Alpha Kaidan had just returned to the pack house when Grace informed him that Serena was waiting in the sitting room.
He stopped briefly in the hallway. "She came when?"
"About twenty minutes ago, Alpha."
Alpha Kaidan nodded and handed his jacket to her.
"Thank you, Grace."
He walked toward the sitting room and found Serena seated on one of the sofas with a book resting on her lap. She looked up when he entered, and a smile immediately appeared on her face.
"You’re finally back."
Alpha Kaidan smiled faintly. "It’s been a long day."
"I can tell."
Serena closed the book and placed it beside her.
"I haven’t seen you properly in a while."
Alpha Kaidan walked over and sat in the chair opposite her.
"I had a lot to deal with and you’ve been busy too."
"I have." She tilted her head. "But I decided I was tired of seeing you only when everyone else was around."
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "So you came here to complain?"
Serena laughed. "No. I came to spend time with you."
There was something easy about the way she said it. She wasn’t asking him for anything or bringing up a difficult subject. She looked pleased to have him sitting there.
Alpha Kaidan relaxed slightly. "How was your day?"
"Quiet."
Serena leaned back. "I spent most of it inside. I thought about going out, but I changed my mind."
"You should get out more."
"I know." She smiled. "But I was hoping you’d come home early."
Alpha Kaidan glanced at the clock. "I’m sorry."
"Don’t be. You’re the Alpha. I knew you wouldn’t be sitting around waiting for me."
Her tone was light, but Alpha Kaidan noticed the small disappointment behind it. "You should’ve called though."
"I should’ve ."
She smiled again. "But then I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of complaining when you arrived."
Alpha Kaidan gave a quiet laugh. It felt strangely familiar. There had been a time when conversations between them had been this easy. Before everything became complicated, before four years of absence separated them.
Serena watched him for a moment. "You look different."
Alpha Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"
"More tired."
"That’s not exactly a compliment."
"I didn’t mean it as one." She laughed.
"You’ve always worked too much."
Alpha Kaidan leaned back. "Someone has to."
"Your father used to say the same thing."
Alpha Kaidan smiled slightly. "I remember."
Serena’s expression softened. "You still keep the old photographs in your office?"
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "Some of them."
"I remember that office."
"You’ve seen it since you came back?"
"Not properly." She smiled. "I mean the way it used to be."
Alpha Kaidan looked down briefly. "You remember a lot."
"I remember more than you think." She picked up the glass of water beside her. "Do you still take dinner in your office when you’re busy?"
"Sometimes."
"And do you still forget to eat when you’ve had too much work?"
"Apparently you remember that too."
"I used to have to remind you."
"You did."
Serena smiled. "And you hated it."
"I didn’t hate it."
"You complained every time."
"Because you wouldn’t stop."
"You needed someone who wouldn’t."
Alpha Kaidan laughed softly. Serena watched him carefully.
This was what she had wanted to see not because she missed him, but because she needed to know whether she could still bring that version of him to the surface.
She had spent enough time observing Alpha Kaidan since her return to understand that direct pressure would only make him defensive. If she wanted him to move closer to her, she couldn’t keep asking him to choose.
She needed him to believe the choice was his.
"I used to like hearing you laugh," she said.
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. Serena smiled. "You don’t do it much anymore."
"I’ve had a lot on my mind."
"I know."
She lowered her gaze briefly before looking back at him. "That’s why I thought tonight might be good for you."
Alpha Kaidan didn’t respond. Serena didn’t push. "Let’s have dinner somewhere."
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "Tonight?"
"Yes."
"I thought you wanted to spend time here."
"I do."
She picked up her phone from the table. "But we don’t have to sit in this house every time we want to talk."
Alpha Kaidan considered it. "You want to go out?"
"Just dinner." She smiled. "No council members. No pack business. No questions."
Alpha Kaidan gave her a look. "That sounds suspiciously like a plan."
"It’s not." She laughed. "It’s dinner."
Alpha Kaidan stood. "Give me a few minutes."
Serena’s eyes brightened. "All right."
Alpha Kaidan left the room. The moment he disappeared down the hallway, Serena’s smile faded slightly.
She had wanted to know whether Alpha Kaidan would still choose to spend time with her when she gave him an easy opportunity and he had. That mattered.
When Alpha Kaidan returned a short while later, Serena was waiting by the door.
"You’re ready."
"I said I’d be a few minutes."
"You’re surprisingly fast."
"I don’t usually take long to get ready."
"I remember."
They left the house together.
During the drive, Serena kept the conversation light.
She asked about the training grounds, the patrols, and whether Alpha Kaidan had been sleeping enough. She listened when he answered instead of turning every subject back to herself.
When they reached the restaurant, Serena chose a table near the window.
Alpha Kaidan looked around. "You really remembered this place."
"Of course."
They sat down. A waiter came over, and Serena ordered without looking at the menu.
Alpha Kaidan noticed. "You still remember what you used to order?"
"I remember what you used to order."
He looked at her. "You haven’t changed."
"Neither have you."
The food arrived, and for a while, they ate.
It was comfortable.
Serena allowed the silence to remain instead of filling it with questions.
Eventually, Alpha Kaidan spoke. "You seem happier tonight."
Serena looked at him. "I am."
"Why?"
She smiled. "Because I finally got an evening with you without having to share you with half the pack."
Alpha Kaidan shook his head. "You make it sound worse than it is."
"It is worse than it sounds." He smiled.
Serena watched him. "I missed this."
Alpha Kaidan lowered his fork. "So did I."
Her heart skipped. She didn’t react immediately.
Instead, she took a sip of water.
"I thought you might."
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "You’ve been waiting for me to say that?"
"No."
She smiled. "But I’m glad you did."
They continued eating. After dinner, Serena suggested they take a short walk before returning home. Alpha Kaidan agreed.
Outside, the evening air was cool, and the road was quieter than it had been earlier.
They walked side by side. Serena didn’t reach for his hand, she didn’t need to.
She had already gotten what she wanted from the evening. Alpha Kaidan had chosen to come. He had laughed with her.
He had remembered their past without her forcing him to and most importantly, he had admitted that he had missed this too.
When they returned to the car, Serena stopped beside the door. "Thank you."
"For dinner?"
"For tonight."
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "It was good."
"It was." She smiled.
"Maybe we should do this again."
Alpha Kaidan nodded. "We can."
Serena opened the car door. "Next time, I’ll choose somewhere different."
"Why?"
"So we can make a new memory."
Alpha Kaidan looked at her for a moment before getting into the car. Serena followed.
Serena looked out through the window as Blackclaw came into view.
The evening had gone exactly the way she wanted.
Alpha Kaidan had relaxed around her. He had laughed. He had remembered things from their past without being pushed to do so. Most importantly, he had agreed to spend another evening with her.
Serena wasn’t interested in recreating the past. The past was simply the easiest way to reach the man Alpha Kaidan had once been.
If she could make him comfortable with her again, he would eventually stop seeing her as a problem that needed to be managed and start seeing her as someone he wanted beside him and that was all she needed.
She didn’t have to ask Alpha Kaidan to choose her.
She would make him believe he had already started choosing her and she would make him want to come back on his own.