1. Theo
1
THEO
“ T he Martins and the Blanes are in a dispute yet again about that easement.”
Tyler leaned back in his chair and groaned loudly, scrubbing his hands down his face.
He must have slept in longer than he wanted, because thick stubble covered his cheeks.
It also meant he didn’t have a shift at the firehouse today.
He couldn’t have his five o’clock shadow with the gear that went with being a fireman.
Selfishly, though I would never admit it out loud to anyone, I loved his days off when he let his beard grow just a little bit long.
Two years ago, he’d had two full weeks off work, and he let his beard grow the entire time.
By the end of those two weeks, I’d had to avoid looking at him for fear that I’d cave into my desires and rub my face over it.
Or better yet, my thighs.
I looked away quickly.
Now was not the time to be ogling my alpha.
And he was my alpha in more ways than one: the Alpha of the pack, leader of the den, even if he didn’t fully admit that, and as I’d known since I was just eighteen years old, he was my alpha.
My mate.
We had never talked about it.
At this rate, I didn’t think we were ever going to.
“Let’s sit them down again. At this point, I’m ready to mandate that one of them moves. We can’t keep having the same dispute over and over again. How long has this been going on?”
“This argument predates me, so twenty-five years at least. I have an alternative solution. Jones is getting up there in years, and he’s the neighbor on the other side of the Blanes.”
“I know who he is,” Tyler said.
“I think we could convince him to sell a section of his property. Then we could just move the Blanes’ driveway. Then they have nothing to argue about.”
“That’s not a bad idea. With the way the house is situated, that could still work.”
“Exactly. And we can end this ridiculous dispute once and for all.”
“We might get a year’s worth of reprieve, but they’ll find something else to fight about.”
I grinned.
“They always do.” I pulled out my thick planner I’d begun carrying around years ago.
It had all of my notes and my schedule of all the pack things I kept track of.
I opened it up to the several-page section I had on the Martins/Blanes dispute.
“What’s on your agenda today?” Tyler asked.
I checked my watch, more out of habit than anything else.
I might look like a flake to most people as I flitted around the pack, but I always knew what time it was and where I was supposed to be, and also where most others were supposed to be.
“I’m covering a shift at the diner, then I need to cover a shift at my mom’s store. Tonight is the cooking class that Miss Mabel is putting on. I need to grocery shop for that between shifts. I have most things prepared and already at her house, but all the fresh stuff needs to be bought.”
“You’re taking on too much,” Tyler said.
I scribbled down the notes regarding the easement.
If we were changing property lines, we would need a survey done and an appointment with the county clerk.
“Theo?”
“What?”
“You are doing too much.”
I shook my head.
“No, not even close. I could do so much more. I already have to delegate out a ton of stuff. I’m not even organizing the pack events anymore. Luca and Raphael have taken on a lot of that.”
He raised his brow.
“You delegate? I don’t believe it.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Luca had days off. He asked me if he could help with anything. He’s the one who did the initial grocery shopping for the class tonight, and he’s helping facilitate. Plus, Bernice has been very helpful with the pack history project we started.”
“I’m glad you have friends like them. It’s important to surround yourself with a strong team.”
“Of course,” I said.
I shrugged away his comments.
I was only doing what was necessary for the pack.
“All right, I need to get ready for my day. Thanks for the rundown.”
These early-morning meetings were a daily occurrence now that the pack had grown so large.
“Yeah, what’s up with the getup?” I said, indicating the suit he had only half on.
He wore a pair of dark blue slacks and a stark white button-up.
His tie rested on the back of his chair.
“Court date at the county for the chunk of land.”
“That’s today? How did I miss that? Do you have everything you need?” I flipped through the pages of my planner.
I had notes on this.
We’d been working on this for months, and if the court date was today— “Oh, crap.” Dread pooled in my stomach.
What if I forgot something that Tyler needed?
Tyler reached out like he was going to put a hand on my shoulder, but I knew he would not.
One of the unspoken rules between us was we did not touch.
But I wanted.
And that want had started to grow more recently, to the point where I almost couldn’t fight it anymore.
But did I really have to?
Maybe it was time for the two of us to finally be mates for real.
No.
I mean, maybe?
But also, no.
Fuck, why were relationships so complicated?
“It’s fine, Theo. If I had needed anything, I would have asked. With any luck, I’ll come home and we’ll own a hundred extra acres.”
“That would be nice.” Our pack had grown considerably, and we needed the extra space.
He stood up, grabbed his tie, and put it around his neck.
He started fumbling with it.
“I hate these damn things,” he said.
Without thinking, I stood also, stepped closer to him, and pushed his hands away.
“Let me,” I said.
It didn’t take long, and I had a perfect Windsor knot that I tightened and pushed against his collar, making sure not to choke him—though it was a little tempting to push it a little too tight just to tease him.
But we were on a tight schedule, and playing around wasn’t on the agenda.
“There,” I said.
I patted his chest, smoothed down the tie, and then brushed my hands over his broad shoulders, the heat of him warming my palms.
His chest was mere inches from my face.
Had I ever been this close to him?
Of course I had.
Hadn’t I?
He let out a strangled moan and stepped back.
I looked up into his eyes.
He cleared his throat.
“Theo, maybe we should?—”
His phone went off, a loud, shrill sound—an alarm he had set to know when to leave the house.
My alpha was ever the punctual sort.
If anyone found out that he was mated to Theo the basket case, they would probably lose their damn minds.
I worked hard to be the mate he deserved, and I hoped that I was at least making progress to build a strong reputation with the pack.
“I better get going,” I said.
“Theo—”
“We’ll talk later,” I said, waving over my shoulder.
Tyler was the very best alpha we had.
The pack was strong.
The den was strong.
Mating with me would be seen as a weakness.
The Alpha picking someone as silly as me wouldn’t go over well.
I was no Alpha Mate, even if I wanted to be.
Even if I knew that was exactly who I was supposed to be.
Ever since I turned eighteen and realized that Tyler was my fated mate.