Noah's POV
All it takes is a quick trip home to change, leave instructions for the babysitter, and kiss Oliver's face about a hundred times with promises that I'll be back to tuck him in and I find myself standing in front of…
I actually don't know what I'm looking at.
Eastvale is small but it has its fair share of fancy restaurants and upscale bars, all catering to high-profile tourist clientele, but instead of candlelit tables and the smell of overpriced steak, I'm staring at a bookstore.
I double-check the address Kieran sent me.
Yep. Right place.
A smooth, familiar voice cuts through the early evening air behind me.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
I turn—and I immediately regret it.
The last time I saw Dr. Kieran Saleh, he was dressed in crisp scrubs and a lab coat. Professional. Polished. Now, out of uniform and dressed in a plain white t-shirt, beige pants, and white sneakers, he looks…
Gorgeous.
His warm olive skin is flawless beneath the streetlights, the golden glow accentuating the angles of his face. His dark hair is styled in a sleek, careless mess, and the short, well-kept beard lining his square jaw only adds to his effortless attractiveness.
But his eyes— those damn eyes.
A deep, rich brown, so dark they're almost black. Hypnotic. Dangerous.
I clear my throat, forcing my brain to work. "Not at all," I reply, hoping my blush isn't obvious.
Kieran glances at his watch. "I'm not late, am I?"
"I'm just early."
Silence.
And then, his gaze sweeps over me.
Blatantly. Slowly.
I squirm.
Kieran had told me to dress casually, but now, standing under his scrutiny in my white button-up, olive green vest, and brown pants, I suddenly feel overdressed.
Finally, he meets my eyes, smirking.
"You clean up nice, Bennett."
I swallow. "Not too shabby yourself, Saleh."
He nods at the building. "Shall we?"
I nod.
For a second, I can almost feel him considering whether to take my hand, but I make no move to reach for his, and—credit to him—he doesn't push it.
Instead of walking into the bookstore, we take the stairs at the side of the building, arriving at a restaurant that's bursting with bright, pastel colors.
It smells warm and inviting—like coffee and baked goods.
Something tiny and soft nudges my leg.
I look down.
"Kieran, did you bring me to a cat café?"
My voice is filled with pure awe.
Kieran suddenly looks nervous.
"Yeah," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't want to be cliché and take you to just any dinner, so it was either this or go see my favorite band play."
I crouch down to pet the cat, but the tiny tabby sniffs my fingers once before scampering off.
I raise an eyebrow. "What's your favorite band?"
Kieran coughs. "Uh. Bloody Root Canal."
I look up at him. Blink.
"Bloody Root Canal?"
"They make good music!" he says defensively.
I snort as I straighten up. "Still… a cat café…"
"Do you like it?"
I glance around at the colorful walls, the cozy atmosphere, the dozens or so cats lounging in various corners of the café.
I love it.
But one of the pitfalls of being high up on the food chain is animals tend not to like you. "Kieran. We're werewolves." I nod toward the retreating tabby. "I think that poor cat just saw all nine of his lives flash before his eyes."
Kieran laughs.
And his laugh is as smooth and velvety as his voice.
I ignore the way my stomach flips and ignore the way Finnian huffs in disapproval.
'He is not mate.'
I shove her down.
We are on a date, and we are going to have a good time.
The hostess leads us to our table, and I take a second to enjoy the view of the city through the window before turning my attention to the view in front of me.
K's all grown up now. Gone is the pudgy kid who used to collect bugs with me around the neighbourhood even though he hated them, gone is the cub that constantly held on to his mothers fur at pack events where all our mothers would shift and us, too young to even feel our wolves, would play under their watchful eyes. In his place is this grown man with unfairly attractive lips, the same attractive lips he's currently biting down on as he reads the menu.
Can't say I'm complaining.
Without looking up, he smirks. "Enjoying the view?"
I immediately snatch up my own menu to hide my blush. "Eastvale is a beautiful place."
He hums, amused.
I've been caught.
Kieran orders a bottle of wine. I request the evening special.
Only one cat is brave enough to approach us—a tuxedo kitten who finds the hem of my pants absolutely fascinating.
We talk. We catch up. We laugh.
"Why medicine?" I ask.
Kieran shrugs. "Because we're a wonderful species. And if we don't take care of ourselves, no one will."
He takes a sip of his wine before raising an eyebrow at me.
"Why baseball?"
I smirk. "Because I accidentally hit a guy in the nuts once and realized this was my calling."
Kieran almost chokes on his drink.
By the end of the night, I feel warm and light.
A little from the wine, a little from the food— but mostly from the company.
"The Coyotes have a game on Friday, right?" Kieran asks.
I narrow my eyes. "Are you keeping tabs on me, Saleh?"
