“I don’t want you to hide that part of you here.”
“What about your pack?”
“They’re our pack, and they will admire you. You need to accept that part of you to be able to heal, Cassie. Right now, you’re not healing.”
He was once again near her, and she closed her eyes. She couldn’t help it. He was so close, and she didn’t want to lose that part of him. His finger trailed down her arm, and she held in a gasp.
“Promise me you’ll do what I ask?”
“Will you stop saying nasty comments about my food?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
“Good. It upset me. I’ve not been in the kitchen for a long time. I missed it so much. You started out with nothing but compliments, but then there was always something wrong.”
“I wanted to prove to you that you needed to be tested. That you needed to understand what was going on with you.” His hand rested against her chest.
His touch was warm, and she gritted her teeth to stop herself from moaning. She didn’t want him to know that he affected her so greatly.
“What’s inside here is what counts, Cassie. You need to keep yourself happy, and to know that as a pack we will always have your back. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He placed a kiss to the top of her head before he pulled away. She watched him climb out of the pool.
She averted her gaze as he slid his boxer briefs on.
His cock had been so close to her, and yet she still hadn’t felt him.
“You need to get over your modesty while you’re here. There are a lot of men and women who don’t share your sensible ideals.”
“It’s all just new to me.” She’d always kept herself covered up with her old pack. With the way they treated her, there was no point in getting close to anyone. “Good night, Abel,” she said.
“Good night, Cassie.”
****
“You like her,” Carl said.
Abel looked toward his opponent as Cassie moved toward the dogs. He noticed she loved his dogs and they adored her, following her around the house and outside wherever she went. This time she was doing laundry with Jessica. The other woman kept glancing his way, but he only had eyes for Cassie. She wore a pair of jeans, much like the same she always wore. The large shirt hung down over her ass, and he hated how ugly it looked in the way it covered her up.
She didn’t have much of a wardrobe, and after a few questions from Jessica, he discovered Cassie had one suitcase with her, and that was all. He didn’t like that. Her old pack had treated her worse than any dog. He wanted to find her pack and take each one of them out.
“Yes, I do,” Abel said, not caring that his friend gasped. “Why do you sound so surprised? You asked.”
“I didn’t expect you to be honest. You like her. This is awesome news. Does she like you?” Carl asked.
“I don’t know. I would settle for her not hating me right now.”
“Oh, you mean after the Sunday lunch issue. Yeah, I totally didn’t get that. Everything was cooked to perfection. We’re all eating a lot more now than we ever have. It was a shock to hear you be such a bastard. I mean, it’s not that hard to think about. You’re an ass to most people.”
“Your point being?”
“You like her, so why be mean to her?”
“It’s my job to make sure everyone within my pack reaches their full potential. She needed help, I provided it.”
“Yeah, but being mean has consequences. What if she doesn’t want to be near you because you’re a total ass to her?”
“We need to work on your training, not on who I like.”
“But my training is lame. Your love life, or lack thereof, is totally cool. I prefer talking about you.”
Abel turned to Carl and sighed. They had gotten close in the months that he’d been part of the pack, and he did consider him a good friend. He was likeable, and he’d seen the scars that covered his body, which had occurred prior to his transition, and those hadn’t healed. At first, he thought Carl had been a spy, only he hadn’t. For a long time, he kept the other man at a distance so that he didn’t get hurt.
“You need to have an alphess.”
Abel burst out laughing. “An alphess?”
“You know, a female alpha. Cassie’d be nice. I don’t think it’ll be good though. You’ve got Jessica, Sarah, and Linda vying for your affection. They want to get down and sexy with you.”
Abel rolled his eyes. “Again, come on.”
“I don’t want to attack you. You’ll just make me look bad in front of the chicks,” Carl said.
“They will find you adorable.”
“Adorable is not for guys like me. I need to look tough. Maybe you could take one for the team.”