Chapter Twelve

I ran my hands to my hair as I looked down at the files on my desk. I could not make heads or tails of these reports right now. The Alpha of the neighboring pack would be here soon to discuss our mutual hunter problem.

Gavin had been an utter d**k all day long since I left Azalea in her apartment alone. Apparently, he thought being with her was more important than the pack's safety at the moment. Part of me wanted to admit that I felt the same way, but I had responsibilities as Alpha that I couldn’t overlook.

There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” I growled. Gwen opened the door and strutted in.

“Not now, Gwen. Alpha Langston will be he momentarily, and we have important business,” I told her.

“Oh, Liam baby, you don’t have time for me?” she said, coming around my desk. I turned my chair towards her.

“Not right now, Gwen, I don’t. You’ll have to find someone else to entertain you tonight.”

“But Liam, I thought you were going to be my second chance. You know I am a fun ride,” she said, running her hands up and down my chest.

I didn’t like the feeling. “No, Gwen, I’m not,” I said.

“Just give me a minute, Liam baby. I bet you could use a little stress reliever.”

She leaned over, kissing me, pushing with her tongue to gain entry to my mouth. I pushed her back. She stumbled, falling back to her ass.

“Gwen, I said no! Now get out!” I shouted. At that moment, my office door swung open, and Damien and Alpha Langston stood in the doorway. I turned to look at them, then looked back at Gwen. She stood up and stomped out of my office.

“Again, man? She isn’t gonna quit, is she?” Damien linked me.

“No. Think your dad or Lily could talk to her?”

“I can try, but no promises.”

“Ahem. I believe we have a meeting,” Alpha Langston interrupted. “Unless you treat these hunters as a joke? I certainly don’t treat the fact that three of my pack members were hunted down just two days ago.”

“No, no, no. Sorry, Alpha. Just some personal business that won’t resolve. Please have a seat,” I told him.

We spent four hours discussing and arguing about ways to handle our current hunter situation. At one point, Damien had to leave the meeting to manage other pack business. We got nowhere and resolved to meet again in a few days. I sighed as I closed the door behind Alpha Langston. If we weren’t careful, my pack members would start to drop like flies.

I sat back down at my desk and looked at my clock. It was already 7:30. Why hadn’t Azalea called by now? I checked the messages on my office phone, and there was nothing from the Inn. I also checked my cell phone and found I didn’t even have a text message. I went to dial her number, realizing that I didn’t have it. I had given her my cell phone number, and she called the packhouse the other day.

I decided to wait a little longer before I began to worry. I busied myself with patrol reports. When I had finished everything, I looked up, and it was 9:30 pm. My heart began to race a little bit. Did she forget about me? Did she not want to be around me now that she knew the truth about the mate bond? Was she okay? I went back and forth with myself before finally giving in and calling the Inn.

“Hello, Blue Moon Inn. How can I help you?” I heard her voice over the phone. I sighed with relief. At least she was okay.

“Hi, Azalea,” I said.

She paused. “Hi, Liam.”

“I was a little worried because you never called,” I told her.

“Oh, Liam, I’m sorry. We had a pipe burst this morning and a whole mess of last-minute bookings. I have been a little crazy today.”

“That’s okay. I just needed to make sure you’re okay,” I said.

“You aren’t mad at me?” she asked.

“No, Azalea, I couldn’t be mad at you for working,” I told her. “You just had me a little worried, is all.” I paused, waiting for her to say something. She was making me nervous.

“So, did your uncle find anything out?” she asked hesitantly. My heart sank a little. She wanted answers so she could be done with me. But I wasn’t ready to give up on her.

“No, nothing yet. He said he would need a few days to do some research,” I told her.

“Oh, okay,” she said.

“In the meantime, maybe we could spend some time together? Maybe if we got to know each other a little better, it might encourage your wolf to come out.”

“Sure!” she said enthusiastically. “That sounds nice. Just one thing.”

“Anything,” I replied.

“No driving please?” she said. This made me laugh.

“Okay, deal. I think I can live with that,” I said, still laughing.

“I really don’t see how that was funny,” she said stubbornly.

“It’s not funny; it’s just cute. So um, what about tomorrow?”

“I think I could take off after lunch,” she said.

“Great. Why don’t I come to pick you up at three?” I said with a smile.

“You know where I’ll be!” she said happily.

“Good night, Azalea. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Liam,” she said.

We hung up the phone, and I couldn’t think of anything to better lift my mood. We were going on a date. I was going to have a chance to make her fall for me. And the cherry on top of it all, she sounded excited by it.

Soon I was going to have to tell Damien why I kept ditching pack duties, but I wanted to keep this to myself for now.

Azalea

After Liam had left me in my apartment, something in me relaxed. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me. He wasn’t forcing me to go back to the pack. He was just trying to spend time with me on my terms. For now, I would try to enjoy this even if it couldn’t last forever. I could pretend I was getting my happily-ever-after for a little while, right?

