Page 110 of Chosen Beta

I turn the toaster on for the first batch of toast, and then I start making the eggs.

“What’s the next part of the plan?” I ask as I cook.

I hear Pete sip his coffee before he answers.

“The next part of the plan? I thought that was obvious. You speak to Owen, and then you speak to Lana.”

He’s giving me a pointed look when I turn to glance at him.

I haven’t forgotten about that, much as I might like to.

It’s not that I don’t want to tell Lana.

She deserves to know, and I’m not worried about her reaction.

It’s Owen.

I don’t see him doing a one-eighty on his feelings for this city.

Not overnight, not even for the sake of our remarkable new fated mate.

Pete might think these are the last two things that need to happen to make Lana ours, but there’s no exact number of steps to winning her heart.

I give him a wry smile. “Actually, I was asking about the plan to keep Lana safe.”

“Hm,” he murmurs. “Well, she’s probably sick to death of Owen’s crappy attitude by now, so she’ll be relieved when I go down there to take over for the day. We’re still waiting on some security checks coming back, and I’m guessing Owen will do the risk assessment since he’s here. He should speak to you first. I plan to make sure he knows that.”

Of course he does.Pete’s always working at full speed. I don’t think he knows how to slow down. He’s impatient the same way Owen is moody.

I really hope Owen wasn’t in walking-raincloud mode all night. Figuring out who Lana is to us surely made him less prickly by the time they were alone together.

Fingers crossed.

I pour myself a cup of coffee, preparing myself for the worst.

I don’t really like the thought of having my workday interrupted to argue with one of my mates.

Kind of makes me wish I’d handled this whole situation differently, but it’s a little too late for regrets now.

The toast pops up and I put it on a plate, stirring the scrambled eggs before getting a knife and starting to butter the toast. As much as I’ve been keeping up the habit of cooking since I got here, it’s the first morning I’ve made food before work since I got here.

That makes me think about Lana, and how hard she’s been working, too.

She probably hasn’t eaten, unless Owen made a point of it, which he probably hasn’t, since he doesn’t seem to feel the need to eat or drink until noon every day.

“So, you’re planning on telling Lana as soon as you speak to Owen, right?” Pete asks.

I should have known he wouldn’t let the topic go.

Taking a sip of my coffee, I avoid answering that question straight away.

Once I put my mug back down, I put some of the scrambled eggs onto his plate and bring it over to him before I respond.

“After Owen and I have talked about it properly, I’ll be sure to speak to her.”

It’s as assuring as I can make it, but I can tell by the vaguely suspicious look in his eyes that he knows I’m giving him a non-answer.

I set his plate and silverware down in front of him.

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