No man would be impressed by the explosion that had apparently happened sometime between her cutting up tomatoes and browning ground beef. She blew hair out of her face, but some stubborn flyaways decided to stick to the sweat on her forehead.
“Damn you,” she mumbled, pushing them away. The second she stopped stirring the paste, it started to bubble over again.
“What the hell is happening here?” a deep masculine voice scared her, and she spun around with a squeak.
“You’re back.”
He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “What are you doing?”
“I was trying to make dinner to say thanks for letting me stay here, but…” She shook her head. “Apparently, I can’t follow a simple recipe or cook. Sorry.”
Atlas walked over to the stove and checked all the pots. “This isn’t so bad. Lemme take over. Set the table.”
Lilliane nodded and got to work, casting wary glances at Atlas. He looked at home in front of his stove as if he cooked there often. He probably did. “Do any of the female wolves ever bring you casseroles? Offer to cook for you?”
He chuckled. “No. I like to cook. It’s usually meat, though. I’m surprised you found all the ingredients to make spaghetti.”
“Ah. So no one tries to seduce the single wolf alpha?”
He laughed again. “That’s a whole other story.”
“It happens, then?”
Atlas shrugged. “Not really. Not in a while.”
“Oh. Can I ask why?”
He was quiet for a minute, and Lilliane thought he would just ignore her and pretend she hadn’t asked the question. Finally, he sighed. “When I first became alpha, the whole town was obsessed with helping me find my mate. They all paraded their daughters and nieces and granddaughters and long-lost cousins in front of me.”
“But none of them was the girl. The one you’re secretly in love with,” she teased.
“I’m not secretly in love with anyone.”
“You’re not? Sure sounded like you were really into your mate when you talked about it.”
“I can’t love her.”
Lilliane frowned. “You can’t love her? Is she with someone else?”
There was another long pause in which she convinced herself she was pushing too much. They weren’t friends. Not really. Atlas had taken her against her will. Sort of.
Now that she had told him all about Victor and begged for his help, she should behave. Not stir trouble like only she could. He didn’t deserve the intrusion, but she was so fucking ridiculous. If anything, she could convince Atlas to be with his mate. It could be the nice thing she did to pay him back for helping her.
“She isn’t with anyone. Not really, but…” He sighed as he continued to assemble their meal like a pro.
“But?” Lilliane pressed.
“It’s complicated.”
“It usually is. But look, I don’t know much about love or relationships. I haven’t had enough experience for that. You just sound really into her. The way you talk about her?” She shivered. “I can only hope that one day, a man will talk about me like that.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “It’s kinda sexy that you’re this big and powerful man who’s all turned around by his mate.”
“Stop,” he groaned.
“What? It’s sweet. She’s lucky, but she doesn’t even know how lucky she is. So, she’s single? She isn’t with anyone? You should just tell her. I’d want to know if someone wasthatinto me.”
“But you said you wouldn’t want to be mated,” he pointed out.
“Right, but this isn’t about me. Does this mystery girl also have a problem with the whole mate thing? Is that why it’s complicated?”
