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I’m exhausted, but the sight of Noah sitting at his usual booth in the back of the restaurant makes me forget about that.

Alina, too, also kickstarts my heart. She’s behind the bar when I wander into the space, and she offers me nothing more than a simple nod in lieu of a real greeting. It’s better than nothing, though. Better than an outright glare.

I sit down across the table from Noah. He has a plate of apple slices in front of him, courtesy of the kitchen.

He grins at me. “Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, son.” I gesture to the notebook open in front of him. “What’s that?”

Noah sighs heavily. “Math homework. I hate it.”

“I thought you were good at math?” I’m pretty sure I remember Alina mentioning it in passing. Or maybe it was something he said the first time I came to see him here.

“Well, I thought I was,” he grumbles. “But we just started long division with decimals, and it’s really confusing.”

“Can I help?”

Noah tilts his head to the side, observing me with eyes that are the mirror image of mine. “Are you good at math?”

“I was great at it in school. They put me on the accelerated track, which means I took calculus when everyone else was still in algebra.”

“Calculus sounds scary.”

I chuckle. “It’s not.”

He frowns thoughtfully. “Do you have to be good at math to be an Alpha?”

There’s a twinge of concern in his eyes, and somehow, I understand exactly where it comes from. He might be young, but he’s a smart kid. He knows what I am, and he knows that he’s my son, therefore, it isn’t hard for him to deduce what that makes him, too. A young Alpha.

Young, and yet already concerned that he won’t measure up. I felt the same way when I was his age.

“Absolutely not,” I assure him. “But I promise I can help. Long division is fun.”

Noah wrinkles his nose at me. I’m laughing again. I adore this kid. My kid. I hardly know him at all, and yet I know that I love him as if I’ve been in his life from the very beginning.

“If you say so,” he mutters, then pushes the notebook toward me. “So, the first problem we have to solve is right here, with thirty-two-point-six-seven-five divided by…”

I settle into the booth, smiling as I help him work through his homework, and I swear I’ve never felt more content with anything in my entire life.

All the while, however, there is a significant portion of my attention fixated on Alina. She looks so beautiful in the dim, warm lighting, and even with her untidy braids and plain cotton tee, I swear she looks more like an angel than a real person. To think that fate could have ever deemed me worthy enough to be her Mate is still something that I’m trying to wrap my mind around, even a decade later.

Alina moves with such quiet confidence, and I soak in every detail of her charming mannerisms and playful quips as she goes about her business behind the bar.

She is intoxicating. She is perfect. I think I’d give anything to make her truly mine.

Chapter 13

Alina

“I can’t believe you kept that from me.”

“Zahra—”

“I mean, I’m not angry. Believe me. I understand why you did it. It’s just…crazy.”

I snort softly. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

There’s only about half an hour left of my shift, and Zahra has come to keep me company at the bar. The Diner has been pretty dead today. Not even Old Betty and Old Joe have been around, and they’re some of my favorite regulars.