Chapter 5

Rex

Silently, I follow her into the kitchen and wait while she pulls down two mugs and fills them up. I love my coffee and I already know this is the good stuff. For such a chatterbox, she doesn’t seem to find my lack of small talk awkward. Leah gestures down the hall and goes into the small room we have set aside as an office.

My jaw nearly hits the floor as I take the space in. It’s transformed. Yesterday, there was nothing in here except an old desk, a chair, and an empty grey filing cabinet. This morning, it looks like a professional office. Brand new shelves adorn the white walls, filled with lever arch files in a variety of colours. The side of the desk has cubbies full of leaflets for local attractions and brochures, for the pack’s other hotels and businesses such as Ethan and Cooper’s microbrewery.

Leah pinned a map of the public forest surrounding us to a corkboard hanging on one wall. She’s marked out local hiking trails and added colour-coded pins to show the suitable camping locations and boat moorings. Even the rest stops we discussed via email back and forth are on the map.

A thick black line depicts the boundary of the public land with the private pack territory, which no guests from outside the pack will get to cross, initially at least. Leah’s been paying attention. Every location I mentioned in our correspondence is there. She hasn’t missed a thing. Maybe beneath her playful personality, she’s more like Hayley than I thought.

I turn back to look at her where she has swung in behind the desk and pulled out a pad of A3 weekly planners, the top covered in writing and symbols. She uses her foot to kick out the chair opposite her and nods at it without looking up, telling me in no uncertain terms to sit, while she focuses intently on adding some more comments to the planner. Despite myself, I’m amused whenever she issues me with an order. It’s completely alien to me.

“What?” she asks when I stare at the chair for a second without sitting. Her eyebrow quirks up in silent challenge as she takes a careful sip of her drink. I feel like she’s daring me to admit that I didn’t think she had this serious side to her. It was easy for me to assume she was just a perky yoga teacher who would just want to help with managing the bookings and minding the guests. I’d expected all this boring admin stuff would get dumped on me. Leah showed me she intends to be involved in everything, a true partner, rather than just following my direction. Which is absolutely fine with me. In fact, it’s amazing.

“Nothing,” I answer smoothly, taking my seat. I’m not stupid. If I’ve learned anything from seeing Hayley in action, or my mother in full Luna mode, it’s that you do not confess to underestimating a woman. She is clearly more business minded than I gave her credit for, but I’ll never admit that out loud.

“All of this is online, but I thought given your lack of interest in social media,” she says diplomatically, “and the fact that you’ll be offsite most of the time, you might want physical copies here that you can pop in and check.”

I nod, relieved I don’t have to become attached to a device like Cooper is. Every time my phone rings, it’s already like nails on a chalkboard to me. As alpha, his phone is going off 24/7. Every time I see him pulling it out of his pocket, I’m even more relieved that I passed up on the alpha role that was my birthright. Giving it to my charming, younger, and far more patient brother was the right move.

An hour later, we’ve divided up the jobs that need to be done each week, and those specific to this week’s launch. Hayley already put Leah in touch with the pack members that are going to help us out while we get up and running. Hopefully, we’ll be able to offer some of the pack and the town work and support the local businesses. Of course, that’s provided all goes well.

The tension in my shoulders eases as the meeting goes on and it becomes clear she is just as efficient as her Luna sister. I’m not much for words, so I grunt my assent to whatever decisions she is powering through on who needs to do which task and when.

I doubt Leah’s stopped since she got here. The delicious scent of lasagne and chicken curry lingers in the air, which tells me that last night she was busy batch-cooking some hearty meals to stock the freezer, and the floor is freshly mopped. I can’t help but admire her work ethic. She doesn’t look like someone who’s a grafter, but she’s gotten stuck in here.

She continues taking notes, and as she drags the pen over the notepad in her feminine script, a soft blonde curl falls forward. It’s the colour of champagne and looks so soft. I get a sudden urge to reach out and touch it, and the thought takes me by surprise. My wolf’s normally anxious if a woman encroaches into my personal space. He barely tolerates physical touch at the best of times and never starts it unless with family.

I watch her closely as she chews on the end of her pen, full lips pouting, while she tries to remember some insignificant detail I’ve already forgotten. Leah is strikingly beautiful, and just seems to radiate pure happiness. And that dazzling smile, it’s something to behold. It’s easy to see why Hayley thinks she’ll be perfect for this job. Everyone will love her.

Even now, when she’s clearly exhausted, she’s practically bursting with energy. She meets my eye and catches me staring, our gaze holding for a millisecond too long. Something crackles between us and I’m stunned into silence before I drag my gaze away and look out the window behind her. She stands quickly and tidies up her papers, swaying from side to side to a tune in her head as she files them away. I watch her ass swinging for a second before I give myself a mental slap for being so inappropriate. We work together. She’s Hayley’s sister. I have a fated mate.

Something sits uncomfortably with me about this strange end to our meeting. Hayley would want me to make Leah feel welcome. We’re both adults. Just because there might be some tension there, we don’t need to make things awkward. It’s obvious the pendulum has swung too far in my efforts to avoid women. I’ve forgotten how to be normal. Fan-fucking-tastic. The need to prove that this is nothing more than social rustiness makes me overreach and do something completely out of character for me.

“Come on, grab your camera,” I order, and she spins to look up at me as I stand to my full height. She’s not short, maybe five-foot-six, but in this tight space, she has to tip her head all the way back to look up at me. Suddenly, I’m conscious of how close we are. The office isn’t spacious enough for both of us to stand on this side of the desk. My senses are tingling being this near to her. Every cell is urging me to move just a little further. Her chest is mere inches from mine, and her scent is delicious. She has me totally rattled.

“What?” She tilts her head to the side, trying to work out what I am planning… or what the catch is.

“You want pictures. I know all the best spots. We have a couple of hours before you meet Danny at the lodge, and you’ve done more than enough here.”

Leah squeals with delight at my offer to act as a tour guide for her and grips my two biceps in her hands, bouncing up and down with excitement. The high-pitched squeal hurts my sensitive ears, and I immediately regret opening my mouth. She is going to drag me around about a dozen sites, giddy and blabbering away the entire time.

What on Earth possessed me to suggest this?

“Thank you, Rex, you are the best!” she gushes before spinning and rushing out of the room to get her stuff. I don’t follow right away as I tip back my head and scrub a hand over the stubble on my jaw in exasperation.

She’s just so happy. How can someone be that happy? ALL THE TIME. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to cope with this every day. It’s exhausting to be around.

My wolf doesn’t agree with me. He is preening under the praise of an attractive female. He thinks this is a great idea. She’s hot, there is no missing that… and I’m sexually frustrated. Maybe this stirring of attraction for Leah is a sign that the lingering mate bond between me and Stacey is fading. My chest tightens with anxiety at the thought, but I choose not to dwell on it. It’s a rabbit hole I can’t afford to go down right now for the sake of my sanity. Most of the time, I try not to think about my mate. I shouldn’t be thinking about another woman, either.

I’ve had my shot at love, and the fates decided I didn’t deserve a happy ending. Since the rejection, my wolf is so unstable and dangerous, I can’t be with someone else anyway. It’s not safe.

Accepting that has finally given me some peace. Rocking that boat would be too dangerous. For everyone.