"Ugh, I'm so tired," Farah groaned next to me dramatically, tilting her head back.

I sighed at that, grabbing my bag and keys. The day had been long, but it was finally time to head back. Looking at the whining girl, I walked past her, opening the door. "If you're so tired, head home. I'm closing up."

"Don't have to tell me twice. See you tomorrow, boss. Have a good night," she said as she left the cafe, waving back to me.

I watched her get into her car and drive off, closing up once she had left. I looked up at the darkened sky, inhaling the sweet smell of the outdoors. It was a bit chilly tonight, but nothing too bad. I began my walk back to the packhouse. I didn't live there, but since Erin did with his family, I tended to stop by a lot. I actually had my own house a little way from the packhouse. It was small but homey.

Soon enough, I arrived back to the large structure that was our packhouse. Like a small apartment building, it was well over four stories tall, with two floors sectioned off for the alpha's, beta's, and gamma's families. The floor below those held the conference rooms and offices the higher ranks all used, including the Alpha and Beta. Below that were extra rooms, mainly for visitors. The bottom floor was a common area for all of us. Our pack was big enough to be an entire town, but we did have events that brought us all together often. We had dinners and barbecues, days where we all went to the nearby lake, and even a monthly run. The run was one of our favorite events. The whole pack participated. It brought us all together as a pack, but also let our wolves have a little freedom.

We were actually supposed to have a run in a few days. I wondered if we'd invite Alpha Kristen and her companions to join us. I was sure they wouldn't be here for just one day. It would be fun to have new people to run with. My wolf and I didn't always lead the pack or anything with our speed, but we still enjoyed the time to stretch our legs. I know my wolf was grateful he could at least enjoy that.

I walked right into the packhouse, looking around for Erin. I saw him with Aaron and Ryder, his beta and gamma. Ryder noticed me and waved from the kitchen, a beer can in his other hand. "Wren, come join us," he called, smiling.

They all seemed to be enjoying some free time. I walked over, heading to Erin. He smiled down at me, reaching out to cup my face and bring it up, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. I hummed, kissing him back happily. He pulled away when we heard our friends acting like idiots, whistling and making a fuss. I rolled my eyes at them, heading to the fridge to grab a beer can as well. The kitchen was large enough to fit at least seven people at a time, with sleek counters and an island in the center. It had to be when large events were held. The people cooking needed as many hands on deck as possible, so they also required plenty of space.

I walked back over, leaning on the counter next to Erin. "You guys finished?" I asked them, referring to the whole thing with the visitors. Aaron nodded his head, taking a sip of his drink. "Yeah. Finished an hour ago."

"Thank goodness, too. I was so bored. I lost focus halfway through," Ryder admitted with a groan, whining when Aaron hit him over the head.

"It's our job to handle that kind of stuff. We're going to be in charge soon."

I watched them begin to bicker with a smile, my smile widening when I felt my lover's strong arm wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I turned my head to look at him, having to tilt it a bit to look him fully in the eye. I wasn't that short, but Erin was an alpha and alphas were naturally extremely tall. I'm sure if I wasn't born so messed up, I would've been a bit taller. I pushed that thought away the moment it came, knowing I shouldn't think like that. It made me feel emotions I didn't like to feel.

"Hey. Mind if I stay the night?" I asked him, setting my beer down.

"Of course. You don't have to ask, Wren. I love it when you stay over," Erin told me, leaning down to kiss my temple.

"Okay, is it just me, or was Alpha Kristen super intimidating? She was scary, like a predator ready to pounce any second," Ryder's voice caught my attention.

"She was quite intimidating. Her son wasn't like that, though. He was actually very nice," Aaron spoke up, shrugging a bit.

"Yeah, I guess so. But his beta was so weird," Ryder hummed, taking another sip of his drink.

I couldn't help but agree. "I noticed that too. Was something wrong?" I asked, honestly wondering if something had happened.

"I have no clue. But he kept fidgeting like he was anxious or something. It was..." Ryder answered, the last word he wanted to say not needing to be spoken; we all knew what he meant.

Erin sighed, setting down his now-empty can. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. Wren, babe, ready to head up?"

I nodded my head, finishing my drink before grabbing his empty can too. "Yeah, you go on ahead. I'll be right there."

He nodded, letting go of me to head up the stairs. I took both of our cans to the recycle bin, saying goodnight to Aaron and Ryder.

"Night, Wren. Have fun~" Ryder teased, a smirk on his face.

I blushed, shaking my head. Erin and I hadn't done anything like that yet. We'd messed around before, but we didn't want to risk mating before we were sure we wanted to be together like that. Once we did, I would start experiencing heats and we definitely didn't want to deal with that right now. I walked to the stairs, heading up with my bag still with me. I made my way up to the top floor, knowing exactly which door to head to. I didn't bother knocking, opening up the door to see Erin taking off his shirt. He turned to look at me as I closed the door behind me, throwing his shirt off to the side.

"Hey," he greeted me, walking over to pull me into his arms.

I hummed back, resting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around him. "I missed you," I mumbled, enjoying his warmth.

"I missed you too. I kept thinking about you when we were meeting with Alpha Kristen. You're always on my mind if I'm being honest," he whispered back, letting go to look at me carefully.

