Page 4 of Finding Forever with the Alpha Pack

Her question hits me like a punch to the gut, and I struggle to keep my voice steady. “I don’t know, pumpkin.” I glance at Griffin, and he meets my eyes in the mirror, giving me a slight nod. We’re both in the dark, with no straightforward answers to give. “Hopefully, as soon as possible.”

“Okay, daddy, love you all,” Nina says, her small voice so hopeful it makes my chest ache even more. She slips off Conrad’s lap, running off after we tell her we love her back.

“I’m going to go nap with Deacon. I’m on baby duty. Love you, mommy and daddies.” Ashina, always full of energy, gives a quick wave before following her sister.

I pass the tablet back to Grace, watching the way her face softens as she continues her conversation with Conrad. I lean back in myseat, but my phone buzzes in my pocket, pulling me back to the present.

The heavy equipment has finally arrived at the job site, close to the pack lands. I scroll through the messages, my pulse quickening as I check off everything we requested—dynamite, fuses, detonators. Each one is a ticking clock in my mind, every piece vital to the plans we’ve set in motion. Plans that could either save us or tear everything apart.

Logistically, my plan should work. It has to. I’ve got five heavy-duty excavators and enough dynamite to blow half this mountain range to rubble. The only thing left is teaching my bond mates and Ambrose how to operate the machines. Once they’re ready, I’ll send in my explosives experts to wire the tunnels for collapse. The excavators will seal the tunnel mouths before the charges go off, trapping whatever’s inside.

I pull up my notes on my phone, my mind already running calculations. Stick count, tunnel size, collapsible length—I jot down the numbers and start plugging them into equations, my fingers tapping out a steady rhythm. It feels mechanical, almost mind-numbing, but the stakes are too high for me to get this wrong. One miscalculation and the tunnels won’t collapse as intended, or worse, the blast radius won’t be far enough to keep us safe.

Grace leans over my shoulder, peering at the numbers on my paper. “That’s wrong.” Before I can respond, she takes the notepad from my hands and rewrites the formula, effortlessly plugging in the correct numbers. “The answer is twenty-three, set at eighteen inches apart, with additional charges at the apex, in tandem, at the furthest point.”

Her voice is calm, confident. She scans the rest of my notes, her eyes narrowing slightly as she pulls up something on the tablet. Without missing a beat, she scribbles a different formula, her fingers flying across the screen like she’s done this a thousand times. “We’ll need two hundred and fifty yards of fuse cord, minimum. The ignition system should give us a safe distance of at least a hundred and fifty yards.” She hands me back the notepad, a small smile on her lips, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

My brain screeches to a halt. What normally takes me hours to calculate, she figured out in less than twenty minutes. I stare at the notepad in my hand, feeling like my brain just short-circuited. How? How did she do that so fast?

“How did you do that?” I ask, my voice more breathless than I’d like. I glance from the notepad to Grace, who’s now finger-drawing charge placement plans on the tablet like it’s a casual sketch.

“Do what?” She doesn’t even look up, absorbed in the work.

“This—the math? Engineers spend years learning how to master these calculations.” My mind is spinning, the ground shifting under my feet. Grace, my mate, is apparently a secret genius, and I had absolutely no idea. Judging by the way Griffin keeps glancing at us in the rearview mirror, neither did he. The more I think about it, the more unsettling it becomes. What else don’t I know?

“Numbers are easy, constant. People … They’re difficult.” Grace smiles as she turns, showing me the rough sketch she did on the tablet. Holy shit, she did better than some of my highest paid engineers.

“Do you want a job? I’m being serious. You can work from home and whenever you feel like it.” Grace wants to do something meaningful and that gives her a purpose. This could be it.

“I’ll think about it.” She says, smiling. “I’m just glad I could help.”

Help? She literally just solved a problem that would have consumed the rest of the day for me. I would have been trapped double and triple checking my numbers till well into the night.

Chapter 4

Grace

The morning airis cool as I pace around the yard, trying to shake the restlessness that’s been simmering under my skin since yesterday. The therapy session still haunts me, the memory of my temper flaring vividly. I’ve gone over the details again and again, replaying everything in my head. I don’t see how I was wrong. He’s been told so many times not to push the Ethan button with me. I warned him. I warned them all.

The soft crunch of grass under my feet offers some comfort, a grounding sensation amid the whirlpool of thoughts. Nicolai had warned me earlier that the movers were coming today to bring our things to the new house. I sigh, already imagining the irritation I’ll feel watching strangers touch our stuff. There’s a possessive growl that threatens to bubble up just thinking about it.

The sound of footsteps pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn to see Griffin stepping out of the house. My breath catches—he’s in a henley and jeans.Jeans? Since when does he wear something like that? It’s like seeing a different version of him, and for a moment, it throws me off balance.

“Gracie,” he calls, his voice soft, almost gentle. In a few strides, he’s in front of me, wrapping me in his arms, his lips brushing mine in a soft kiss. The tenderness makes my heart race. “Do you want to go to lunch with me?”

“Just us?” I ask, standing on my toes to close the distance between us, looping my arms around his neck.

“Absolutely, wherever you want to go.” His smile is warm, and when he kisses me again, I melt into it. This Griffin, the one who forgets he’s the alpha and the mayor and just focuses on being my mate—I like him the best. No, I love him. This side of him makes me feel like we’re the only two people in the world.

“Can we go to the wing place? Or maybe the bar Andrea works at so we can see her?” I bat my eyes playfully, knowing he can never say no when I look at him like this.

Griffin grins, practically beaming at me, and I can’t help but smile back. “Of course,” he says, pulling out his phone to text the others.

We walk to his truck, and Griffin opens the passenger door for me, always the gentleman. I slide in, and he leans over, making sure my seatbelt is secured before gently closing the door. It’s those little things—how he takes care of me, how he never forgets the details—that make me feel safe with him.

As he jogs around to his side, I catch myself smiling again. Maybe today will be okay after all. But there’s still a part of me, deep down, that can’t shake the feeling of unease. That unresolved tension from yesterday lingers like a shadow, just waiting for the right moment to strike.

The gravel crunches beneath the tires, the rhythmic sound growing distant as we leave the house behind and drive down thedirt road. The evening air is cool through the cracked window, but inside the car, there’s a warmth between us that feels steady, grounding. Griff’s hand settles on my upper thigh, his touch both reassuring and curious. “What’s on your mind?” His voice is calm, but I can feel the weight behind his question.

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