Page 58 of Wolf's Providence

Pack ate together as it was. It wasn’t a formal affair. Or an event. It was simply mealtime. I was already dreading that I was going to make a mistake.

Dinner with her friends. People who were already protective of her, which was good, but not when it came to the fact that they would be protectiveagainstme. I would need to be on my best behavior as I pretended to benormal. The very thought of it left a bad taste in my mouth. It all felt so…human.

This quiet town, where they all knew each other, where dinner conversation would involve talking about people I didn’t know, about the weather, and whatever mundane shit they filled their day with. It hadn’t struck me until now just how something so simple could cause a problem for us.

Her gaze was steady, unwavering, as she ate, as if she knew I didn’t want this, as if she could hear my hesitations as they ticked over in my mind. The simple fact that she knew I was having trouble over this, even though I thought I hid it, just confirmed how much Willow had already sacrificed for me. I owed her my best attempt. Even if I hated the idea of fitting into this life, I would do it for her.

“You don’t need to worry,” I assured her. “We will show your friends that I am going nowhere.” I didn’t tell her that my instincts were at war with my words. I wanted to shout this wasn’t where I belonged. But Ididbelong with her.

When I was with her, just her, it was simple. When we were wrapped around each other, nothing else mattered. But then reality came along and reminded me that this world was sometimes as foreign to me as my world was to her.

Willow looked pleased and when she stood up to gather the dinner dishes, I watched her, appreciating the gentle curve of her ass and the way her hips swayed slightly when she walked. She wanted me to meet her friends; she wasn’t hiding me. I needed to recognize the trust she put in me. After what I did to her, I didn’t deserve it. But I knew I wasn’t going to shatter that for anything.

I would spend the rest of my life making it up to her, for hurting her. For using blood magic to save her.

I stood, picking up my glass and taking it over to her, where she stood by the sink, rinsing plates. Our fingers brushed, the thrill of her touch rushing through me.

“You don’t have to come, you know. It’s maybe not fair of me to ask. We’re, well, it’s kind of sudden.”

Which is exactly why I’d burn the fucking world for this woman if she asked.

She expected nothing from me, even when she gave meeverything. Even after all the shit I’d put her through. Hospitalized her. Ripped her apart with my claws, yet she stood here telling me she understood if I didn’t want to have one meal with her friends.

One meal.

She had almost died in my arms, and I was balking at dinner?

Goddess, I was a colossal prick.

“I want to be introduced to your friends,” I told her, gathering her in my arms, ignoring the fact her hands were wet. “I want to hear their stories, I want to meet their challenges to see if I am good enough for you, and I want them to know that I’m not, but I will work hard every day until they think I could be.”

Her gaze was so soft as she searched my eyes. Reaching up, she cupped my cheek. “You’re too hard on yourself. They’re going to love you.”

Like I do—it felt like it hung unspoken between us. Or maybe I wished for more than I was due.

I meant it though. No matter how long it took, I would make myself worthy of her.

Why the hellhad I agreed to this?

The day had passed too quickly, the threat of this meal hanging over me like a hangman’s noose as I stood on the gallows. We’d gone to her store in the morning. The older woman, who I remembered was one of Willow’s students, had been running the store in her absence.

She had alotto say. The woman didn’t draw breath. Two hours into being back in the store, Willow coaxed me to leave. I think she knew her friend Lorna was close to no longer breathing because I was going to gag her.

She’d moved Willow’s store around a little, and I knew my girl wasn’t overly happy with the changes, but I saw her bite her tongue, and a few times she went to a different place than where she thought something should be, only to be directedin her own storeto the right place. Lorna’s husband was a carpenter, and extra shelving and cabinets had been added to one wall and also in the kitchen.

Yet, Willow didn’t say a word and bit back all her hurt as she adjusted to her new store layout.

This was why I wanted to decapitate Lorna, but being the good shifter I was, I watched my girl, saw the way she graciously accepted the help, and respected what she wanted.

Willow urged me to go “for a walk,” which we both knew meant “shift and run.” Lorna had screeched at the idea of “a nice meal out,” and despite declaring she had nothing to wear, sheadamantly insisted she would do her day’s work before she went home and ransacked her closet.

Willow caught my flat stare, and it was at that point I was led to the back door and encouraged to “run it off.”

Now, here we were. In an Italian restaurant, crammed into a booth with the stench of garlic lingering audaciously in the air. The place was small and cozy. If I were being overly critical, I would call it cramped, but it was full of people, and the low hum of their chatter and laughter filled the restaurant.

Lorna and her husband, Noel, were across from us, with Lily’s dad beside them. Lily was against the wall, with Willow between us, as I took the outside seat.

The scent of cooked meat, melted cheese and spices suffocated me. But overriding all of that was the scent of garlic. I could hardly scent Willow, and she sat beside me. I was not ignorant of the openly curious stares from the three humans across from me, or the constant wave of suspicion that assaulted my senses from Lily.

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