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“Yeah, thank you.”

“I’ll be right over with the second pack. They’re called the Graylock pack.”

Amelia walks back with four alphas, one of which looks shockingly familiar.

“Officer Stone?” I ask, my eyes going wide.

Officer Stone, out of his police uniform and dressed in a suit, smiles at me. His smile is almost a bit sheepish, if an alpha like him had the ability to look that way.

“How’re you doing, Luna?” He asks, sitting beside me.

“A little overwhelmed,” I answer, gesturing around the room.

“I can imagine,” he chuckles. “I’m sorry for just leaving you there at the center the other day. I felt so bad, you looked so lost. It’s just that’s what protocol is, you know?”

“I understand,” I reassure him. He didn’t truly have anything to do with the bad experience I had when I first came to the center, so holding it against him wouldn’t do either of us any favors.

“Sorry for surprising you here, I just couldn’t get the thought of you out of my head,” he says, his smile soft and kind. “Let me introduce you to my pack.”

“Hello, my name is Killian,” The alpha with dark, slicked back hair and piercing green eyes says. I catch a whiff of his tea-like scent.

“He’s our pack leader,” Officer Stone adds. “You may also know him as Councilman Grayson, he’s the youngest person to ever be elected onto the council.”

“Nice to meet you, Killian,” I say, offering him my best attempt at a smile.

“I’m Theo,” thealpha with short-cropped brown hair to Killian’s right says, offering me a bright smile.

“He’s the lawyer of the pack,” Officer Stone explains.

“Milo,” the final alpha says, offering me a small nod. He’s slighter in build than the other three and his shaggy, curly dirty blonde hair falls in his face, hiding his expression from me. It kind of seems like he doesn’t want to be here.

I instantly find a sense of comfort in his presence.

I don’t want to be here either, as normal as this pack seems.

They just aren’t my guys.

“Milo is our tech genius,” Officer Stone says.

Officer Stone, Killian, and Theo all make attempts at small talk, but my attention starts to drift pretty early on into the conversation, despite this pack not being nearly as uncomfortable to be around as the first.

Officer Stone seems to notice. When there’s a lull in the conversation, he takes the opportunity to ask me the last question I ever would’ve expected.

“Are you actually interested in joining with any packs other than the Ward pack?” He doesn’t ask the question accusingly, as if he’s upset I haven’t been paying attention.

Because it seems to be an honest question, I answer it honestly in return, giving him a small smile.

“Not really, no.”

“That makes sense,” he nods.

“I’m sorry for wasting your time.” I bite down on the inside of my cheek, worried they’re all secretly upset.

“No need to apologize, we understand,” Theo—the lawyer guy, I think—adds.

“We did bring you a gift,” Officer Stone says, setting down a winter coat on the table in front of me. “I hope you can make use of it, even if you’ve got your heart set on one pack. I know you didn’t have a coat with you at the police station.”

I blink up at him in surprise, my chest warming at the thoughtfulness.