He chuckles. "My nephew's a fan. I'm required, as the cool uncle, to take him to a game." His smirk turns sly. "Still, I'm glad he fed me information on you without even knowing."
I smile, but Finnian stirs. She's been quiet throughout dinner, her protest reduced to silence as I got deeper into the conversation with Kieran and the ambience of the place. Now, she spits out, 'You're leading him on. You belong to mate.'
Once again, I force the thought down. I'm not leading anyone on. I'm out on a nice date, getting to know this nice man and I don't want to think about the whirlwind that is Logan Whittaker?
Can't I just have this? One, quiet, romantic evening?
Kieran notices the shift in my expression anyway. "Hey. What's wrong?"
I plaster on an easy smile. "Just thinking about Oliver."
Good job, Noah. Starting a relationship with lies.
Kieran watches me for a moment, then nods. He signals the waiter for the check.
"I guess it's almost time for your curfew."
"Hey!" I protest. "I'm a grown man. I don't have a curfew."
Kieran's smile is soft. "But you do have a son. And I'm not going to keep you from him any longer."
My heart warms.
I'd imagined dating as a single dad would be hard, but Kieran seems to understand without needing it explained that Oliver is my first priority. Always.
"Thank you," I say sincerely.
"No," Kieran murmurs. "Thank you for spending time with me."
My heart flutters in my chest and it almost surprises me. When was the last time I felt like this? When was the last I felt so cared for? So seen?
'Slow down Noah. Don't get ahead of yourself,' I remind myself.
But my heart is still doing laps in my chest and when Kieran smiles softly and says, "Come on, let's get you home." All I can manage is a weak, squeaky, "Okay."
He walks me to my car and again, he doesn't take my hand. But he's nice warm and solid beside me and I'm an omega who likes nice, warm and solid.
I love it. And so does Finnian. I can feel her reluctantly soaking up the affection. I can feel her loathing at the fact that, when push comes to shove, we both want the same thing; to be loved.
Kieran and I take our time walking.
Neither of us really want to say goodbye.
Finnian grumbles. 'You can forgive our mate. We can be together again.'
I sigh internally. 'I can sense your comfort, Fin.'
She huffs and settles down.
Kieran and I stop beside my car.
"Tonight was lovely," I say.
Kieran's eyes gleam. "There can be more like it."
I know what he's asking. He wants to go out again. I want it to.
But…
'Tell him,' Finnian hisses.
'Why should I?' I shoot back.
'Tell him,' she prompts again.
Kieran's eyes go from happy to slightly confused. "Noah?"
"Sorry," I say, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. "It's just, Finnian, my wolf. She… doesn't want to shut up."
Kieran laughs. "They tend to do that," he says between chuckles. "Do you want to know what mine's been saying all night?"
My nod is small.
Kieran leans in closer, so close that the scent of his perfume overwhelms my senses. Warm vanilla and mint. I want to bury my face in his shirt and inhale.
"He says you look wonderful and he wants me to make you mine," he husks.
My racing heart decides to do a swan leap into my rib cage. If I was blushing before, I think I'm fire engine red now. "What's his name?"
"Kaiser."
"That's a beautiful name," I whisper.
Kieran shuts his eyes and exhales. When he opens them again, the brown is brighter, almost glowing. The eyes of a man holding back his wolf.
"You have no idea how happy he is to hear that," he says in a tone that sends a shiver running down my spine.
I have to force my gaze away from those eyes. "Do you ever think it's odd how we just have these pure beings of nature residing in us? Constantly whispering in the back of our minds?"
Kieran's chuckle, as always, is warm. "This is a dinner conversation, Noah. Do you want to go home tonight?"
I laugh but all I can think is, 'Right now, I just want to spend some more time with you.'
"You're a doctor, K," I point out. "You can't tell me you've never studied this."
He hums and shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "Actually, I have," he admits. "Which is why I don't see it that way."
"Oh?"
"Our wolves don't just 'reside in us', they are us. In our purest forms. As the goddess intended. These bodies are just a consequence of our separation from her," he explains.
"Is that so?" I hear what he's saying. It's a conversation I've heard older wolves have and I love Finnian. I love shifting and running and feeling the wind in my fur. I love when I'm happy and she growls contentedly in the back of her throat. I love that, whenever I feel lost and alone, she's always with me.
But she wasn't there on the night my mum died. I was way too young and I didn't fully understand why the cops were looking at me like some rabid animal.
