Page 16 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

“Originally we were,” I said. “My pack ancestors settled down here before there were any towns. We used to have this whole area for ourselves, but a couple hundred years ago, humans started putting down roots, and we found ourselves living much closer to civilization than we wanted to be. Sometimes, I think about moving the pack deeper into the forest to get even further away, but as it stands right now, nobody is very fond of that idea.”

“It makes sense they don’t want to leave,” she mused. “It is their home, after all. They feel comfortable there. I can understand that.” She gazed wistfully out the window and neither of us spoke until we arrived in the heart of town. I found a parking spot outside the bakery and breathed in the smell of bread fresh from the oven.

“Mmm,” Sarafina said. “I’ll bet whatever they are making in there is delicious. You want to stop in for a quick snack before you keep driving?”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I better be on…” I trailed off, seeing the sign above the door a few shops down. It was a bookstore, and the words ‘We Deliver!’ were painted in the window.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. I just remembered there was a book I’ve been meaning to pick up. I might as well see if they have it in stock while we’re here. But you don’t have to come in with me. I’ll just pop in and ask, then head north. Feel free to explore the town, and I can come get you on my way back to the compound later.”

“Sounds good to me!” She got out of the car and walked into the bakery. I stared into the windows of the bookstore for a moment, trying to think of what I would say when I went inside. I needed to confirm that the woman—Diana—actually worked there. If I knew for sure she was innocently on the property because she took a wrong turn on her way to deliver books, then I could stop worrying about her as a potential threat and focus on what was really important—my upcoming marriage and the subsequent pack merger.

But what if she wasn’t inside? Was there a way for me to ask about her without drawing too much attention?

Then I noticed the hours listed on the sign hanging from the door and realized that the shop would close soon for a lunch break. I didn’t have time to mull this one over. I would just have to wing it. I got out of the car and marched into the shop.

“Hello, welcome to Georgie’s—” The woman looked up from the book she had balanced in her lap and stopped mid-sentence. Her long brown hair fell into her face, and she flicked it back with her pale hand. “Oh… It’s you.”

There she was. Diana. Right where I had hoped she would be. I couldn’t help but smile. “It is me, yes,” I said. “I was wondering whether or not I would see you here. I came to town to run some errands and saw the bookstore. I’ve never been here before, so I thought I would pop in and say hello.” I waved. “Hello.”

“Uh… hi.”

“I’m afraid we didn’t get a proper introduction,” I went on. “I’m Andreas, Mikeal’s older brother.”

She hesitated but then said, “I’m Diana.”

“I know. My brother told me your name.” Was that a weird thing to tell her? Should I not have mentioned that?

“Okay… Did you just want to say hi, or were you going to look around?”

“I—”

Another woman emerged from a small room off to the left. “Di,” she said. “Who’s your friend?”

“He’s not my friend,” she responded coldly.

“That’s not a very nice way to treat a potential new customer,” the woman said.

“No, it’s okay,” I butted in. “She’s right not to think of me as a friend, seeing as I wasn’t very friendly to her last time we met. That’s why I am here to apologize.”

Now that I knew Diana indeed worked at the bookstore, I thought it best to leave things on good terms with her. I saw no reason to drag out any animosity.

“I don’t have a good excuse for my behavior yesterday other than I have been dealing with a lot lately and was quite stressed. But that’s beside the point. I never should’ve spoken to you like I did or made a scene with my brother in front of a complete stranger like that. It was highly inappropriate.”

The other woman let out a nervous yelp. “Wait a second—You’re—” She looked worriedly at Diana. “Is this the guy?”

“Yeah,” Diana said. “This is the guy who threw a hissy fit while his brother was changing my tire.”

I drew back with a frown. “A hissy fit?”

“What else would you call it?”

“I would call it a perfectly valid response to a stressful situation,” I said. “I was upset because you trespassed on private property, and while I may have let my emotions get the best of me, you were the one who broke the law.”

“Broke the law!” She scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I already explained to you that it was an accident. Your brother understood that I wasn’t there to cause any trouble, but for some reason you were convinced otherwise.”

“Why don’t we all just take a deep breath,” said the other woman. She had her hands up in the air like she was trying to calm two bucking horses. “There’s no need to start yelling in my humble little bookshop here, or you might scare off potential customers.”

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