I'd severely underestimated how serious Fen took cooking for me. I woke up the next morning, fully planning to lounge around the house until it was time for dinner, but that idea was instantly thrown out the window when he told me to leave around noon so he could prepare. He wouldn't hear any ifs, ands, or buts whatsoever.

That was how I ended up sitting on Callie's couch, eating a pack of crackers as we watched random shows.

"Are you doing anything later this week?" I asked Callie who glanced over at me curiously.

"Probably going to see my parents at some point, why?"

I leaned further back. "I need to figure out what I'm wearing to Reed's event."

"I forgot about that. You of all people haven't decided on what to wear yet? When are you leaving?"

I rolled my eyes at her comment. Any other day, I would've already decided, but with everything going on with Fen, I'll admit that it had slipped my mind at some point.

"I'm leaving in around a week and a half. I would've already picked something, but I forgot about it. Not to mention, you know how my parents are."

Quick to judge and stubborn to change their minds. I was sure no matter what I wore they'd find some type of issue with it, but their opinion didn't matter. All I cared about was being there for Reed.

"We can go tomorrow," Callie suggested.

"Works for me."

"You know, I haven't been over to your place in a while," Callie said. Her tone was casual, but I knew better than to fall for that.

"I've been busy." I shrugged which technically wasn't a lie.

"Right." Callie hummed, a small smile forming on her lips. "We'll pretend I believe that for now. Just know I'm always here to talk if you need it."

"I appreciate it," I responded honestly.

It didn't surprise me in the slightest that she'd picked up something was off, but I was glad she didn't attempt to force an answer out of me. I doubted explaining I'd not only taken Fen in but fucked with him as well would be an easy conversation.

The sound of my phone ringing caught my attention. I glanced down, seeing a message from Reed.

Reed: You're still coming, right? You aren't going to bail on me last minute.

I scoffed. Who did he think I was?

Cronan: I said I'll be there and I will.

Reed: I just had to make sure. Jude is excited to see you by the way.

Somehow, I doubted that. Judas and I never got along growing up. Although he was two years younger than me, our relationship had always been strained due to our parents. Mine made it abundantly clear since birth that they wanted me to challenge Judas for alpha which, in turn, pissed his parents off to no end. We shared the same blood and yet, we couldn't sit in a room without bickering. Or that's how it was before I left.

I knew completely avoiding Judas wasn't a possibility. One reason was because he'd be officially taking over as alpha by the end of the year which meant his responsibilities likely had already started to prepare him, and two was purely due to the fact that he was Reed's best friend. They'd apparently grown rather close since I left.

Reed: Are you bringing anyone?

I raised an eyebrow at the message.

Cronan: Who would I bring?

Reed: I don't know. You were hiding someone the last time I visited. I figured maybe you finally got yourself a boyfriend. Aren't you also still friends with that human girl who knows about us?

I thought back to how I hid Fen in my room when Reed was over. Of course, he still remembered that. Then there was Callie. They had met a few times, but not enough for me to feel comfortable bringing her. Not to mention, I wasn't sure if pack life would be something she was suited for.

Cronan: I'm not bringing anyone.

Reed: You should consider it.

Cronan: No, I shouldn't.

Reed: I don't want you to die alone.

Cronan: Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself in that case? I still haven't heard anything about a mate.

He, predictably, changed the subject.

Reed: I heard you got a cat.

Damn it, Eli.

Cronan: A temporary stray. I'm going to get rid of it.

I pocketed my phone before he could reply, knowing it'd likely be along the lines of asking for pictures or something similar. Instead, I turned my attention back to the TV, ignoring the phone buzzing in my pocket.

...

A feeling of anticipation filled me when it was time to return home. I wasn't sure what to expect. With Fen, it could've been anything.

I arrived home and pulled open the door, only to immediately get assaulted with the familiar smell of chicken. I walked deeper into the house, just in time to see Fen darting around with his back turned to me as he put the final touches on everything.

Mostly out of curiosity, I leaned against the doorframe and watched him move around. It was clear to me, spaghetti incident aside, that he knew his way around the kitchen which was kind of attractive. Not that I'd tell him that.

Fen hummed to himself as he grabbed the plates which I could now tell was Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. He turned around and came to an abrupt stop when his eyes met mine.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you're actually pretty good at this."

"You sound shocked," Fen said as he placed the food on the table. "I told you the spaghetti was a one-time thing. The house is still in one piece. I'll be waiting for that apology."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It may look good, but how do I know it tastes good?"

"Hurry up and wash your hands and then we can see."

I did as he instructed, washing up quickly before returning to the table. Fen had already poured us drinks and was sitting with an expectant look on his face.

"So?"

"It's good," I shrugged.

"Just good?"

"That's what I said." It was a damn lie and judging by the expression on his face, he knew it. Fen abruptly pulled the plate away. "What are you doing?"

