8. Dane #2
I snorted. “What did you say?”
“I stared at him for a full five seconds because I thought he was joking.”
“He wasn’t?” I asked.
“He was devastatingly sincere.”
I shook my head solemnly. “Brave of you not to quit on the spot.”
“I considered it.”
The easy conversation settled something restless in me.
That had started happening more lately around Seth. Being near him felt uncomplicated, at least until my feelings got involved.
Which, unfortunately, was happening more often too. The drive back toward pack territory passed quickly.
Seth seemed less nervous this time, though I still noticed him glancing out the window occasionally as the trees thickened around the road.
“You know,” he said after a while, “your family’s either going to think this is very serious or deeply suspicious.”
“They already think it’s serious.”
Seth looked horrified. “Dane.”
“I’m kidding,” I said after a slight pause.
Seth narrowed his eyes. “That pause was suspicious.”
I grinned despite myself. When we finally pulled into the driveway, lights already glowed warmly through the windows. Voices drifted faintly from inside.
Seth inhaled slowly beside me.
“Nervous?” I asked.
“A little,” he admitted.
“That’s fair.”
He glanced over. “You?”
I considered lying.
“A little,” I admitted.
That seemed to surprise him.
“Why?” Seth asked
Because somewhere along the way, I’d started questioning whether I was still pretending at all.
Instead I said, “Because my family’s insane.”
“That I already knew,” Seth told me.
Inside, the house smelled like roasted meat, garlic, and whatever dessert my mom had apparently decided required enough sugar to kill a lesser species.
The second we stepped through the door, voices carried from the dining room.
And then my mom appeared like she’d been waiting beside the entrance for our arrival. Which she probably had.
“There you are!” she said brightly.
Seth smiled immediately. “Hi.”
“I’m so glad you could make it,” she said warmly. “Especially on such short notice.”
Seth glanced briefly at me before answering.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
The words hit harder than they should have. My wolf practically preened. Mom looked delighted.
“See?” she said to me. “Such a nice boy.”
I sighed. “You say that like I brought home a rescue dog.”
“That depends,” Carter’s voice called from the dining room. “Is he house-trained?”
Seth immediately laughed, and just like that, the tension eased. We headed farther inside where the rest of my family had gathered around the dining table.
Devon stood first, smiling warmly as we approached.
“Seth, right?” he said. “Good to finally meet you.”
“You too,” Seth said.
Beside him, Carter leaned back in his chair. Carter had alpha energy even sitting down. Calm, steady, deeply annoying.
“So this is the famous Seth,” he said.
“Oh my God,” I muttered.
Seth looked amused already.
“Don’t encourage him,” I warned.
“Too late,” Carter said.
I introduced Seth properly around the table anyway, though most of them had technically met him already at the cookout. Still, tonight felt different.
Dinner was smaller, closer and more intimate, which meant every little interaction suddenly felt louder somehow.
Seth sat beside me at the table and our knees brushed briefly underneath it.
When my hand landed on the back of his chair automatically while he talked to Devon, it felt natural.
It was such a small gesture, except they didn’t feel fake anymore. Dinner itself turned predictably chaotic.
Levi and Chris argued over their favorite football teams. Mark and Zack talked about their upcoming performances. Pampi wandered beneath the table searching for scraps.
Through all of it, Seth fit beside me strangely easily. At some point during dinner, my mom asked Seth about the café again.
“You still hiding extra pastries in the back?” she asked.
Seth looked appropriately serious. “Only for valued customers.”
“I knew it,” she said triumphantly.
“You’re corrupting my mother,” I informed him.
“She was already willing to fight strangers over baked goods,” Seth pointed out.
“That’s fair.”
Everyone laughed, and then Seth smiled at me. I noticed it was not the polite smile he used for customers, or the nervous smile from our first fake date conversation.
This one was softer and warmer.
Something in my chest tightened unexpectedly. Beside me, Seth shifted slightly in his chair. Without thinking, I reached for his hand beneath the table.
It happened instinctively. The second our fingers intertwined, Seth went still. It was only a brief moment, then his hand squeezed mine back.
My pulse jumped hard enough that I was suddenly grateful nobody at the table could hear it. Well, everyone probably noticed.
I kept talking like nothing happened while internally combusting. Meanwhile, Seth’s thumb brushed lightly against mine under the table.
My mom caught sight of our joined hands at one point and looked so pleased I thought she might actually start talking about wedding plans.
Still, I didn’t let go, and neither did Seth.
Somewhere between Carter teasing me, Devon telling a story about pack patrol disasters, and Seth laughing softly beside me, something shifted again.
This was definitely not fake anymore.
When Seth leaned into my shoulder slightly while laughing, I could sense my wolf feeling completely at ease. Seth felt it too, I could tell.
The air between us had changed, and neither of us seemed to know what to do about it.