Chapter 6
Krystal
"You’re late," Bryce announced as I emerged from my bedroom into the living room.
I checked the clock and groaned. I'd hit the snooze button a few too many times. "We have a whole hour. Relax, B."
He flashed me a grin with a chunk of cereal stuck to one tooth. "Uncle Nathan says if you’re not fifteen minutes early, you’re late."
I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue. Nathan’s rules were gospel for the pack kids, and Bryce was a true believer.
Our kitchen was small, but it was perfect for the two of us.
The cabinets were painted in a faded blue, and the countertops were worn smooth by years of use.
The fridge was plastered with spelling tests, finger paintings, and a magnet shaped like a wolf that Rissa had given Bryce for his birthday.
There was a calendar on the wall, every square filled with school stuff, birthday parties, pack events, and my work schedule.
Beside the calendar, a stack of bills leaned precariously against the coffee maker, threatening to collapse if I so much as looked at them wrong, never mind paying them.
I'd get to it before they were late. Probably.
I set water to boil and rummaged for Bryce’s lunchbox. "You want PB&J or leftover pizza?"
"Pizza," he said without missing a beat.
I wrapped a couple of slices in foil, then tossed in an apple and a granola bar for good measure.
I’d gotten efficient at this over the years, running on autopilot most mornings, but today my hands fumbled more than usual.
I kept thinking about the non-date with Zaden a few nights ago.
The feel of his hands, the way his eyes never looked away, the heat of his mouth on mine.
Not to mention the way I’d let myself go and how it had left me off-balance and raw.
Bryce slammed the pantry door, bringing me back. "Can I have hot cocoa?"
"You’re already vibrating," I said. "But fine. One mug. Then go brush your teeth."
He whooped and set to work with the cocoa mix, making a mess of the counter. I watched him for a moment, then checked my phone and found a text from Zaden. My heart jumped at the sight of his name like it had each time he'd texted or called.
Morning Beautiful. I woke up thinking about you.
Then he sent a selfie of him lying in bed shirtless with a black sheet covering his lower half. Good God, the man was too sexy for his own good.
I stared at the photo for a few moments, then locked my phone. I didn’t have the energy to dissect what it meant, if it meant anything at all. He was probably being nice, or maybe he was like every other man I’d known. Charming until he got bored. It'd be a dick pic next.
I got Bryce into his shoes and jacket, checked his backpack for the fiftieth time, and herded him out the door.
My car was a battered Jeep that smelled faintly of wet dog and crayons.
Bryce buckled in while I scraped the unseasonably early frost off of the windshield with a library card.
Hadn't expected that when I came out this morning.
I'd have to start checking the weather more diligently.
We drove in silence for a minute. Then Bryce said, "Are you mad at me?"
I blinked. "Why would I be mad?"
"You’re quiet," he said. "You only get quiet when you’re mad."
I forced a smile. "Nope, I'm not mad. Just tired."
"Did you have a date this weekend?" he asked casually.
I choked on my own spit. "What? No. Who told you that?"
He shrugged. "Nobody. You smell different. Like, I don’t know. Like you were around someone new."
I focused on the road. Shit. This kid was too perceptive for his own good. "You know how the Beck Clan dragons went into hibernation? And Ashton was the first to wake."
"Yeah. Elle said more of the dragons are awake."
I nodded and turned onto Nathan’s street. "Well one of those dragons is my boss, and he woke up about a week ago."
He seemed to accept that, but I could feel him watching me, as if he knew I was holding something back.
We pulled up to Nathan’s house. There were three cars in the drive, and Elle stood in the window, waving. Bryce grabbed his backpack and bolted out of the car before I could say goodbye or explain any more about Zaden. He'd accepted that my boss was awake and that was that. For now.
Nathan opened the door and gave me a nod. He was in jeans and a Henley, already holding a mug of coffee. "You look like hell," he said with a laugh.
"Feel like it, too," I replied. "He’s all yours. Good luck."
He laughed, then looked at me for a beat longer than necessary. "If you need anything, let me know."
The all-knowing Alpha. I nodded, then watched as Bryce disappeared inside, already shouting about Mario Kart. I lingered by the curb, letting the morning sun burn off the chill.
My phone buzzed again. Another text from Zaden.
Is tonight a good day for nondate number 2? After work.
