The feast went off without a hitch. The food was amazing, everyone was in a good mood—thanks in part to the expensive case of wine I’d purchased—and I sat at the head of the table and watched as the members of the two packs started to bond and form connections. The only person who didn’t seem to be having fun was Becc, but that didn’t come as a surprise. He sat a few seats down from me, scowling nearly the entire night and tearing into his food like a wild animal.

I ignored his animosity, knowing that dwelling on it would also put me in a bad mood. As it was getting close to midnight, I could tell the party was wrapping up, and I decided to bid everyone goodnight a little early. A few people from the Moreno pack came to talk to me one-on-one before I headed home, expressing their gratitude and asking questions about the compound. By the time I was left to my own devices, it was nearly one, and my walk back home was quiet and peaceful. I decided to take the long way and strolled along the stream that ran through the property. As I came to a small bridge built centuries ago over the creek, I saw a figure standing in the middle of it. At first, I thought about turning around and leaving them alone. Whoever was near the water seemed to be wrapped up in their own world, and I was pretty tired and not so much in the mood to talk.

But then the figure moved and I noticed it was Sarafina. Seeing as she was soon to be my wife, I decided to check on her and make sure she hadn’t gotten lost on her way to the guesthouse.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it,” she said as I approached the bridge. She must’ve smelled me from a mile away. “The feast was lovely, by the way.”

“I’m glad you had a nice time,” I said.

“The rest of my pack did as well,” she added. “Aside from my brother, but you don’t have to worry about him.”

“You sure about that?”

She chuckled. “He’s abrasive, but I know he will come around eventually. Even he can’t deny just how much our pack has shrunk in the past few years, and since he hasn’t come up with any of his own plans for getting our numbers up, I think he’ll get on board with this one soon enough.”

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