Back to Work

POV: Trishelle

Once Richard left with his supplies, I turned to James, keeping my voice steady even though my hand still throbbed like a son of a bitch. "Sorry, Alpha. About the mess. I can get another Omega to finish your food if you want."

He waved me off without even looking up.

I bit my lip, nerves crawling under my skin like ants. The silence stretched too long, so I filled it before it could turn ugly. "I'll clean this up, then. Get back to it."

I scraped the bloody vegetables into the trash, tossed the cutting board and knife in the sink to soak, wiped the counter down twice, and snapped on a glove before grabbing fresh ingredients. My hands did the work without me. My mind stayed stuck on the weird tension still hanging in the air like smoke that wouldn't clear.

Can't have his broth touched by filthy Omega blood. Wouldn't want to upset the Alpha's delicate fucking stomach.

The thought came out meaner than I meant it, bitter in a way I usually kept caged up tight. I glanced up, expecting him to have wandered off already, but he was still there. Still on that stool at the island. Still watching me with something unreadable behind his eyes, something that made my stomach flip in a way I refused to think too hard about.

What is going on with him? Everyone's noticed. Nobody's said a damn word.

Part of me wished someone would just spit it out. But nobody talked to me like that. I had no real friends in this pack, just a short list of people who weren't cruel to my face. Whatever I knew about pack business, I'd pieced together from scraps, from listening while everyone assumed I was furniture. Lonely didn't even cover it. I'd stopped expecting different a long time ago.

I worked in silence after that, grateful for something to do with my hands. The broth came together faster than I expected. I ladled a bowl, added a couple of leftover breakfast rolls, and started loading a tray, eager to put some space between myself and that unsettling stare.

POV: James

"Where are you taking that?" I asked, watching her lift the tray.

Did someone else want broth? I'm sitting right here.

"This is yours, Alpha. I was gonna bring it to your office."

"Why? I'm right here."

"Thought you'd be more comfortable eating there."

"I'm fine right here." I nodded at the stool beside me. "No point hauling it all that way. You already did the work making it. Just put it here."

She hesitated, clearly debating whether to push back, then shrugged and set the tray down in front of me instead. The smell hit me first, rich, herbed, curling up in a way that made my mouth water before the spoon even touched my lips. My stomach growled loud enough that she definitely heard it, and I caught the corner of her mouth twitch before she smoothed it away. I grabbed the spoon, blew across the first bite, and dug in.

It tasted even better than it smelled. The rolls soaked up the broth just right, the meat fell apart on my tongue, and the vegetables still had enough bite to be satisfying instead of mush. I finished the bowl too fast and reached for seconds without thinking, grabbing the ladle myself before she took it out of my hand.

She refilled the bowl and set it in front of me. As she did, a low rumble sounded from somewhere that had nothing to do with my stomach.

I glanced at the window, half expecting thunder despite the clear sky. Then I caught the color creeping up her cheeks and knew exactly where that sound came from.

There it is again. I found myself way too distracted by how good she looked all flustered, cheeks pink, eyes darting anywhere but me. It struck me, not for the first time, how little I'd actually looked at her before today.

Her stomach growled again, louder. Her face went from embarrassed to mortified in half a second. She pressed a hand to her middle like that might shut it up, eyes locked on the counter like it held all the answers.

She braced herself, shoulders creeping toward her ears, clearly waiting for me to say something sharp.

"Grab yourself a bowl," I said instead, watching surprise flash across her face. "Sit. If you don't mind the company."