“Thanks for being real.”
He shrugged. “What other way is there to be?”
“I’m not worried anyway. Marni’s with you.”
“She is in her own way, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t notice someone else.” He walked over and sat down on the back of the couch. “Just like you. You were into Gage but noticed Hunter.”
“Not willingly.”
“You noticed him. You were attracted to him even if you wouldn’t have acted on it on your own accord.”
“Did I make a mistake?” I meant with Gage, and I assumed he’d understand. Chet was being uncharacteristically open, and I decided to jump on the opportunity.
“No. You saved someone you cared about. How could that be a mistake?”
“What if he didn’t want this for himself?”
Chet stood up and walked toward the kitchen. “He may not have, but he will. He’ll appreciate it eventually even if he doesn’t now.”
“I want to see him.”
“And you will, but you have to give it some time.”
“That’s what everyone keeps saying.”
He poured himself a cup of coffee. “Because it’s the truth.”
“What do we do now? Marni said I take over jobs in the house, but that can’t be it.”
“Hunter needs to decide the next step.”
“I can’t just sit around.”
“You don’t have a choice. Gage needs time to acclimate and Hunter needs to finish what he started.”
“What does that involve?” Maybe this was my chance to find out more.
“He didn’t tell you?”
“No. He never tells me anything.”
Chet seemed torn. “Once isn’t enough. The Alpha has to repeat the process so the transformation sticks. At least that’s how I understand it. This isn’t something that happens much. You’ll have to ask Hunter for the details.”
“And what if he doesn’t do anything?”
“Gage dies. It’s kind of a safety net for changing the wrong person. If you make a mistake, don’t do part two.”
“That’s horrible.”
“That’s life. It’s better than having to outright kill them, right?”
“He’s going to do it. He’s going to do the next step.”
“Of course he will. Hunter would do anything for you.”
“Why? Why is he willing to do so much for someone he barely knows?” Maybe Chet would answer the question that constantly swirled around my head. “It makes no sense.”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Great.” So much for that idea.
“But.” He smiled slightly. He was probably enjoying that I was desperately hanging on to his every word. “Ask him about his dreams.”
“His dreams?” I leaned back against the counter. “What kind of dreams?”
“That’s it. That’s all I’m telling you.”
“Fine.” I peered out through the small kitchen window.
“I’m sure they’re inside already, you’re not going to see anything.”
“How are you so calm about everything? You can’t be happy about any of it.” He had even more of a reason to dislike Gage now. Or really two more reasons. Gage could get them all in trouble, and he may be interested in the girl Chet loved. Or at least liked. Who knew what was actually between them?
“What good would getting upset do any of us? How would it help?” He sipped his coffee. “That’s one of the things that makes us different from you. We don’t let emotions dictate because we can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t? You still feel.” Hunter definitely felt. That’s what made things even harder.
“Of course we can feel. We feel even more strongly than you, which is why it’s so important to keep ourselves calm. That’s something Gage is going to learn. He can’t go shifting all the time.”
“Do you shift when you get emotional? I mean if you can’t control it?”
“Yes. Especially when we’re upset or angry. It’s important to only let it happen at the right times though. We almost had to move because of Falcon a few months back.”
“What happened?” I refilled my coffee a little bit to warm it up.
“Bar fight. Luckily Marni was able to distract the crowd long enough for us to get out.”
“How’d she distract them?”
His eyes narrowed. “How would you distract a crowd of men in an emergency?”
“She flashed them?”
“Yes.”
“And that didn’t make you mad?”
“She walks around naked in front of my friends. You think her flashing a bunch of pathetic humans bothered me?”