Page 36 of Taken By the Pack

The way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention, like she was trying to figure me out. The way her laugh cut through the noise in the restaurant and stuck in my chest.

It’s terrifying, this thing she’s stirring up in me. Terrifying, but fun.

My whole life, I’ve kept shit simple. Work and a couple of beers with friends when the mood strikes. Simple.

But Grace? She’s not simple. She’s complicated as hell, and I want every messy piece of her.

I grab a beer from the fridge, twist off the cap, and take a long pull. Tomorrow, I’ll walk into that flower shop of hers, and the whole damn town will see us together.

They’ll start talking—hell, they probably already are. And for once, I don’t care.

Let them talk. Let them spin their stories and link my name to hers. Rowan’s too, though I don’t want to think of that too much.

Because tonight, as I sit here in this too-quiet house, the thought of being tied to her—Grace and all her sharp edges and secret smiles—feels like enough. Like more than enough.

And that’s terrifying, too. But for the first time, I’m ready to lean into it. Ready to see where the hell this goes.

I’ve been pining for her for forever. Now I get a chance at what it feels like to belong to someone like her… even if it is all pretend.

The phone rings close to midnight, her name lighting up my screen.

“Didn’t think of you as a late-night-phone-call type,” I say, settling back against my pillow.

“I—uh, sorry. I didn’t wake you, did I?” Her voice is softer than usual. No bite, no teasing. Just… unsure.

“Nah, wasn’t sleeping.”

A pause. Then a quiet inhale like she’s trying to gather her thoughts.

“I just wanted to say… I’ve been kind of short-tempered with you lately,” she says. “And I’m sorry. You didn’t have to go along with any of this, but you did. So… thank you.”

I huff out a laugh. “You calling to apologize or make me suspicious?”

“Maybe both,” she mutters.

Another pause. It feels like she’s working up to something, but nothing comes.

“Can I ask you something?” I say, shifting on the bed.

“Yeah.”

“How’d you and Rowan end up together?”

Silence. Then a shaky exhale. “You really wanna know?”

“Yeah, Grace. I really wanna know.”

She’s quiet again, but I hear the way her breath quickens.

“Well… I told you I went into heat last night,” she finally says. “And… he helped me through it.”

Something tightens in my gut. I noticed the way she looked at Rowan tonight, and the way he looked at her. I know something happened, but I need to hear it. “How?”

More silence. I hear movement, like she’s pacing. Then?—

“We technically didn’t have sex,” she says. “If that’s what you’re asking.”

Technically.

---