(Leah POV)
I felt like a fool. Spent all that time psyching myself up, and he wasn't even home.
Should I wait… or come back later?
Part of me wanted to get off the porch and be grateful for the delay. But the bigger part, the stubborn part, said absolutely not. No way was I wasting all this effort just to have to work my courage up again later.
So, I stayed.
I sat on their front porch swing waiting for maybe thirty minutes before I heard the familiar sound of Thomas's truck coming up the drive. When he pulled in, I caught myself smiling as I stood, like my body forgot it was supposed to be nervous.
When he stepped out, he called, "Hey, Leah. I didn't know you were coming over, or I would've been here sooner."
"That's okay," I said quickly. "My fault for coming by unannounced."
His gaze flicked over me, one quick look that should've been nothing, and then a second, slower one that absolutely wasn't.
Heat flared up my neck. Pride followed right behind it, and before I could stop myself, I straightened a little more and pulled my shoulders back, making my chest stand out even more than it already was due to the shirt I had chosen.
His ears went a little pink. He yanked his eyes back up to my face like he'd been caught doing something wrong.
"Would you like to come in?" he asked.
I nodded, trying to look calmer than I felt. "Sure. I came to talk to you anyway."
Without another word, he unlocked the door and stepped aside, gesturing me in first. "Welcome. Make yourself at home. Edythe's going to be disappointed she missed our first non-family guest."
When I walked in, I froze for half a second.
It was… warm.
Not temperature warm, though it was that too, but lived-in warm. I'd expected something colder. Sterile. Like a museum pretending to be a house.
Instead, there were small, ordinary signs of life: a throw blanket folded over the couch arm, a pair of shoes by the door like someone kicked them off without thinking, a faint scent of clean wood and something sweet that was probably Edythe.
"This place looks amazing," I said, and then because I couldn't help myself, "Very… homey."
Thomas blinked like he hadn't expected that. "Oh, did you not come inside during the wedding?"
I shook my head. I wasn't about to unpack that. Not today. Not when I was already risking my dignity in a skirt. It was naturally at that moment I realized I wasn't wearing any panties. I was so used to going without because of the shifter thing, but why did it only hit me now?
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you want something to drink? I've got water, milk, and some Naked in the fridge. Strawberry-banana."
Of course, my brain latched onto the one word that sounded like a trap.
"Naked?" I repeated it before I could stop myself.
He just nodded like he hadn't heard the question mark in my reply and moved toward what I assumed was the kitchen. "Be right back. Have a seat."
I stood there for a second too long, staring after him glad he couldn't see the full body blush I currently had going, and tried to remind myself that I was here for a reason.
Just talk. Just ask. Just survive it.
Easy.
Right.
Thomas walked back into the room with a glass of something thick and pink, more smoothie than juice. I took it automatically and took a sip.
"Oh," I said, surprised. "This is good."
Thomas smiled, like he was pleased I approved. "Right? It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it tastes so damn good. At least it's better than soda." He nodded toward the couch because I was still standing. "So… what brings you by?"
There it was. The opening. The moment I'd been dragging a backpack through the woods for. My fingers tightened around the glass. Cold against my palm. Something to hold so my shaking hands didn't give me away.
I sat on the edge of the couch cushion instead of sinking in. Like if I stayed ready to bolt, it gave me more control of the situation.
Thomas didn't crowd me. He leaned back in the chair across from the couch, ankles crossed, watching me with that steady focus he used to let a person know they had his full attention.
I took another sip just to buy myself two seconds.
Then I forced the words out before I could choke on them.
"There's… something happening Friday night," I said.
His brows lifted a fraction. "On the rez?"
I nodded.
He waited. Didn't jump in. Didn't try to rescue me. Just let the silence sit there until I filled it, which was, annoyingly, exactly what I needed.
"It's a storytelling thing," I said, and immediately hated how small it sounded. Like campfire tales. Like kids and marshmallows. "Not… like a kiddy thing…or a Kegger. It's important… Tribal important."
Thomas's expression went thoughtful, like he was trying to line it up with something he'd heard before. "Bella mentioned Jacob invited her to something. She didn't say much."
"Yeah." My mouth went dry. "This is… connected."
His gaze sharpened just a little. Not suspicion, attention. Like he'd realized this wasn't casual.
I stared at the rim of my glass.
"This isn't me asking you to do pack stuff," I said, because that mattered. "It's not about orders or training or any of that."
Thomas's shoulders eased. "Okay."
I swallowed. My heart was doing that stupid sprinting thing again.
