Page 42 of Same Thing
“May I pack you a meal to go?” Delta asked.
Bridger froze in the doorway and nodded, then sat on the same rocking chairs the others had eaten on while she and Nory had packed his portion in a plastic container. Delta made Nory take it to him, and he only slightly flinched when she handed it to him. That was okay though.
“Have a good night,” she said softly as he stormed away.
Inside, Nate and Liam were making their plates. Well, at least she’d thought they were making their plates, until they set them on the table and gestured for her and Delta to sit and eat. Then they made their own plates.
She didn’t know why, but it struck Nory as so sweet. She knew they were starving, but they’d both done something so caring and respectful. And after a quiet dinner, Nate told Deltashe should show Nory the garden, while he and Liam started cleaning up.
Right before she left out the open front door, she turned to look at Liam, and he was watching her. He looked so handsome tonight in the golden halo of the kitchen light. He nodded at her, and she could almost read the words tricking through his mind.Thank you.She didn’t know what for though. She was just happy to have an evening centered around food, and to have met his Pack, even if they didn’t like her overly much.
She turned to find Bridger in the middle of the yard. He looked angry, but perhaps that was just how his face looked, because he stepped toward her and handed her the empty plastic container. He’d already scarfed down all the food. “It didn’t suck,” he said gruffly, then turned and strode for his truck, turned it on, and peeled out of there.
Delta had her lips pursed against a smile the whole way to her garden, which wasn’t really a garden yet. More like a rectangle of earth that had been tilled up and had a half-built fence around it. The land was just waiting for the promise of warmer weather.
“Cooking isn’t my talent,” Delta murmured, her eyes sparkling as she studied the land. “But I like growing things.”
And as they got into the conversation about all the things Delta would nourish in her garden in the spring, Nory felt someone watching her. When she turned, Liam was taking a seat on the rocking chair closest to the garden. A blanket was in his hand, but she didn’t think werewolves got overly cold. He’d brought it for her. He was waiting for her to come back to him.
A zing of excitement trilled through her. She was going to relax in a rocking chair with a gorgeous mountain view and a colorful sunset, with the man she was falling hard for.
Today had started out awful, but now, in the waning light of sunset, with the crisp breeze caressing her skin, and the eyesof the man she cared for trained on her…she had a hard time remembering a better day than this.
Chapter Nine
“What is she?” Nate asked.
“What do you mean?” Liam asked, his eyes on Nory as she laughed with Delta by the beginning of the garden.
“She calms the wolves.”
Liam dragged his attention to his Second, who stood leaning his elbows on the railing, watching the girls. “I think she’s just shy. Maybe the wolves just get protective over the quiet ones.”
“Nah, she’s more than just shy. She’s cold water on a burn. Is she an Omega?”
Liam frowned and looked back at Nory. Indeed, he had never seen Delta string two sentences together before tonight, and now she was over there chattering easily with Nory.
“You have chills,” Nate pointed out. He gestured to Liam’s forearms. “Did you just figure it out?” He shook his head and laughed. “I get it man. Females make our heads cloudy.” Nate went back inside, and at the click of the closing door, Liam exhaled the breath he’d been holding.
Holy shit. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, watching Nory pluck a blade of long grass and sway from side to side slowly as she talked with Delta with this gorgeous, animated expression on her face.
She wasn’t shy here.
Was this what she was like at work? With all the dogs? She’d said she understood animals more than humans, and was that it? Was she a natural Omega?
Was that why his wolf went quiet and let him keep his mind around her?
Was that why he craved being around her? Was that why he got so riled up when he could feel her hurting, or scared?
She had opened Delta up and gotten every one of the Pack members to come over within the first few hours she was here. She’d not only fed all of them, but she’d taught Delta how to do the same thing when she wasn’t around.
Natural soother. Natural teacher.
He huffed a laugh, and ran his hands down his face, left them there on the scruff of his face as he sat there in shock.
Omegas were a balm to the soul, and animals around them naturally grew protective of her aura. They were also almost non-existent. Dominants would feel the need to keep her happy. They would be more peaceful around her to maintain her smile and easy spirit. He’d only met one before, when he was very young.
He laughed again and leaned back into the rocking chair as so many things clicked into place.