Page 37 of The Alpha Option
Not even ten seconds later, he was out of his clothes and shifted into his wolf, taking to the trees.
His mate going somewhere without him? Not happening. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, or that he didn’t trust Blue. He just wanted to see for himself that everything was okay.
Yeah. Absolutely no self-control, but so be it.
Jace ran.
It was simply a picnic,Cassidy decided, slightly disappointed. Well, a picnic with a lot more canine types in attendance.
Laughing children in both human and wolf form raced everywhere, playing underfoot as adults stood in small circles and caught up. There were teenagers making eyes at each other at the edge of the gathering and interested adults keeping a chaperoning eye on them. There were tables covered with food—
Okay, there were twice as many tables and three times as much food as she’d ever seen at a human picnic, but hey, healthy appetites probably meant a healthy pack.
“You guys okay if I act as guide?” Blue asked.
“You plan to introduce us to the best people,” Stephanie guessed. “Which is fine with me, but I’d also really like to know if there are any teachers here. Stacy wanted me to check them out for her. Prep for next year, that kind of thing.”
“Sure.” Blue glanced around the gathering, swaying slightly as he waved back at curious onlookers. “You can expect to be overrun by the WMA in short order.”
Cassidy raised a brow. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Wolf Mom Association,” Blue explained. “Kind of like PTA but a lot scarier. You have nothing to worry about, but they will go into protective mode first and think later.”
“As moms do.” Stephanie shrugged. “I don’t think you’ve actually gone to a PTA meeting, or you would not be tossing around words likescarier. Honestly, a Karen or a Chad on a rampage can be impressive. Nauseating but impressive.”
And then, with all eyes on them, Del walked forward.
Cassidy had to admit he looked just as good in stonewashed jeans and a plain blue T-shirt that matched his eyes as he had in the expensive suit.
He held out his hand to her. “Glad you could make it.”
She shook his hand firmly then pointedly glanced around the area. “You’ve got quite the group here.”
“The pack is growing.” He turned his attention on Stephanie, and once again there was that next-level attention thing that made Cassidy uncomfortable. “Hello, Stephanie. I wondered if I could—”
Blue stepped forward, his torso knocking Del’s hand aside. “Hey, boss. You said you wanted to take care of these.” He held up the cell phones he’d taken from them before leaving the parking lot.
“Fine.”
The instant Del took the phones, Blue rotated on his heel, wrapped an arm around Stephanie’s shoulders, and marched her toward the nearest group of women. “Cassidy. You should come too. Jamie has kids about the same ages as Stacy’s. You might want to say hello.”
“I’ll be right there,” Cassidy promised.
Del’s gaze drifted after Stephanie, intent enough that this time, Cassidy positioned her body to cut off his view. “Is there something going on I should be aware of?” Cassidy asked.
Del blinked as if surprised to find her there. “What? Oh, it’s just that she seems familiar.”
“Ever been to Toronto?”
He blinked again. “No.”
“Then you’ve never met her.” Cassidy folded her arms over her chest, looking around the group and checking over her shoulder to make sure Stephanie was okay.
As promised, Blue kept close to her side. Meanwhile, Stephanie was being Stephanie, charming the pants off the group of women around her who were all laughing and sharing easily.
Across from Cassidy, the Alpha of the pack took a deep breath. This time his eyes widened, and he examined her more sharply. “Damn. The bastard works fast.”
“Come again?”