I know what he's saying. I hold similar beliefs and I love my wolf but sometimes Finnian just reminds me that I'm not human…
"I know a lot of scientists view our connection with our wolves as two souls inhabiting one body," Kieran goes on. "And in theory, it makes sense. It's why our kind can live their lives without having the natural 'mate' instinct but rather connect with like minded people and fall in love the way humans do. Or, as one of my professors used to say, there are the bonds the goddess gives you and there are the ones you forge and you're not going to be thinking about the goddess when you open the front door at 6 O'Clock in the morning and find out the mailman is hot."
That makes me snort out a laugh and I can hear the smile in his voice as he continues. "My view is more… spiritual when it really comes down to it. But, when I talk to Kaiser, I feel like I'm reaching for the best part of myself. And, when I shift it's like…"
"You have no burdens," I complete, my voice barely there.
"Yeah," Kieran whispers.
It's a sweet feeling, a familiar one. But life isn't kind to sweet, familiar feelings and while I can shift, run around in the woods for a few hours and forget it all, I always come back. To Noah. To responsibilities. To this shitty world with even shittier problems.
"Still," I press. "Isn't it annoying when you're trying to focus on something and your wolf won't stop being a bother?"
"Sometimes," Kieran admits. Then I feel his fingers underneath my chin and once again I'm staring into those bright eyes. "But I say it's worth it. To know that all of me thinks you're amazing and to look into your eyes and see her. I thank the goddess for it."
Peace be still, my heart.
He's so smooth, so confident. I keep half my thoughts in my head and try not to wear my heart on my sleeve but Kieran's gaze is so honest and his energy is pure comfort.
'It is our nature as omegas to sink into the security of Alphas and Betas,' Finnian reminds me. 'You felt the same way about mate too.'
Yeah, and that feeling graduated to heartbreak.
'Be honest. Tell him about mate.'
But I can't. Instead, I joke, "Are you trying to seduce me into coming to watch Bloody Root Canal live?"
Kieran chuckles. "I still hold that they make good music."
I open my mouth to tease him more, but then— his eyes turn dark and serious.
And my stomach flips.
"I want to go out again with you sometime, Noah."
Peace be still, my heart. Peace be still, my heart. Peace be…
"Listen, Kieran. There's something I have to tell you."
Kieran tilts his head. "Okay…"
I swallow hard. "My ex… the guy I brought to the hospital that day? He wants me back," the words leave my mouth in a rush. "And he's relentless, I should know, we were together for years before we broke up."
Since the day at the side of that road with police lights flashing red and blue. Since the day a white wolf crept out of the shadows and licked away my tears.
Friends to lovers to partners to strangers. That was the story of Logan and Noah.
And now we're two people forced to work together and Logan is determined to make their cycle swing all the way back to 'lovers.'
How am I supposed to sustain any romantic relationships with an ex like that?
To my surprise, Kieran laughs.
"What's so funny?" I need to know.
"I thought you were going to turn me down," he replies amidst chuckles. "Compared to that, what you just told me is nothing."
I can't keep the surprise out of my features. Nothing? How can it be nothing when that was usually a relationship deal breaker? Goddess given bonds, forged bonds, whatever; at the end of the day our kind values the partner the Moon Goddess grants us. And, sure mine didn't value me enough but now that he wants me back… most werewolves would be running for the hills. So why is he laughing?
Kieran fingers leave my chin and softly brush across my lips. He leans down slightly and I'm powerless to do anything but sink into his touch. "Of course he wants you back, Noah. You're… incredible."
He's so close that I can almost taste the wine on his breath.
"Make no mistake though, I'm not the kind of Beta to hide away from an Alpha. And you're not some prize to be won," His fingers slide down to my lips and he gently thumbs the lower lip. "He wants you back. I want you. In the end, you'll decide."
It's funny how one good man can make you go from anxious to horny.
It's funny…
"K?"
"Yeah?"
I swallow hard, resisting the sudden and violent urge to take that thumb into my mouth and suck. "Yes, I'll go out with you again."
Kieran's smile is wide and beautiful and I want to take a picture of it just so I can savour it later.
"Good," he damn near growls and it does things to me. To Finnian.
I guess he's right. We really are one and the same.
All evening, he's been teasing me; husking into my ear, gently grazing my skin, sitting across from me smelling absolutely delicious.
Now that I've told him the one thing that's bothering me, I'm almost ravenous. I want him to stop his teasing and finally…
Kieran starts leaning in and my eyes flutter shut. Those lips on mine at long last.
I wait…
And wait…
And Kieran's unfairly attractive lips gently brush against my cheek.
"You should go home," His voice is smooth velvet, low and rich. "Sweet dreams, Bennett."
I open my eyes just in time to see Kieran's cocky smirk. I watch him walk away, my lips tingling from the ghost of his touch.
I should be thinking about him. I should be wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
But all I can think is—
If Logan finds out, he's going to lose his fucking mind.