Hestia House Book One

Chapter Ten

~Leo's POV~

I spent the entire night replaying the conversations in my head. Diego, the one hell-bent on protecting my mate, could have been an alpha if he wasn't a rogue; he was strong. And the fact that for the past year someone else had been doing my job of protecting my mate infuriated me because it should have been me. She shouldn't have gone through any of this. And it was all my fault.

And that's what really pushed me over the edge during those conversations. None of these things should have been an issue or conversation or a reality, because I should have been strong enough to take her away that first day. I should have pulled her out of the abusive pack, away from the danger, before she lost her parents. Her second set of parents. She shouldn't have had to figure out how to survive on her own. I should have been protecting her.

As a result, I didn't sleep at all. The coffee in the only motel room available wasn't strong enough. Tom was still sleeping when I left to find something stronger. The front desk clerk recommended, of all places, the bakery Arynn worked at. Even knowing I may end up in trouble with her, again, I walked to the bakery for decent coffee and something to eat.

Even at 6:30 in the morning, there was a line out the door of the bakery, people bundled up in coats, scarves, and warm boots. I stood out with my light jacket, but being a wolf, I ran hotter. I listened to the chatter, ready for my run-of-the-mill blueberry cake donut, but changed my mind when everyone kept going on about the pumpkin cream cheese danish. Obviously Arynn's boss was a good baker because these people were crazy about it. I am honestly glad she had found a solid job to keep her going while she was here. I want to find out who owns that house though. A group of rogues that big would be a potential threat or target, and I didn't want Arynn to be in any more danger than necessary.

Once I was inside, I saw more than I did yesterday when the mate bond rush overtook me. Sue Ann had done a fantastic job of creating a welcoming yet professional atmosphere. There were actually two conference rooms, one of which Arynn had dragged me into the day before. I smiled thinking about our encounter, wishing it weren’t quite so busy so I could pull her away this time. And then I saw her. Her hair was pulled back with a pink bandana, her gray apron was covered in flour, and she was pushing a rack of pastries in from the back. Even as normal as it looked, she is beautiful. I could almost imagine her in our pack house, baking up loads of pastries for the pack members and formal events. I shook my head, enjoying the thought but dismissing it all at once. I wanted to spoil her from now on, so she wouldn’t work another day.

Her face when she saw me at the register spoke of shock, disbelief, then a mysterious expression I couldn’t place. She didn’t kick me out of the store without my order, so I counted it as a win. The pumpkin cream cheese danish was beyond amazing, and the coffee was the right level of bitterness to offset the sweet without overpowering it. There really was a pastry genius working there. I should ask Arynn if we could get recipes for our kitchen. The day would pass well with this good start, so I could probably accomplish some pack business over the phone with ease.

~That Evening~

I had sent Tom to the bakery about 3 P.M. to escort Arynn home along with explicit instructions to make sure she had my cell phone number so she could text when she wanted me to come over. Once it hit 4 and I hadn’t heard from either of them, it felt as though I was sitting on pins and needles waiting for her to text. The dozens of texts I sent Tom were met with simple answers, until he sent one with a message from Arynn.

~If you keep texting Tom, I won’t invite you over tonight.~

So I waited. My wolf, Flint, was getting testy with the waiting, so I went to the small track at the local highschool and started running laps. It wasn’t as satisfying as a run in my wolf form, but it took the edge off. I ran until 5:30 when I received a text from an unknown number letting me know dinner was at 6 and was casual attire. So I ran back to the hotel, showered, threw on my jeans and a nicer t-shirt, then drove to Arynn’s house. I could smell the garlic from outside, mixed with strains of cinnamon and chocolate. I took a moment to calm myself, lecturing myself to keep my temper in check and allow Arynn the space she needed for us to talk. No one met me at the door, so I let myself in and started hunting for the dining room. And the group I met there was not what I was expecting.

A dozen mismatched chairs surrounded a country style table that was pretty banged up, with three bowls of spaghetti and meatballs, two bowls of salad, four bowls of green beans, and a heaping plate of chocolate chip cookies. Mini loaves of bread sat on each mismatched plate, with a fork and knife set up beside each. There was a mismatched group of wolves sitting around the table, with one chair for me to the left of the head of the table nearest the kitchen door. Arynn sat head of the table withTom to her right, and a small girl next to him he was whispering with and making her giggle. Her parents sat beside her, her father with a hooded look and her mother a small smile at Tom’s antics. A woman sat beside them, her blond head kept down and her hands in her lap. Diego sat at the opposite end of the table facing Arynn, with a curly dark haired woman to his left. Next to the dark haired woman were two men who were either twins or very close brothers. And finally next to my chair was a teenage girl with bright red hair. This was such an unlikely group that it stopped me in my tracks when I stepped into the room.

Arynn was watching me take it in, her head c****d to the side so that her hair fell over her shoulder. She has a smirk on her face, and a look in her eyes that read, ‘Say something about it, I dare you.’ So I did the only logical thing in this situation. I sat down at the table.