Fate Picked Me, the Alpha Passed, and I Felt Nothing novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: Fournier's

Dray was still asleep when I left at eight.

He lay on his stomach across my bed with one arm hanging off the edge and his face in my pillow.

I stood and looked at him for a full minute.

He looked ten years younger asleep, with his mouth a little open and his sandy hair sticking up.

I left a note on the stove that said, There's coffee, and went out.

Fournier's is on Main Street, three doors from the hardware store, and on Sunday mornings the line goes out the door.

I walked in at ten past eight and every head in the place turned.

Thirty or forty wolves stood in line with their paper cups.

Nobody said a word.

I stopped in the doorway with my hands in my overall pockets.

"Morning," I said.

Somebody coughed.

A woman near the register gave me a soft, pitying look, the kind you give a dog hit by a car.

"Poor thing," she murmured to her husband.

I walked up to her.

"Poor who?" I said.

She blinked. "Honey, I only meant, after last night."

"Last night I got a good night's sleep," I said. "How's your hip?"

Her husband made a noise into his coffee.

Odile's voice cut through the room from behind the counter.

"Rue Tolland, get back here before I lose my mind."

I ducked under the counter flap and followed her into the kitchen.

It was warm and loud and smelled of butter and burnt sugar.

She shoved a croissant into my hand, then a cup of coffee, then she grabbed my face and looked at it.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. Your eyes are clear. You're not faking it."

"I'm not faking anything."

"You went home and slept."

"For nine hours, on and off."

"On and off?"

I took a bite of the croissant and chewed.

Odile's green eyes narrowed.

"Rue."

"What?"

"Your neck."

I put a hand up.

"You have a mark on your neck the size of a plum."

"Do I?"

"Rue Tolland. Who was in your apartment?"

I swallowed.

"He came to my door at two in the morning," I said. "He was freezing and shaking and he said he could still feel all of it."

Her mouth fell open.

"The Alpha."

"The Alpha."

"And you let him in?"

"I let him in."

She stared at me for three seconds.

Then she let out a shriek and clapped both flour-covered hands over her mouth.

"Odile."

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm having a moment."

"You can have it quietly."

She took a breath. "Is he okay?"

"He's asleep in my bed."

"Oh my God."

"Don't."

"I'm not saying anything."

"You're screaming with your face."

She gave a wheezing laugh and wiped her eyes on her apron.

"Honey, I don't understand it. Mama said when a refusal happens, both sides go numb. That's how it's supposed to work."

"Then it's wrong," I said. "Because I'm fine."

Her laugh stopped.

"Don't tell your mama," I said. "Not until I know what it means."

"Rue."

"Swear it, Odile."

She crossed her heart with a floury finger.

She leaned against the flour bin and looked at me for a long time.

"How do you feel about that?"

I thought about it honestly.

"I feel like I'm the only one in the room with a clear head," I said. "And I feel like I'm not done with him."

"Rue."

"I know."

"He said no to you in front of everybody."

"I know what he did."

"You're sure you're not making this about a bond that doesn't exist?"

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