Beau guided me into the warmth of the cozy diner, the comforting scent of sizzling bacon and freshly brewed coffee enveloping us like a familiar embrace. The clattering of cutlery and low murmur of conversations created a backdrop of homey chaos, yet I couldn’t shake off the weight of the stares boring into me from every corner of the room. I felt like an outsider, a solitary droplet in a tightly-knit ocean of camaraderie, surrounded by faces that seemed to blend into one another, all belonging to a pack that moved as a united front. Sitting beside Beau, the Alpha’s younger brother, I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for the scrutiny to soften into acceptance, and how many glances I would have to endure before I felt like I truly belonged.
“Don’t worry about them,” Beau rea