It felt like there were butterflies in my stomach. Liam would be here in about two hours to pick me up. I don’t know why I was so nervous. Part of me was so happy to be spending time. At the same time, another part of me was wondering what would happen when he was done with me. It seemed, for now, the happy part was winning.

I traipsed into the kitchen to get some tea before I headed back to my apartment to get ready. Amy was making sandwiches as guests arrived in the dining room for lunch.

“Well, don’t you look chipper? Didn’t see you for breakfast,” she said, eyeing me.

“I snuck in early and grabbed a muffin. I wanted to get started early today. I have something to do this afternoon,” I told her.

“Would that ‘something to do’ be a certain Tall, Hot, and Gorgeous?” she said suggestively.

“He has a name, Ames. And if you must know, yes, I will be doing something with Liam this afternoon,” I said with a smile.

“Does my little Azalea have a crush?” she said, teasing me.

“That I will not justify with an answer!” I said, grabbing my cup of tea. “Now, I will be in the back getting ready! Try not to need me!” I said in a sing-song voice as I left out the back door.

I went back to my apartment and sipped my tea for a moment before going to my closet. It was nice out right now, but it could get cool tonight, so I should bring a sweater in case we are out for a while.

After much debate with myself, I picked out a floral-patterned tea-style dress that fell to my knees. It accentuated my curves nicely while still being modest. Best yet, I had a dark green cardigan to match that looked awesome against my ginger hair.

I hopped in the shower to wash all the morning’s work off me before getting dressed. I got out of the shower, putting on a bra and panties before going back into the bathroom to dry and fix my hair. My hair was naturally wavy, so I dried it to leave some waves in it. I pulled it back into a half ponytail and found a ribbon to match my cardigan. I tied a bow around the pony; I hoped he would like it. I went to my closet to grab my dress and get ready.

After getting dressed, I grabbed the small clutch purse that I almost never used, placing my wallet and keys inside. I went back to the bathroom to put some lip-gloss on. I went to the closet and found some flats; I didn’t own any heels and wouldn’t want to wear them anyway.

There was a knock at the door. I looked at my clock, seeing that it was only 2:30 pm. Liam was early. “Coming!” I said, grabbing my cardigan and clutch. I paused at the door as it occurred to me that I could be overdressed. Another knock came at the door.

“Sorry, I-” I started as I laid eyes on John. “Oh, hi. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was hoping to catch you today before I left town for work again. Shouldn’t be gone long again. But Miss Amy said you were busy back here, so I thought I’d just drop by.”

“That's so thoughtful. But really, you don't have to tell me every time you leave town!"

"Well, Miss Lea, that just hurts me. Here I thought I was your best customer!" he said in mock indignation.

As I thought about it, I realized that he was at the Inn pretty much every day for lunch and dinner. "Oh no! I didn't mean it like that! I just wouldn't want to bother you, John!" I said quickly.

"You aren't a bother, Miss Lea. Quite the opposite, actually-" he was cut off by a growl. I looked behind him to see Liam standing there with anger across his face.

"Liam-" I started.

"I'm sorry, but Azalea is busy right now. You'll have to talk to her some other time," he said in a dangerously low voice to John.

"My bad. Didn't know you were late for anything now. I guess I will take my leave. I'll see you in a couple of days, Miss Lea," John said, nodding at me with a smile. He turned around and seemed to look Liam up and down before walking back toward the Inn.

"What was he doing here?" Liam asked when he was out of earshot.

"I-I don't know. I was getting r-ready, and he knocked. I thought it was y-you," I said with a hint of panic in my voice. We hadn't even left, and I was making him angry without trying. Maybe I shouldn’t be letting my guard down so easily.

He blanched slightly and shook his head. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I shouldn't take it out on you," he said. "Here, I brought you these," he said as he handed me a beautiful bouquet of pink and white azaleas I hadn't noticed him holding.

"Oh, my goddess, thank you!" I said, taking the flowers. "Come in; I should put these in water!"

He followed me inside and stood in the doorway as I went to my small kitchen to find something for the flowers. I didn't have a vase, but I had a tall cup that would work well enough. I filled it with cool water then went to the drawer to get some plant food I kept for my other plants. I sprinkled a little in the water before putting the flowers inside. They smelled heavenly. I sat them on the windowsill before turning to Liam.

"Thank you. No one has ever gotten me flowers before. I love them," I told him.

"It's my pleasure, Azalea," he said with a huge smile. I couldn't help but drool a little bit in my head. He looked so good. He wore a nice pair of dark jeans that hugged his muscular legs. He had a simple black shirt on, but you could see all his muscles through it. His eyes were the clearest blue I had ever seen. He wore his medium-length hair in a pushed-back but messy style. He was definitely attractive, and I couldn't compare.

"Shall we?" he said, offering his arm. I grabbed my cardigan and clutch again and took his arm. Hopefully, his anger over John was forgotten. This was already the best and the only date I had been on.