Page 63 of The Alpha's Chosen Outcast

“Where are we going, then?” I turn to Heather.

“My favorite diner.”

“A diner? You found a good diner this far from the city?”

“I know. I was surprised too, but I did, and it’s my place.”

“Like my diner back home?”

“Yep, except no one knows you, and everyone knows me.”

“So you’re the queen here.”

“I guess you can say that.”

“Babe, you are a queen, in a sense.”

She sits down on the bed, and I can feel her anxiety amp up a bit. I sit down beside her and take her hand in mine. She looks up at me, and I wait for her to express what she’s thinking. It’s not my place to force her into anything.

“Trey, what if our pack doesn’t want me as their queen? I’m supposed to be their female Alpha, next to you. I heard what they said at Violet’s wedding. It’s why I left. I don’t want things to be more difficult for you because your mate is an exile.”

“Hey, youwerean exile. Now you’re going to be my wife. That makes you an Alpha whether they like it or not. But you don’t have to worry about that. As soon as they get to know you, our pack will love you.”

“Our pack?”

“Yes,ourpack. You belong with us. And that’s exactly what I told the elders when they tried to pull their shit at the first community turn.”

“Wait, what? You stood up to the elders?”

“What else could I do? I had to make sure you have a safe place to come home to, and your parents helped back me up, too.”

“They did? I miss them so much. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them, aside from that one little glimpse I had before you stopped me.”

“I didn’t want to do that, Heather. It was for your own safety.”

“I know that now.”

“They’ll be so glad to see you come home.”

“I can’t wait, but I also wish my mom could be here for my wedding. I always thought I’d modify her wedding dress to wear it. We talked about it a lot when I was a little girl. That dress is one of the biggest reasons I started working at a bridal shop in the first place.”

“We can have a bigger party in New York when we get home. I’m sure that the pack will insist on it. They’ll want a big party to welcome you.”

“Right, tradition.”

“We’ll make it happen, I promise. Tonight, let’s get through this next thing, and then we can handle that.”

“Okay, yes. You’re right. Let’s go.”

She picks up her bag and gets ready to head for the front door, but I can tell she’s still distracted. I can’t tell her that I’m picking up her parents at the airport tomorrow so they can attend this initial ceremony.

I want to at this moment to cheer her up, but that’ll be tomorrow’s surprise. I follow her out, and we walk over to the diner.

This town is incredibly small compared to the city. I suppose if you think about it like never leaving your neighborhood, it could seem similar. We do walk places a lot back home. This feels different, though.

When we get to the diner, it’s not what I expected. The place looks like it used to be someone's house. Inside, it feels like walking into my grandma’s house or a favorite aunt’s kitchen. I can see why this place would be Heather’s favorite.

We move through the dining room (which is more like a living room) to a table near the middle, where three people are sitting. One woman has cascading red waves and a curvy body, almost identical to Heather’s.

---