Kit’s POV

Where did these clothes come from?

Like, whose job is it to run to the mall and pick out clothes for random people?

Shuffling through the closet full of brand-new, expensive clothes, tags still on, I can’t help but be impressed.

These are so much better than my clothes.

They can just throw my stuff in the dumpster after I’ve seen these.

Smiling, I pull out a simple black sundress.

Not sure there is a reason to dress up, but might as well, right?

I’m pulling the straps over my shoulder when there is a knock on the door.

I’m halfway across the room to answer it when I notice the towel still wrapped around my head.

Yanking it off, I run my fingers through it as I pull open the door.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Colin.”

Colin’s eyes dart down to take in my dress.

“That looks nice.”

“Thanks.”

Still running my fingers through my damp hair, I step further into the room, he follows, closing the door behind him.

“So…”

I grin and shrug.

“Yeah.”

He returns the grin.

“At least it was entertaining.”

I laugh.

“Stick around, I am sure it won’t be the last show.”

Colin laughs, his green eyes glinting as he does.

“At least it got you out of training.”

“Well, there’s that.”

Tossing my towel over a small desk, I put my hands on my hips and turn around to face him.

“So, now what? What’s there to do?”

Colin taps his chin as he considers this.

“Well, we could go for a walk? I could take you into town. We missed dinner, so we could go to this little pizza place-”

“River-side pie?”

He looks surprised for a moment, then shakes his head.

“Damn, I keep forgetting that you used to live here.”

“Yeah, I was pretty good at being immemorable.”

“Not anymore.”

Colin pens his hands to his side and spins in circles, mimicking my roll on the balcony.

“Oh my god! Stop it! No!”

Laughing, I gently shove him so that he grabs my hands to keep from falling over.

“Fine. Let’s get out of here. I’m starving.”

I can’t help but feel excited.

I could never afford to go out to eat while I was living here before.

But I always wanted to go.

All the cool kids always went.

And now I am going with a cool kid there.

Well, Colin is certainly not a kid anymore.

No.

He’s a man.

Tall, strong, very handsome man.

Shockingly, he is super sweet too.

Or at least he is pretending to be…time will tell.

The twenty-minute walk to town seems more like two, it goes by so fast with easy conversation.

Unlike in the SUV earlier, there is no distracting make-out session behind us, and I am actually letting myself enjoy Colin.

Who is very careful to not bring up Alpha Tate or Sarah again.

For which I am grateful.

When we get to the restaurant, it feels as if everyone turns to watch us take our seats.

They probably are confused why someone as handsome as Colin is here with me.

Why is Colin here with me?

Frowning, I grab one of the long, stiff breadsticks on the table and absently break it in half.

“Hey, where did you go just now? What are you thinking of?”

“Nothing. Sorry.”

Colin tilts his head sideways to study me.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

I break the breadstick halves in half again.

“Pretend.”

My stomach squirms.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Yeah, you do. You act like you don’t care because you don’t want to get hurt, because you have been hurt.”

I crack the tiny piece of breadstick remaining in my hand.

“I get it, I really do. I struggled when my dad died-”

“Your dad died?”

My face feels hot, and I inwardly cringe after the question blurts out. That wasn’t very tactful.

“Yeah, you didn’t hear what happened after you left?”

I shake my head.

The server comes around, Colin holds up a finger and smiles at her.

She returns the smile and backs away to the bar, her eyes fixated on him.

“About a year after you left, we were ambushed. It took out a lot of the elders, including my father, along with Jody’s and Tate’s. It was brutal. We all took it hard. Tate lost both of his parents. We all had to step up after their deaths. Made us grow up really quick.”

Not sure where all this pain is coming from…I had no loyalty to these people…but at the same time…my chest hurts as if I was just told the news of my own parents all over again.

“Colin, I am so sorry.”

He lifts a shoulder.

“See, I know how to play it cool too.”

I place my hand palm up on the table and Colin puts his over it.

“But this is better.”

I bite back a grin.

“Anyway, Tate has been building up the pack ever since, determined never to have an attack like that again. Trains harder, more patrol, more land, and more allies. We, as a pack, have never been stronger.”

A strange feeling of pride stirs inside of me.

“Now you know.”

“Now I know.”

Colin squeezes my hand and picks up the menu, the server scampering back over.

“And now you know that it’s better to be open and share your thoughts with people who can relate than to hold it in.”

He winks at me and turns to face the server to give her our order.

To be honest, I feel stunned.

No one has ever spoken to me like that.

No one except Cami.

Not with such open honesty.

Damn. Colin really has changed.

If he has…maybe, they all did.

Maybe they had to after the attack.

“Now…tell me about what you’ve been doing the last seven years.”

Colin and I spend over an hour at the restaurant, with no awkward pauses.

A completely different experience from our car ride.

Which, I am now starting to feel a little bad about.

To be fair, I didn’t know that he was no longer an ass.

As we are walking back to the packhouse, Colin’s fingers lightly graze my arm, then slip down to entwine his fingers with mine.

That feels nice.

I’ve never held hands with a boy before.

Sure, I’ve had some hook ups.

As a werewolf, you can’t just completely abstain…it’s not in our nature. We get all angry and mean if we do.

But I never wanted anything more than a hook up, so when it would get unbearable, I would just go to the local dive bar and find someone to take me home.

About once every six months.

I never stayed the night.

I didn’t want to leave Cami alone.

And I never had an actual relationship.

So…this feels different.

It feels nice.

“Is this okay?”

Colin glances down at our hands.

I nod.

He grins and we walk toward the driveway to the packhouse in comfortable silence, stopping a safe distance from the front porch so that I don’t pick up any scents.

Colin turns me to face him, placing his hands on my upper arms.

“Is this okay?”

My heart flutters with excitement as I nod.

He leans his face closer to mine, pausing so close to my lips that I feel his breathe against them.

“Is this okay?”

In response, I stand on my toes to press my lips to his, circling his neck with my arms.

This is very okay.