Page 10 of Warrick (Rocky Mountain Pack #1)

Warrick

On my way down to the bookstore, I pause outside the window of Flick the Bean.

Does Aspen like coffee? How would I even know what coffee to get her?

Sighing, I’m just about to give up on the idea when I hear someone clearing their throat beside me.

Gail. I don’t even need to look because one small inhale has already told me everything I need to know.

“Good morning, Gail,” I say without looking at her.

Hazel is busily getting the shop ready for the morning. That is another problem: Hazel. How am I going to get past her without the third degree? Would she even willingly tell me what Aspen likes for a coffee, or would she intentionally tell me the wrong drink?

“It’s so lovely to see you out so early in the morning and in front of Hazel’s coffee shop. Could you be here for a certain mate and hoping to win her over with coffee?”

Sighing again, I rub a hand down my face. “Can you help me? I was going to ask Hazel, but I’m afraid that she is going to purposefully sabotage me.”

“Get her a cappuccino with a sprinkle of cinnamon. She likes it warm, not hot. So on the walk over to the bookstore, take the lid off to help cool it down.” She winks at me before heading down the sidewalk.

Shaking my head, I open the door to Flick the Bean. How does she always know when and where to be? I haven’t told anyone that I am trying to win over Aspen, so how did she know?

As soon as the bell chimes above my head, Hazel looks up with her welcome dying in her throat before she even says it. “Why are you here, Warrick?”

Shrugging, I say, “Can’t a man have a nice cup of coffee in the morning?”

She pops her hip, placing a fisted hand on it. “Not a man who has never drank a cup of coffee in the entire lifetime I have known him. What are you really up to?”

“Listen, I know you don’t like me, and I know I’ve never given you a reason to like me.

But I also know that I’ve fucked up when it comes to Aspen.

I can’t take any of it back and I can’t take away the pain I caused her.

All I can do is try to be the mate she deserves.

” It feels good to release all these thoughts that have been tormenting me, even if it’s to someone who can’t stand me.

But of all of Aspen’s friends, Hazel is the most understanding.

“You think a coffee is going to change her feelings toward you?” Her eyes soften with understanding.

“I know it won’t make her leap into my arms and declare to the world we are mates.

It’s just … look, I was up all night tossing and turning.

I saw her with Chase last night. I’ve never been on the receiving end of feeling that kind of pain.

Despite all the times she saw me with other women and felt hurt, she has never done the same to me.

To make it worse, I know she did it on purpose.

She sensed me outside and chose to walk arm in arm with him all the way back to the pack land. ”

Her face softens even more than it already had. “You didn’t like it, did you?”

I sigh. “No, I didn’t like it. But I deserve it. Anyway, can I get a cappuccino with cinnamon on top, please?”

Her mouth drops open before she closes it and shakes her head. “Gail?”

I nod my head, because how else would I have her order? It doesn’t take her long to fill my order, and she shows me the cinnamon heart she created on the top of her coffee.

A concerned look crosses her face before she says, “I’m a little worried about this.

I’m sure you mean well, but you really broke her heart when you cheated on her.

If you are serious about this, then I better never hear about another woman anywhere near you.

You don’t want to know what Willow wanted to do to you that night, and every time you rubbed a girl in Aspen’s face. ”

I nod my head as I grab her coffee and turn to head out the door. “Don’t worry, Hazel. I won’t be with anyone else. I only want my mate.”

She nods her head as she goes back to whatever she is doing on her phone.

Carefully, I walk down to the bookstore, ensuring I follow Gail’s instruction of leaving the lid off the coffee to help cool it down.

Before I make it to her shop, I pop the lid back on the coffee to keep from spilling it.

Right as I elbow the door open, Aspen is already glaring at me.

My eyebrows shoot up. How is she already mad at me? I literally just got here.

“Why are you here, Warrick?” If she was a teapot, she would have steam coming out of her ears.

“Seems to be the going question of the day. I thought I would bring you a coffee and hang out with you while you work.”

Shock flits across her face. “You can’t just hang out here, Warrick. This is a business and not a hangout spot.”

I look at the cozy, overstuffed chairs sitting in front of her massive picture window, then back to her.

“Those are for paying customers, not asshole mates,” she says, clearly reading my thoughts.

“Fair enough, will you at least take the coffee I got for you?” I ask, while holding it out in front of me.

It feels more like I’m trying to coax a wild animal to trust me than my mate.

I know I deserve her hesitation, but does she have to act like I’m going to poison her?

Maybe I have more work to do than I’ve considered, if she won’t even take a coffee from me.

“If I take it, will you leave?”

I nod my head, and she walks over and practically snatches it from my hands. Thank the goddess that I secured the lid, otherwise, she would have spilled coffee all over herself.

“There, I took your coffee. Now go!” She takes a couple of steps back from me, ensuring there is enough distance between us.

Holding both my hands up in surrender, I turn and walk back out the door I had only managed a handful of steps inside of.

I walk down the sidewalk back toward the pack land before I come to a stop.

A deep, soul aching sigh leaves me as I turn my face toward the sky.

The snow is slowly coming down, and each flake drops on my face and melts.

Alright, that plan didn’t work, not that I really expected one coffee to work.

I’ll just have to keep showing up each day until she lets me in.

I won’t let anything or anyone get in the way of what I want most—which is, her.