"I'm asking you," I said, and my voice cracked on the first word like I was thirteen. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I'm asking you to come with ME!"
His eyes flicked to mine.
Just that. No pressure. No judgment. No shock. Just a quiet, steady look that made my lungs forget what they were doing.
"To the ceremony?" he asked gently, like he wasn't sure he heard right.
"Yes."
He sat up a little, forearms resting on his knees now, giving me all of his attention. "Leah…"
My stomach dropped like he was about to say no.
Then he said, "Are you sure?"
It wasn't doubt. It was concern. Like he knew enough to recognize it wasn't nothing, even if he didn't understand why.
I nodded once, fast. "Yeah. I'm sure."
His gaze slid over me again, quick, like he was noticing my clothes for the first time with his brain instead of his eyes. Like he was putting together that I hadn't come here on a whim.
I hated that it made me want to smile.
"I don't want you walking into it blind," I said, and forced myself to hold his gaze. "The Elders are going to be there. The Pack as well as their…partners."
Thomas's mouth twitched, like that almost-amused expression he got when he was bracing for something complicated. "Sounds like my kind of nightmare."
That should've made me laugh. It didn't. Not really.
I shook my head. "It's not meant to be a trap."
"Is it meant to be a warning?" he asked, still calm.
"No." The word came out too sharp, too immediate. I softened it. "No. It's… it's an invitation."
He studied me for a long second.
I felt like he could see straight through every layer of defense I'd built over the last two years and find the part of me that was shaking.
I hated it.
And I wanted it.
"So why me?" he asked quietly.
There it was…the question that had too many answers packed inside it. Answers I wasn't ready to spill on his living room carpet.
Because I want you.
Because I chose you.
Because I'm done pretending I don't have feelings for you.
Instead, I went with the one I could say out loud without setting myself on fire.
"Because I trust you," I said. Then, because honesty mattered, even when it hurt, I added, "And because I want you there with me."
Thomas went still.
Not recoiling. Not panicking.
Just… still.
His eyes dropped to my hands wrapped around the glass like a lifeline. Then back to my face.
"Does Edythe know you're here?" he asked.
My throat tightened.
"Yes," I said. "She knows. She… she told me to be brave instead of just acting brave."
His expression shifted at that, softened, warmed, like the idea of Edythe saying that fit into him in a way he didn't even have to think about.
He let out a slow breath.
"Okay," he said.
One word.
The world tilted.
I blinked, not trusting it. "Okay?"
Thomas nodded once, like he'd already decided and didn't need to perform it. "Okay. I'll go with you, so long as Edythe is good with it."
My chest went tight…too full, too fast.
I looked away before my face could betray me completely. "Don't…" I swallowed. "Don't say it like you're doing me a favor."
He made a quiet sound, half laugh, half exhale. "Leah, you asked me. That's… not nothing."
I risked a glance back at him.
He wasn't smirking. He wasn't teasing.
He looked… careful with me.
Like he understood more than he was letting on but was withholding his comments.
"Do I need to wear something specific?" he asked, and his tone was light, but his eyes stayed serious. "Because I don't think I own anything that says 'respectable tribal guest.'"
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it, short, sharp, and real.
"No," I said, and for the first time since I'd stepped on the porch, my shoulders loosened. "It's not a formal event. Just… don't show up in gym shorts."
His mouth tugged up. "I can do jeans. I think."
I nodded and took another sip of the juice because I didn't know what else to do with my hands.
My brain finally caught up with what I'd just done.
I asked him.
He said yes.
And now I had to figure out how I was going to walk into my mother's line of sight next to him without spontaneously combusting.
Thomas shifted in his seat, "Is there a specific time? Do I come pick you up?"
I cleared my throat. "It's just after dark on Friday, no specific time. You could meet me at my house and we… We could walk there together; it's at Billy's so it's not too far."
Thomas's mouth twitched, almost a smile. "Okay. A nice walk before this event sounds good."
I should've said something casual. Something normal. Like, cool, see you then.
Instead my brain offered me a dozen different ways to ruin this.
Don't make it weird. Don't make it weird. Don't…
"Thank you," I blurted.
Thomas's expression softened again, that careful gentleness that made me want to bite things. But not the aggressive way.
"You don't have to thank me," he said. "You asked. I said yes."
"I know," I snapped, then immediately regretted the tone. "I just…" I exhaled hard through my nose. "I didn't think you would."
He studied me for a second, and something about the look in his eyes made my stomach do that stupid lurch again.