I rolled my eyes, but my fingers hovered over the reply button.
You’re on.
I tossed the phone in my bag and set off for the grocery store. My errands were mindless but necessary. I clipped coupons and compared prices on store-brand cereal. I made mental notes of what we could live without for another week.
After groceries, I hit the post office, then the bank. My mind wandered back to Zaden and his sexy smile.
I got back in the car and called Tavi. She answered on the first ring.
"Tell me everything," she said.
I snorted. "About what?"
"Don’t play dumb. You went home with him, didn’t you?"
"I did not," I said indignantly, then hesitated. "Not exactly."
She cackled. "You’re blushing, aren’t you? I can hear it."
I shifted in my seat, staring out at the post office parking lot. "It was a motorcycle ride and some flirting. Nothing happened."
"Liar," she sang. "You always say ‘nothing happened’ when something really happened."
I sighed. "Fine. Maybe something happened. But it’s not a big deal."
"You deserve a big deal," Tavi said, suddenly serious. "You’ve been alone for too long."
I rolled my eyes. "I have Bryce. That’s enough."
She was quiet for a second. "Is it?"
I didn’t answer.
She let it drop. "So, when’s round two?"
I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see it. "Probably never. I don’t do relationships, remember?"
"Sure you don’t," she said. "But you should. You’re not broken, Krystal. You just… forgot how to want things."
That stung. I changed the subject. "How’s work?"
She groaned. "Don’t ask. My boss is a troll, and not the fun, magical kind. I almost threw my laptop at him this morning."
I laughed, and just like that, the tension eased.
We talked for a few more minutes about her job, about the mutual friend who’d gotten arrested for streaking through a haunted corn maze, and other nonsense things.
Finally, Tavi said, "Call me if you need to talk. Or if you want to brag about your new boyfriend."
I snorted. "He’s not my boyfriend."
"Yet," she said, then hung up.
I set the phone aside and drove home, feeling oddly light. Maybe I was just tired. Or maybe I liked the idea of someone wanting me, even if it was just for a night.
Back at my cottage, I put away groceries and tackled the laundry. I sorted socks, folded shirts, and set aside a stack of Bryce's outgrown jeans for donation. Every so often, I’d check my phone, just to see if he’d texted again.
He hadn’t.
I didn’t care.
I finished the laundry and sat at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and staring at the calendar. Work tonight, then a double shift tomorrow. Parent-teacher conference next week. Halloween costume shopping with Rissa, Elle, and Bryce. The grind never stopped.
But underneath it all, there was a current of excitement, a hum of possibility I hadn’t felt in years.
Maybe Tavi was right. Maybe it was time to want something more.
But it still bothered me that I couldn’t feel the mating pull.
Not really. There was something there, drawing me to him, but not strong enough to indicate that he was my mate.
Z’s Place was already humming when I got there.
The parking lot overflowed with pickups and battered sedans, and the sign over the door flickered in and out, as if the neon itself was too tired to make it through another shift.
I shouldered through the crowd and was met with the familiar wave of laughter, glassware, a playlist heavy on nineties grunge, and the sharp bark of Angel calling for someone to bus the corner table.
Behind the bar, Zaden was already working.
He wore a button-down rolled up to his elbows and an apron tied around his waist. His hair was tousled in that impossible way that looked accidental but probably took effort.
He was pouring a flight of beers for a group of tourists, laughing at their bad jokes, and moving with the kind of easy grace that made everyone else look like they were wading through Jell-O.
I clocked in, tied my apron, and scanned the night’s rotation. I had the far section with the pool tables, jukebox, and dartboard. It was my favorite, full of regulars who tipped well and knew better than to grope the help.
I made the rounds, greeting the usual suspects and got to work. Every so often, I caught Zaden watching me. Not in a creepy way, just a flash of eye contact, a lopsided smile, then back to his work. I tried not to read into it, but every time it happened, I got a flutter low in my stomach.
A few hours later, Zaden and I collided behind the service station. He caught me by the elbow before I could drop a tray of clean glasses. "You good?" he asked, low enough that only I could hear.
"Yep," I said. Just nervous as all hell about our second non-date. Okay, so maybe it was a date.
He didn’t let go, just squeezed once and stepped back. "Let me know if you need a breather."
I nodded and got back to work, but the spot where his fingers had touched me tingled for the next hour.