Page 77 of Knot That Serious

Eli groaned. “I know! I told you it was messy.”

“Aren’t all packs messy?”

“We’re not a pack,” she answered.

Raj paused at that. Then shrugged as he said, “Could be a pack.”

“No, we couldn’t,” she argued.

Raj arched a brow. “You already live and work together. You’ve been through a heat together. You’re best friends. That can be a pack.”

“No,” Eli shook her head. “I don’t want to be in a pack with someone who doesn’t feel the same way I do! That just sounds like emotional torture.”

Raj wasn’t telling her to bond the stupid alpha. He was just saying that a pack provided stability and comfort, and she and Jack had been a pack for a long time, whether they admitted it or not.

And now it sounded like Beckett was possibly a new, permanent addition, which would naturally cause a little imbalance.

“All I’m saying is, it's improbable that Jack has no feelings for you.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“How could he spend twenty years with you and not?”

Hell, it’d been just a little over an hour and Raj was already smitten.

“To me, it sounds like Jack cares, and just wants you to feel better. Sounds like you’re already a pack.”

Eli wrinkled her nose. Raj experienced a heart palpitation.

“I don’t know about that. I can’t even really… imagine it.”

“Well, that’s what courting is for. To warm you up to the idea. Spoil you and show you the benefits.”

Eli eyed him as she stabbed the last remaining piece of French toast. “Isn’t courting just, like, buying someone gifts and going on dates and stuff? Seems kind of… shallow,” she mused, and popped the final bite between her lips.

“That’s not all it is,” Raj assured her. “I mean, sure, if an alpha can provide for and spoil you, that’s great. But it’s more about just getting to know the other person. If you’re compatible beyond the instincts, the scent and attraction isn’t all that matters.” Raj turned to face her, legs slipping over the seat to fold properly over the bench, wrapping both hands around the now empty coffee mug and stroking his thumbs along the chipped porcelain. “With a pack often comes a bond, and it’s important to know that you… fit with each other. Going on dates, accepting and buying gifts for someone – those are all just glimpses of the person’s soul. It’s intimate, and it takes trust, to bare yourself to another person like that. And it’s just as intimate to return that trust, to accept the gifts and share experiences with another person.”

When he glanced up, Eli was staring at him, some large, unnamed emotion filling her gaze. Then she hummed, arranging her silverware and napkin on top of the empty plate and sliding it to the edge of the table.

“It all seems to move so fast. How do you know?”

“Well, I’ve heard that you just know.”

“You’ve never experienced it?” She seemed surprised.

“I haven’t. Why?”

“You just seem so… passionate about it all.”

“I’m looking forward to the day I experience it for myself, yes,” he admitted. “Still waiting, I’m afraid.”

Eli pursed her lips at that, and the waitress returned with a check that she slapped down on Raj’s side of the booth. He smoothly retrieved the ticket and pulled his wallet from his back pocket, pulling out the correct amount of change and a healthy tip.

“Thanks for this,” Eli said, and Raj shrugged.

“No thanks necessary. You were in distress; I wasn’t going to leave you to wander the sidewalk.”

“I wasn’t wandering the sidewalk—I was going to get a chai, walking to clear my head.”

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