His hand under the table squeezes my thigh. “Sometimes, I forget you’ve never been in a pack. She didn’t address me first. I’m her Alpha. If I address her, which I did by nodding for her to come over, she should always show respect. It’s not a big deal. I’ve never cared too much. It’s just the way packs work. Tradition, I guess.” He shrugs.

We look over the menu, and Red returns with our drinks. “I brought a water, too, sweetie,” she says, talking to me.

“Thank you.”

She places a bottle and a glass similar to the one Masen was drinking from at home in front of him before putting the two glasses of wine and water near me. “You guys gonna have dinner?”

Masen answers, “A few others are coming, so we’ll wait until they get here.”

Red nods her head. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

I lean around Masen to watch her walk back to the bar. “Is that her brother? Do they run this place? They have such beautiful hair,” I muse.

“Yes, that’s her brother, Rick. She and Sid are part owners, so she works usually one night on the weekends and Wednesday. She loves it, keeps her busy.”

Most everybody has gone back to socializing, so I sneak peeks around him, watching everyone. We’ve been here about fifteen minutes when I see Sniffer and Sam walk in. They both wear smiles as they near the table. “Could you hide her any better man? I think I could see her arm once I got within ten feet of the table,” Sniffer jokes. Masen’s hand reaches up from under the table and pulls my hand that was toying with one of the wine glasses under the table. Sniffer’s face falls. “Mase, I was just kidding. Are you alright?” he asks seriously.

“I’m fine,” Masen snaps defensively.

Sniffer looks at me before scooting in the booth from the opposite side. Masen’s chest rumbles before Sniffer makes it in enough for Sam to sit. He freezes and looks at Masen incredulously. “Nicole will be here with Michael any minute. She will sit there,” Masen grates.

I can feel his distress at his brother being near me. I reach up and place both hands on his cheeks, looking into his eyes. “Masen, he’s not here to hurt me or you.” I send him soothing thoughts, conveying with my eyes everything’s fine. “Let’s not have them stand there looking silly. Let him sit. He’ll move when Nicole gets here. That sound good, big guy?” His head nods in my hands, but he doesn’t look away. “I love you,” I whisper softly and bring his face to mine for a small kiss. When I pull back, Sniffer and Sam are seated close together, keeping as much space between us a possible.

Everyone at the table is tense. “Sam, how did your date go?” I try, hoping to lighten the mood. He smirks at me then tells me every detail of their date. He finishes with telling me their next date is tomorrow at the falls. It sounds like they had a wonderful time.