Where He Belongs

~Twenty-Eight~

A/N: So, this is early. But it was just begging to be written so I gave in. 😝 I hope you guys like it! And the first comment on the last chapter was RashaudEstes ! Thank you so much for commenting. It means the world to me!

Peace Out, Girl Scouts

~Kate~

"The sky's really pretty right now."

Stupid remark, yes, but anything was better than the stiff silence we were waking in. "You're very pretty."

"Oh God," I muttered, growing flustered.

"What? Did I embarrass you?"

"It's not that it's just..." I trailed off trying to think of a reply. "I've never done this before."

"You've never been out on a date?"

"No, well, sort of. Uhm, not really."

He looked at me, seeming puzzled. "Your mate, I'm assuming? The one who left you with a pup?"

My eyes narrowed into a glare; the touchy subject made me defensive. "No. And I'd rather not talk about it."

"I upset you." Andy frowned. "I'm sorry. I had no idea--"

"It's not you," I said quickly. "I'm being bitchy. Just...can we try again?"

A smile spread across his face, making him look even younger. "Of course. So tell me, Colton, how are youu tonight?"

I smiled a bit. "Interested to see how this goes."

"That makes two of us, then." Andy was a quiet a moment then said, "Not to pry but, you're relatively new around here. Where did you come from? I mean, what pack?"

A bit uneasy I replied, "I was born a rouge. I used to live in a settlement. About a day away from town."

"Oh. It must have been nice--the quiet and peace of it?"

"It can quiet here too," I replied. "But yes, it very nice. There was lots of prey around and plenty of space for pups to run--no fences were needed. That's for sure."

Andy smiled. "I would like to live in a place like that one day. But my work is here."

I looked up at his brown eyes. "You never told me what you did."

"Oh? I'm a meat packager and I do exactly that. You bring me your kill, I'll cut it, trim it, and package it. It hardly ever takes me more than a day to fill an order."

He sounded very proud of his work and I liked that. Plus, I knew that packing meat was a very demanding job, having done it most of my childhood. "You like it then?"

He shrugged, seeming indifferent. "It's work, I suppose. And it's better than being stuck in a job due to rank."

"So you left your pack." I stated, seeing the ghosts of his struggles in his eyes.

"Mmhm. It was the only way we could be together--my mate, er, old mate and I. She was an upper rank--rich, you see. I was a middle rank. We had some money but we couldn't afford the luxuries she had or her parents wanted in exchange for her hand. She came to me and said she wanted to run: so she could be with me. I was only nineteen and willing to do whatever I could to have her so I agreed. And we ended up here. The hospitality was incredible. I always assumed rogues to be selfish creatures but really, they were just like us. Tired of being limited by stupid traditional laws." Andy paused, looking lost in his thoughts. "She worked at the bakery. She was the best baker: cakes, cookies, breads--she could. Do it all. And she was so beautiful. Long honey locks that as soft as a pup's fur--"