Chapter 128

I take a shower, it has started to get colder now with fall almost here so I slip on a loose sweater and shorts.

When winter comes and it starts to get unbearably cold then I'll pull out my stash of thick, woolen socks and sweaters and pants… well let's just say that my mom had a knitting hobby once.

I tuck myself in, although I can clearly hear the sounds of eating and drinking from the second storey, I'm not in the least bit interested in going down.

I'll have to eat breakfast down there anyway so I wasn't in a hurry to be in the middle of a lot of people.

I plug my earphones in and open up Fantasy Reader, I had finished 'The Alpha's Blind Mate' and was about to get started on a new one. 

It doesn't take long to finish the next one or so I think, I check the time and see that it's already midnight.

"Oh wow." I mutter under my breath, wondering how I managed to lose track of time but it wouldn't be the first time, it was easy to forget the passage of time when I entered into the world of words.

My mom had probably thought I was already asleep and didn't want to bother me, that was fine with me.

I want to get started in another one immediately but I would probably need to get up early tomorrow.

I groan in misery, eyeing up another book that is just begging to be read when the door swings open.

I whip my eyes to the door in shock, who would be coming to my room at midnight.

"Hi, honey, I'm home." A voice drawls cockily.

"Dale?" I say in surprise, laughing slightly at his quirky phrase.

"Hi, Hay." He comes over to kiss my cheek.

I just stare at him with wide eyes, pleasantly surprised. "Done with your shift?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah, decided to come keep company, you don't mind do you?" He asks nervously.

I prop myself on the headboard and shrug. "Nope, do you stay at the Pack House?" I can't help but ask.

He looks worn out but that doesn't dim the glow in his eyes. "No, but I'm over so often that I practically do."

"Oh." I mumble, watching him go over to the wardrobe and pull out sweatpants that are definitely not mine. "Wait, why are your clothes in my wardrobe?" I splutter.

"Huh?" Dale turns to look at me. "Renee put them there, wait I need to clean up." He says quickly, slipping inside the bathroom.

I just watch him go with my mouth wide open. What. The. Actual. Fuck?

I don't put it past my mom to actually do that though but why would Dale want his clothes in my wardrobe, he didn't plan on making this routine, did he? Would Virgil even allow that?

I flop back on the bed and puff air out my mouth, well this isn't surprising, Shana did say that they weren't messing around.

"Ugh!" I groan silently behind my palms, why do my romantic life have to be so complicated?

I put my phone and earphones away, patiently waiting for Dale to finish up.

He comes out shirtless and I bite my lip to stop myself from asking if my mom didn't stack up shirts for him too, I wasn't encouraging more of his stuff in my room, it's already bad enough.

It wasn't that I hated his stuff on my place, I'm pretty sure that half of my friends' things are back at my house, they spent so much time over that it's not surprising.

I keep finding different clothes ending up in my wardrobe and again I didn't mind but if more of Dale's things end up in here it means that I would also see him often and the thought of that is devastating.

It's really surprising to find Dale here, Luke had said that both Packs trained separately and even had different areas to cover during their patrols which means that instead of going home after his shift, he came all the way there - I ignore the fuzzy ball that dances in my stomach at this.

"How did your day go?" He asks politely, coming over to the bed.

I scoot to make space for him, looking at the ceiling briefly. "Moving in took up most of it, Shana and Mae paid me a visit though."

"Those two crackheads." He mutters under his breath. 

I smile at a memory at his words. "Oh, and Luke invited me over to play games with him, I met his dog, Carmen." I grin. "He's so quiet and gentle, I even got to pat him…" I trail off when I get a good look at Dale's face, he looks… mad?

"Dale? Dale?" He glances at me like he was lost in thought. "Are you okay?"

He smiles brightly but it doesn't reach his eyes, if anything, the smiles looks more menacing than his previously angry face. "Of course, so are you going to see Luke again?" He asks a tad too sweetly.

I give him a skeptical look but push it out of my mind. "Maybe." I shrug. "I mean, I'm pretty sure he still works at the pet store but it's nice to know he lives just down the hall and is a really nice guy…" I trail off again, lying on my side now so that I can see Dale's expression. "So how did your day go?" I ask in return, really curious about the training.

His reply is to pull me closer and I swallow a squeal when I make contact with his bare skin. "Boring." He complains, tucking me in close. "There are too many rules, now that they've figured out that it's an infection going around but I think what's even worse is the fact that they give us partners to patrol with."

I look up at him. "Isn't that safer?" 

He just rolls his eyes. "Maybe, if they could keep up."

I huff a laugh. "What?"

He spins around so he's hovering over me and my laughter dies in my throat. "I never met the other Pack members back in the city, the adults only had monthly meetings with the Alpha so they're like a bunch of strangers to me." He says conversationally, looking incredibly relaxed even though I keep getting redder under him.

"We patrol in wolf form and they partner us by age so I keep getting stuck with some kid who doesn't know how to move his paws." He complains, burying his face in my neck.

I laugh at this, getting very vivid images from his words, my laughter dies in my throat for a second time tonight when I feel the weight of his body on mine.

It's oddly not uncomfortable and he must know this because this seems to be his favorite position to sleep in.

"Goodnight, Hay." He murmurs sleepily.

I hiccup, slowly lifting a hand to bury in his slightly damp hair. "Night, Dale."