Page 20 of Howl You Doin'

"No, you just shed all over everything."

Wade coughed, poorly hiding his laugh. "I'll just... go check the perimeter."

Several minutes later, Fiona watched from across the room as Caleb knelt beside a small girl with pigtails, his broad frame somehow shrinking to become less intimidating. The child clutched a worn stuffed wolf to her chest.

"Show me what happened, Sophie," he said, his usual gruff tone softening.

The girl held up the toy, revealing a torn seam. "I was practicing shifting and-" Her bottom lip trembled.

"Hey now, that's an easy fix." Caleb produced a small sewing kit from a craft drawer nearby. Fiona's eyebrows shot up as his large hands made surprisingly delicate work of the repair. "See? Good as new. Keep practicing - you'll get the hang of it."

Sophie beamed, hugging the toy before scampering off. Fiona pretended to be absorbed in her clipboard when Caleb approached her again.

"You know how to sew?" She couldn't keep the amusement from her voice.

"Pack kids are rough on their stuff." He shrugged.

Before she could respond, Mrs. Chen shuffled up with a Tupperware container. "Alpha, I made those oatmeal cookies you like."

"Mrs. Chen, you didn't have to-"

"Nonsense. You're too skinny." She pressed the container into his hands and led him across the room to inspect some designs for the talent show sign.

Throughout the late afternoon, Fiona noticed more moments like these. Caleb helping a teenager with math homework, listening patiently to an old man's fishing stories, breaking up a squabble between twin boys with firm kindness. Each interaction revealed a different facet of him, like light catching crystal.

The warmthin her chest grew stronger. This was the real Caleb - not the suspicious, growling alpha who'd first interviewed her, but a leader who sewed up stuffed animals and ate old ladies' cookies and remembered everyone's names and stories.

"You're staring," Wade whispered as he passed by.

Fiona jumped, her clipboard clattering to the floor. "I was not. I was... supervising."

"Right." Wade's knowing smirk made her cheeks flush. "Supervising."

Later that evening, Fiona gathered the last of her papers, tucking them into her messenger bag as the community center's motion-sensor lights dimmed around them.

"Thanks for staying late," she said to Caleb, who was locking up the supply closet. "Even if you did veto half of my other ideas."

"I vetoed the bad ones." He pocketed the keys. "Like the dunk tank."

"It would've been hilarious."

"In October?"

"Some of us can control fire, you know." She wiggled her fingers, a tiny flame dancing between them. "I could've heated the water."

"And risk burning someone's tail off? Pass."

The lights suddenly blazed to full brightness as Wade burst through the front doors, his boots squeaking against the freshly mopped floor. Fiona's heart jumped into her throat.

"Cale," Wade's breath came in short bursts. "Three Nightfang wolves circling the north border. They're getting bolder."

The playful atmosphere evaporated. Caleb's shoulders tensed, his jaw tightening. "How close?"

"Quarter mile from the Wilson farm."

"Damn it." Caleb ran a hand through his dark hair.

Fiona's fingers twitched with unused magic. "I could help-"

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