"Why?" he asked quietly.
Because you're married.
Because you're… you.
Because I'm not anyone's first choice anymore.
I couldn't give him those answers. Not yet.
So I went with the truth I could stand to say.
"Because people don't usually say yes to me lately," I muttered.
Thomas's jaw tightened. Not anger…something protective and sharp but still with a little mischief in it. "That's their problem, and I don't think I have ever told you no. Not even when you called me a 'Pail Face' and told me to 'Get off your land'."
I blushed fiercely again, but this time Thomas saw it and that only made it worse. "I can't believe you brought that up."
He laughed, "Trust me as first meeting's go, it was better than the one between me and Edythe."
There was a story I wanted to hear, but not today. I needed to slow things down for now. So I stood up and placed my finished drink on the end table. "I should go."
Thomas rose too, not blocking me, just following at a normal pace toward the door like he was making sure I got out without tripping over my own pride.
He stopped at the entryway, hands shoved into his pockets, posture deliberately casual.
"So," he said, "Friday. Your place. I wear jeans and pretend I know what I'm doing."
I huffed a laugh. "That's basically what I'm doing."
That earned me a real smile. Warm. Simple.
It hit me right in the chest.
I reached for the doorknob, then hesitated, because my brain is cruel.
"Thomas," I said.
He looked up. "Yeah?"
My mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
I could feel the words I wanted to say like they were burning behind my teeth.
Edythe approves.
This isn't a mistake.
I'm not trying to take something from you.
I'm trying to…
I swallowed them all.
"Never mind," I said, and pulled the door open.
The evening air hit my face, cool and damp. Safe. Something I could breathe.
I stepped onto the porch, then turned back because apparently, I enjoy suffering.
Thomas was still there, framed in the doorway, looking at me with a look that made me warm all over.
"I'll… see you Friday," I said.
"Yeah," he replied. "See you Friday."
I walked down the steps like my legs weren't unsteady, like my heart wasn't doing backflips for no good reason.
The second I hit the yard, my brain started screaming again.
He said yes.
Okay, sure. Great. Victory. Except…
He still didn't understand, not fully.
I could tell.
He thought this was me asking him to come listen to stories. Maybe support the treaty stuff. Maybe protect Bella by being nearby. Maybe just be there because he's Thomas and he doesn't like leaving people alone with uncertainty.
He had no idea what it meant for me to ask him.
No idea what it meant for the tribe to see me show up with him.
No idea what it meant for my mother.
I stopped at the tree line, staring back at the house through the thinning light.
Gods.
What have I done?
My palms were sweaty. My stomach was tight. My heartbeat was still too fast. I should've been relieved. I should've been…happy.
I was happy.
That was the problem.
"Stupid," I whispered to myself. "Stupid, stupid…"
I turned and headed into the woods before I could talk myself into running back and canceling everything.
And of course, because the universe loves irony, that was when my brain decided to remember one last detail.
The skirt.
The stupid, pretty skirt.
The one I'd picked because I wanted to look good when I asked him.
I wasn't wearing underwear.
I stopped so hard I nearly tripped on a root.
"Oh my god," I hissed, horrified.
My face went hot all over again.
I could still see his ears going pink when he looked at me.
Did he notice?
No. He wouldn't. He…he's not…
He's a shifter.
He can probably smell…
I groaned out loud and dragged both hands down my face.
"Kill me," I muttered to the trees.
The trees, predictably, did not oblige.
I forced myself to keep moving, fast and quiet, using the anger to cover the embarrassment.
By the time I reached where I'd stashed my backpack, my nerves had shifted into something else.
A sharp, buzzing anticipation.
Friday.
Me walking up in front of everyone…elders, tribe, my mother…beside a man who still didn't understand what I'd be declaring.
And then there was the other part.
Edythe.
Her words.
Be brave instead of just acting brave.
I'd thought she meant ask him.
Now I realized she probably meant everything after he says yes.
I stripped out of my skirt and blouse, stuffed them in the backpack, then I shifted, grabbed it, and started jogging with it clamped in my teeth, because if I didn't keep moving my mind was going to eat itself.
And as the packmind brushed the edge of my awareness…distant, busy, full of motion…I did what I always did.
I locked my thoughts down.
Tight.
Controlled.
Nothing to see here.
Nothing at all.
Except the one thing that slipped through anyway, sharp as a spark:
Friday. He said yes.
I swore under my breath and ran faster.
Because no matter how tight I held my mind…
some news traveled on its own.