I couldn't stop staring, even though the food was amazing. Shade had picked the menu, the same way he always did when his father was away. He'd made sure they cooked all my favorites.
He sat at the head table, surrounded by the other twelve and thirteen-year-old boys he was about to leave for training with, laughing and nudging shoulders like he ruled the entire damn room.
Because he did.
Every few minutes, he shifted in his seat and looked toward the back. Toward me. Tucked in beside my mother with the lower wolves like always.
The guys surrounding him started whispering after the third wink, snickering and elbowing one another. He didn't bother to acknowledge them. Just lifted his chin and did it again. And again. And again.
I stopped counting after the tenth time.
"Wow." My