Hopefully, she will see how serious I am and that I’m willing to make the changes needed to be her mate.

An hour later, as I’m looking over the notes from the scouts, I feel an ache in my legs from sitting too long at my desk. Stretching out my legs, Wraith, my wolf, whines.

“Can’t we go for a walk around the perimeter? I’m tired of sitting here watching you look over boring paperwork.” I can feel his restlessness like a nervous energy buzzing through my body.

“Yeah, I guess we can go for a walk. I don’t see why not,” I respond back to him as I push myself up from my desk chair.

“Thank the goddess. I thought I was going to die of boredom before you finally stopped,” Wraith grumbles.

“Bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I ask, with a note of humor in my voice.

“No,” is all he says back to me. And he says I’m the dramatic one.

The cool air breezes past me as I swing open the door to step outside.

The scent of wildflowers is strong as they break their way through the cold soil.

It doesn’t take me long to find my normal path around the pack lands as I walk at a leisurely pace, with no real purpose in mind other than spending time in the wild.

I’m lost in my thoughts when the smell of juniper berry, cedarwood, and musk floats across the air to me. What’s Selene doing out here?

She is squatting down with her phone held out in front of her, clicking away as she snaps photos. Meandering over to her, I observe what she is taking photos of—the Silvery Lupines that must have recently bloomed.

Clearing my throat, I say, “What are you doing?”

A startled gasp rips from her as she whips around to face me, almost falling to the ground in her movements. “Goddess Warrick, you scared the shit out of me.”

I flick my eyebrow up, giving her a questioning look. “Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting to find you out here on my walking path around the land. So needless to say, you surprised me too. So what are you doing exactly?”

She points down to the bunch of flowers nestled at the bottom of the huge aspen tree.

“I knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before the Silvery Lupines would bloom and I was hoping to catch them in their first blooms. I have a bit of an obsession with them since they are kind of named after the Lupines. ”

My gaze doesn’t move as I consider what she said. Clearly worried that she has upset me, she rushes out to say, “You do know that Lupine means wolf, right?” she asks nervously.

“I didn’t. I didn’t focus in high school unless it had to do with football or food. Anything else was quickly forgotten.”

She laughs as she says, “I get that. School sucks. I’m glad it’s almost over, to say the least. So I don’t blame you for not paying attention.”

My shoulders shrug. “Yeah, I probably should have taken it more seriously, but oh well. So you’re out here taking photos of flowers all by yourself?”

Her cheeks blush as she tucks her phone behind her back. “Yeah, it’s just something I do for fun. It’s just a little hobby.”

I hold out my hand. “Do you want to show me?”

Her mouth opens and closes as she processes what I said. “Uh…do you really want to see them? I’m not that good.”

My head nods as I continue to hold my hand out.

She swipes her finger across the screen, unlocking her phone.

I watch as she flicks through apps until she lands on the album of the photos she must have taken over the course of several of these walks.

I can’t believe I’ve never bumped into her before this.

Her hand shakes as she hands over the device, her eyes immediately dropping to the ground after it’s safely in my hand.

I look between her and the device. Clicking the first photo, I scan through each one, noting her attention to detail.

She is really freaking good at this. ‘ “Not that good,” my ass.

She even has photos of deer as they graze in the morning sun.

How she was able to get that close without spooking them is an amazing feat in itself.

“Selene, these are awesome. What do you mean, you aren’t ‘that good’?” I ask as I continue to flip through the photos.

My eyes flick up at her when I see her shrug her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just do it for fun with my phone. Nothing to really celebrate. Sometimes I just want to get away from everyone and capture the beauty I see.”

I turn off the phone and hold it out to her.

When her eyes meet mine, I hope that mine are full of reassurance.

“Selene, you have a talent, that is for sure. Don’t downplay it just because you’re afraid of what others will say.

Have you thought about buying a camera and exploring this as more than a hobby? ”

She twists her foot from side to side, a nervous tic, I’m sure. “Not really. You’re the only person who's seen them besides me. I’ve never even mentioned it to Mom and Dad.”

“Isn’t your birthday coming up?”

She looks at me with confusion. “Yeah, why?”

“I think you should ask for a camera for your birthday and really pursue this.”

“Yeah…maybe. You really think they are that good?” she asks sheepishly.

“I don’t think it, I know it. You have genuine talent and with a little bit of training, you could really do this as a career.”

Her foot is back to shifting from side to side. “Well…I’m going to head back, I guess.”

“Wait,” I rush out. “Would you like to walk with me? My wolf is restless, and I planned to take a casual walk around. Could use some company and you can tell me more about these Silvery Lupines.”

“Yeah, I would like that.”

We take off together as she tells me all about these flowers that I’ve never taken a single moment to acknowledge.

It’s amazing the things I’ve missed in all the times I’ve walked this trail.

When she has run through all the back history of the Silvery Lupines, she moves on to other flowers and plants scattered around the land I’ve spent years walking.

This kid just made me realize that I’ve been blindly walking this path, maybe life, this whole time. It took stumbling upon her to realize I’ve been just moving through life without seeing it. How much else have I missed in my complacency?

For once in my life, I’m listening to hear what the person is saying and not just to know when to respond. Something I’m sure Aspen will love to learn, since I remember all the times I was only partially listening when she talked about her books.