"If it's just good then maybe I should make you something better—"

"Don't be wasteful."

Fen smirked, clearly pleased with himself as he slid the plate back to me. "Admit it's better than just good, and I'll let you keep eating."

I sighed dramatically but couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips. "Fine. It's amazing. Happy now?"

"Very," he said, taking a seat across from me. "I told you I knew what I was doing."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I'd cook for you again sometime if you'd let me."

"Let's see how the night goes first," I suggested.

"Alright." A smile formed on his face. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking about it earlier today, but how did you afford this place? I know Oakwood isn't a huge town or anything, but you don't work around here, do you?"

His question caught me slightly off guard just because I hadn't been expecting him to ask that of all things, but it wasn't like it was some huge secret.

"You're right, I don't work here. Part of the reason I could afford the house was because of the money I made when I still lived in the pack. The other part was because of my grandparents."

"Your grandparents?"

"My paternal grandparents to be specific. My dad transferred to my mom's pack after finding out they were mates which was where I was born. His parents remained in their pack and though I didn't get to see them a lot growing up, we remained as close as we could. My grandparents never really agreed with the way my parents raised Reed and me, but they didn't want to overstep boundaries and risk losing contact with us for good, so they stayed quiet and would offer us help when we needed it. Naturally, when I decided to leave my pack, they took me in with open arms while I decided what I wanted to do with my life and newfound freedom. They were pretty well off and when they passed away, they split their assets between Reed and me. I used some of that money plus what I'd already had saved up and got this place."

"It's always the grandparents, isn't it?" Fen shook, his head a smile forming on his face.

"You said yours raised you, right? I'm assuming you were close?"

"They were basically my parents. They kept me throughout most of the year and made sure I was happy and taken care of."

I could tell by his tone that he truly cared for them, but that did make me want to ask him a question of my own.

"You speak highly of your grandparents, so what made you transfer packs? Why not stay in the one you were practically raised in since birth?"

He shrugged, eyes focused on the table. "I loved my grandparents and I still do, but there were just some holes they couldn't completely fill no matter how hard they tried. Call it selfish, but when Nolan—my previous alpha—asked me to become his gamma, I didn't agree to it because I cared about the pack. I did care about them, but that wasn't the driving force behind my decision. I accepted the role because I thought it'd be a chance to become closer to my parents. I was older now so it wasn't like I needed someone to watch me and we probably had more in common. That's what I hoped, at least."

"Did it not work?"

"My parents only really cared about one thing: their jobs. Honestly, I don't even know if they cared about each other despite being mates. Everyone always speaks of how a mate bond makes you completely in love with your partner and how you always want to spend time with them, but my parents weren't like that. They weren't evil people; they never physically or verbally abused me and they provided me with everything I needed, but they were just absent. Maybe it was their own way of showing love, but to a child, seeing how everyone else is with their parents versus how cold my own were was hard to process."

"You wanted their love," I elaborated and he nodded.

"I wanted their love and I wanted their acknowledgement. They only really visited me on the occasional holiday or would let me visit them during the summer, so we were basically strangers to each other. I knew they didn't have me because they wanted a child—it was more so out of obligation to produce an heir, but I hoped that seeing how I'd grown would...melt away some of those ice layers surrounding their hearts."

"Are they still...?"

"They're alive," he confirmed, realizing what I'd been trying to say. "Last I heard, they were off traveling and considering starting a business now that they didn't have the responsibilities of a gamma weighing on them."

His tone was mostly calm, but I could sense the slightly bitter edge in his tone. Maybe it was because I felt bad or perhaps it was out of pure instinct, but I reached across the table and grabbed his hand. He tensed briefly and met my eyes before relaxing in my grasp.

"Did you ever want another sibling growing up?" I hurried and asked before he could comment on the unexpected behavior.

Fen surprised me by laughing, a sound that I surprisingly wanted to hear again. "Not really. I think two Fen's would've been too much for this world, but it might've been nice to have someone to talk to." I started to speak, but he stopped me. "I think it's my turn to ask a question."

"Go on then."

"Sad family stuff to the side, I wanted to ask you what your past relationships were like. You've only ever really talked about Arlo and you don't consider that to be an actual relationship, so I'm curious."

There it was. That was the type of question I expected Fen to ask. He eyed me with obvious curiosity that made me roll my eyes as I took another bite of my food.

"There isn't really much to tell. Back in the pack, I dated a lot of girls when I was younger. Obviously, none of those really went anywhere. It wasn't until I was seventeen, that I dated a guy for the first time. He was so sure we were going to be mates and since we'd been good friends before that, I gave the relationship a chance. It was...turbulent to say the least. We didn't mesh well so we broke up not that long after, but that relationship did help me figure out I liked men—just not him. What about you?"

Fen shrugged. "I dated here and there but none of them lasted too long. My partners and I were always too different. We wanted different things in a relationship and some of them didn't like how I acted at times. So—"

"Hold on, hold on. 'How you acted'? What does that mean?"

