Page 63 of Diners, Damsels & Wolves

“No one will tell her. But you should.”

“You never dated a non-shifter before, you have no idea how nerve-racking that is. Worrying they’ll either call you insane, or they’ll run away screaming. With you and Sam, it’s different, it’s a secret you shared, not one you kept from him.”

“Fair enough,” she said at last. “I still think you should invite her. The others will keep quiet, I’ll make sure of it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You do that.” She winced.

“What’s wrong?” He ran to her.

“The baby, it’s kicking my ribs. Ugh, I am so ready for this to be over. I haven’t been able to shift and go on a run in months.”

There were dozens of complicated theories on why women couldn’t shift when they got pregnant, but no one knew for sure. It wasn’t like they could show up to a medical research center and ask, so they all rolled with it and used it as an early indicator.

“Tell ya what, as soon as you’re healed and ready, I’ll have Sam watch the baby so you and I can go on a midnight run just like we used to.”

“I’d like that. Now help me up, I need to pee.”

Laughing, he hooked an arm under hers and heaved. “By the way, how did you know I was home?”

“Don’t you know by now, I know everything.”

“Uh-huh. You owe Michael a matching pair of slippers. He almost got away with spying on me.”

“I prefer the term ‘intelligence gathering.’”

“Of course you do.” Tom rolled his eyes.

Fifteen

Thomas

Sitting in his car, Tom stared at Donna’s Diner, a bouquet of flowers on his passenger seat. He felt like an idiot. It was just after four in the afternoon. She started work so early she might be home by now. Huffing, he got out of the car. He wouldn’t know unless he heard her talking to someone inside or he bucked up and went in there.

Pausing, he went back to the car and retrieved the flowers. He took four steps before stopping again. He went back to the car and tossed them back inside. Slamming the door, he scowled at the stupid bouquet in his stupid car.

Everything was going to hell in a handbasket. The elders called him into an emergency meeting to discuss Dan. If he had to listen to one more pearl-clutching speech about how ‘your grandfather would never’ he was going to lose it.

On top of all that, James kept hounding him for details, and Maria kept texting him to see if he’d invited Clarissa to the picnic yet while not-so-subtly indicating he should tell her about the supernatural underground. Despite all that, here he was, standing in a diner parking lot, contemplating flowers.

Grumbling under his breath, he turned back to the diner. He froze. In the back window were six of the pack’s pups, all of them watching him. They even had the audacity to smile and wave.

“What the fuck?” he growled.

With them being so young, their wolf senses wouldn’t be keen enough to hear him through the wall. Right now, he didn’t care if they did.

He’d told the idiots to be discreet! One or two at a time sitting at a booth doing homework or reading. Not six of them! And they sure as hell should not be waving at him.

Snarling, he let his eyes phase. Hot tingles rolled over his skin. Vision sharpening, colors muted as his peripherals widened. He saw the group of pups as if he were standing nose to nose with them.

Their smiles vanished. Pulling their hands from the air, they suddenly became busy with their table.

“Shit,” May said, “I think he’s mad.”

“What did we do?” Luna asked.

“I don’t think we were supposed to wave at him,” Michael hissed. “Sorry, boss!”