I smiled, my cheeks warm. I pulled back as well to set my bag by the door, taking off my shoes. "Movie and cuddle?" I asked him, watching him unbuckle his pants.

He nodded his head, ridding himself of the rest of his clothes aside from his boxers. He went to his closet, coming back out after a second with some sweats on. By then I had already taken off my clothes, folding them and setting them in my bag. I had also gone into one of his drawers, grabbing a hoodie. He had set aside some for me a long time ago when I first started to stay over. He said I looked cute in his clothes, as cliche as it sounded.

I crawled into the large bed in the center of his room, snuggling under the dark blue covers. Erin set up a movie for us to watch, heading over to me after he was done. He got into bed as well, pulling me to him the moment he got comfortable. I shifted around, resting my head on his arm as I looked to the screen. While the movie played, my thoughts began to wander a bit.

I felt like I was lucky to have someone so amazing want to be with me like this. I always felt so warm and fuzzy when I was with him. Erin made me happy and I knew that if we did mate, I'd still be happy. But a small voice in the back of my head said that this wouldn't last. That I'd end up with a fated mate. But it wasn't likely. How could I ever hope for something better than this when I couldn't even feel the mate bond? With Erin, I would be able to choose him, be able to feel our bond once it was made. I wouldn't be able to feel my fated mate's bond until we actually mated. It was the same situation either way, so why couldn't I choose Erin?

I didn't want to get my hopes up. Besides, Erin was... amazing: kind, gentle, brave. I knew he would make a wonderful alpha and I was happy to be by his side. Slowly, my eyelids began to grow heavy as I continued to think.

"Goodnight, Wren," Erin whispered to me, kissing my temple gently as he watched me go to sleep.

I really was lucky to be next to someone like him.

.

.

.

I woke up from a very cozy and comfortable sleep, blinking my eyes slowly. I looked up at Erin, noticing that he was still fast asleep. I smiled gently, looking at his sleeping face. Even asleep he was handsome. I wiggled slowly out his hold, prompting a groan from him as he shifted to cuddle with a pillow. Giggling to myself, I stood up, looking at the clock. It was actually kind of early. I usually woke up at this time to open the cafe and today was no different. I leaned over, pecking Erin's lips gently before I went into his bathroom. After fixing my hair and freshening up, I decided to make a quick breakfast for both of us before I got ready for work. I didn't bother to think about if someone saw me in Erin's hoodie and some socks since it was early and everyone here had seen it at least once - except for the visitors, of course, but they were probably sleeping in.

I left the room and made my way downstairs, yawning softly as I walked into the kitchen. I quickly got to work, grabbing what I needed to make eggs, bacon, and some waffles. Humming to softly as I worked, I let myself focus on the task at hand, enjoying the peace and quiet. That is until I heard footsteps heading down the stairs. I turned my head, wondering who it was.

My eyes widened when I saw that it was one of the visitors, the beta to be exact. He looked right at me, his eyes just as wide. I saw him tense up, his hands balling up into fists at his sides.

"Um," I tried. "Good morning?"

What was I supposed to say? I wasn't supposed to be there as far as he knew. But based off my attire - shoot I was basically half-naked in front of this guy! - he knew that I wasn't just stopping by.

He remained silent, his eyes darting over my body. He suddenly relaxed a bit, shuffling over to sit at the island with a sigh. "Good morning. Wren, right?" He said, his voice quiet.

I nodded my head, shifting around in my place. "Do you want anything to eat? I'm already in the middle of cooking," I offered, feeling extremely awkward.

This complete stranger was sitting here looking at me while I cooked in just a large hoodie and some socks. I felt so embarrassed, no, mortified. He hesitated before nodding, his eyes cast downward. I went back to work, feeling the heavy silence in the air now.

After a few more minutes I finished, plating all of the food, including Erin's. I handed the other his plate, keeping mine next to me. He thanked me, beginning to eat quietly. I bit my lip, glancing around. What was I supposed to do now? Maybe an apology for my lack of clothing was in order? "I'm sorry that you saw me like this. I didn't expect anyone to be up this early," I spoke up.

He looked at me briefly, shaking his head. "You don't have to apologize." He suddenly realized there was another plate next to mine. He swallowed a bite of his food, asking, "Is that for...?"

"My boyfriend," I answered quickly.

"Boyfriend?" He echoed.

I noticed that he tensed up again but tried to hide it quickly, nodding his head slowly in understanding. "Who-"

"Should you really be asking me that? I barely know you," I pointed out.

It wasn't like Erin and I kept our relationship a secret. We were extremely public, but this guy was asking these questions as if he knew me. I didn't want to flaunt my relationship like that. And the way he kept reacting was kind of off-putting. He'd been acting strange ever since I first met him. Was he just naturally this awkward or something? I had no clue, but he was definitely perplexing.

His eyes widened a bit in realization, ducking his head down in embarrassment. "Sorry. I shouldn't have gone that far." He paused for a moment, before adding, "I'm Joshua, by the way. I know your name, so I feel like you should know mine."

"Alright, Joshua."

I decided that leaving would benefit both of us since the atmosphere was very uncomfortable. I didn't want to make things any worse, so I grabbed both my plates, smiling tightly. "I think I'm going to, uh, go now. Enjoy your morning, Joshua," I hurried out, ducking my head down as I quickly went upstairs.

Goddess, what a horrible way to start the morning.

~~~

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