Fen rolled his eyes. "You know how teenagers are. Always going to parties and such. There's always some sort of drama brewing and it isn't uncommon for two or more people to like the same person. I could get very..."

"Jealous? Possessive? Overbear—"

"—I was going to say protective," he cut me off with slightly narrowed eyes, but I could see the amusement hiding within them. "But I suppose some of those words could work too. You know I don't do well with others trying to make moves on my partners. Some of the people I dated didn't like that and so we split up."

I thought back to the night when Simon had tried to flirt with me and how Fen wouldn't stop trying to touch me or leave my side for the rest of the night. I'd largely attributed it to his drunken state at the time, but the more I got to know him, the more I realized just how true his words were.

"You can be pretty possessive," I agreed.

"Possessive doesn't bother you though, does it?"

His foot brushed against the side of my leg and I tensed slightly. The corners of his lips tugged upward and I mentally scowled. He was playing with me. I forced my body to relax and shrugged.

"It depends on what level we're talking about. Most wolves in general are typically possessive to a certain degree. So I don't see it as a bad thing to an extent."

The thing with Fen was that he could be a wild card if he wanted to though. It was always difficult to judge how he'd react in certain situations, but I knew Fen wouldn't hurt me which did provide some comfort.

"So you wouldn't mind if someone was a little...territorial?"

The implication was not lost on me. "Depends on what you mean by territorial. Are we talking casual arm around the shoulder, or are we talking full-on growling at anyone who looks my way?"

He grinned. "Maybe somewhere in between."

"Depending on how far they took it, I wouldn't mind if my boyfriend acted in such a manner." I met his eyes. "But, I'm single."

His eyes seemed to grow brighter and I could tell it was his wolf reacting to my words, likely annoyed by the blatant refusal to acknowledge our bond.

"Well," he began, his eyes flickering down to my lips. "That's good to know, I suppose."

"Just keeping it clear." I leaned forward slightly, arm brushing against my phone which sat on the side of the table, and met his stare.

Fen nodded slowly, his gaze holding mine. "Clear is good."

There was a pause and the change in the atmosphere became abundantly obvious. I don't know which of us started moving first, but plates were pushed to the side and we both leaned forward. His eyes dropped back down to my lips and just before we collided, the buzzing of my phone caught both of our attention.

Fen's eyes shifted down to it and my gaze followed as well. My heart dropped slightly as I read the message from Judas, who I hadn't talked to, let alone texted in at least a year.

Judas: Hey, since you're going to be in the pack next week, I wanted to know if we could talk when you get here.

The message was brief and simple, but I doubted the damage it caused would be the same. I glanced back at Fen who was now looking at me with a wounded expression.

"You're leaving?"

Dark eyes stared at me with confusion swirling around inside them as they waited for an answer. The previous moment was seemingly forgotten.

"I'm going on a quick visit to my pack in a little over a week," I decided to say because there was no point in hiding it.

He frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I sighed and said, "It wasn't like I was trying to hide it." I honestly wasn't, the thought of telling Fen just hadn't crossed my mind. "It's not that big of a deal. My brother has some event he wants me to be there for and then I'll be on my way back."

This did nothing to stop the kicked-puppy expression from forming on Fen's face. "How long?"

I shrugged. "A week? Maybe two? I'm not sure." His frown grew larger. "Stop looking at me like that. You can survive two weeks without me."

"Still..." his voice trailed off before he shook his head and abruptly stood up. "Forget it."

He collected the dirty plates and disappeared back into the kitchen. My eyes followed as he turned on the sink and began to hand wash them. A bubble of guilt formed inside of me. I genuinely didn't expect the news of my leaving to bother him as much as it did.

I stood up and followed after him. "I can do this."

"It's fine."

"You did the cooking. It's only fair," I pointed out.

"I wanted to cook for you, Cronan. I don't mind washing the dishes."

I watched him for a moment before grabbing and towel and began drying the dishes so they could be put back in the cabinet. Fen's eyes shot to me but didn't try and stop me. We finished the rest of the dishes in silence and once everything was put away, I reached out and grabbed Fen's wrist before he could try to create some excuse to leave.

Sparks shot through my hand and made their way through the rest of my body. Fen stopped and glanced back at me. I wasn't sure what exactly possessed me to do it, but I stepped closer to him.

"We'll do something together before I leave," I promised and his eyebrows raised.

"Like what?"

"A game night or something? I don't know."

"A game night," he repeated with a nod. "I'd like that."

"Then it's settled."

A small smile formed on his face which was a welcome change from his previous expression. The uneasiness in my stomach subsided slightly and was replaced with a different, unknown, feeling. As he pulled away and headed down the hall toward his room, I ran my hand through my dark hair and exhaled.

What was wrong with me?