Valentina watched as the man retreated into himself for a moment. It was clear that he had been through something traumatic, and as much as she wanted to give him his privacy, she couldn’t. She needed to know exactly what had happened.

“What’s your name?” she asked, her voice soft as she tried to temper her alpha side that demanded she show this stranger who was in charge.

Haunted eyes looked back up at her, and she tried her best to make herself look unassuming, soft, and helpful, not the hard woman she was most of the time. Eventually, he said, “Elijah, Elijah Berridge.”

“I’m Valentina, as I’m sure you overheard. All I want is to help you. If it will make you feel better, I will undo the restraints on your legs and provide you with some clothing other than a hospital gown.”

“Can I leave?” Elijah almost snarled the question at her.

“Not just yet. First, I need to make sure you’re healthy and that you understand what you are. Second, I would like you to tell me what happened so I can investigate.”

“You really believe I can change into an animal?” he asked, his temper lowering as he stared at her.

Something was making her cat restless. She could feel it pacing inside her, the need for control, for strength, singing through her. It had to have something to do with the alpha vibes Elijah had been throwing off ever since he’d woken up. Valentina couldn’t give in to her impulses, so she simply nodded. “I really do.” She paused. “Listen, why don’t Liam and I go get you something to wear and some food, and when I come back, we can talk some more?” She bent down and undid the clasps around his ankles.

Without once looking back at Elijah, she waved Liam over and they left the room. The man either couldn’t remember the event that turned him, or didn’t want to, and if he was ever going to talk to her about it, she needed him to trust her, and keeping him chained up in the medical room half-naked wasn’t going to accomplish that.

“You sure this is a good idea, boss?” Liam asked as they exited the medical wing.

“It’s the only option I can see. Besides”—she turned to the control panel next to the door to the garages and typed in her code, locking all the outside doors to anyone who didn’t also know the code—“it’s not like he can leave the house.”

Liam sighed and shook his head, but her jaguar within roared in approval. She would protect her pack and this strange man, even if it meant protecting him from himself. They walked together for a while in companionable silence before she asked, “Could you find him some clothing? You got a better look at his size than I did, so you’ll know better than me what will fit him.”

“Really?” He smirked. “You seemed to be getting a pretty good eyeful in there.”

“Liam . . .” she said in a warning tone. The last thing she wanted right now was for him to push her toward a man who was clearly going to be an alpha once he got his bearings.

“What? I’m just saying, it doesn’t hurt to investigate, does it?”

“What’s the point? The alpha vibes he was throwing off in there are the last thing I need to get tangled up in. You know I need to be in control.”

“Not even a roll in the hay? Aren’t alpha boys supposed to be the best lovers? Don’t let Asher know I said that.”

Valentina laughed. “If the rumors are true, but I’ve never put any stock in them.”

He grumbled something about her being no fun as he went off in search of clothes. She opened the big cabinet door that hid the giant refrigerator and began rummaging for some leftovers. She pulled out a large container of lasagna and scooped out what she hoped was enough to feed a hungry alpha male, before popping it in the microwave. The lecture Lizzy would give her about not using the stove to reheat food was already playing in her head almost word for word.

Their personal chef was campaigning to get rid of the microwave. It didn’t matter that she was only there a couple times a week to cook enough food so that the pack didn’t starve. She hated the idea of heating up the food in the microwave, but Valentina couldn’t help it. It was so fast and easy. Plus, she really didn’t want to do any dishes on her day off, so the microwave it was. She doubted Elijah would care either way.

While the microwave whirred behind her, she leaned against the large island that sat in the cooking half of the kitchen and sent out a pack-wide text.

Hey, guys, we have a guest staying. He’s a shifter, possibly alpha, but doesn’t know much. Please avoid contact until I get a better handle on the situation. -V xx

Almost immediately, Liana texted her back, demanding details, mainly about his appearance, followed by Kinsley, who simply inquired as to the kind of shifter he was. Valentina responded to both and advised them she’d be out of contact for the rest of the day while she worked with him, and if they had any more questions, they could message Liam. She giggled to herself at that, sure that as soon as they received the message, they would be following up with their resident doctor.

A muffled sound drew her attention, and she found a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt that had landed in the great room behind the kitchen. When she peered up at the balcony, she saw Liam looking back at her.

“That’s for telling the girls they can interrogate me about the strange man we are hiding.”

Valentina laughed, knowing he wasn’t really mad, just pretending. She scooped up the clothing as the beep of the microwave drew her away. The smell of the meat and cheese made her own stomach growl, so she made a portion up for herself, folding the clothes while she waited. No need for Elijah to know they were so unceremoniously delivered to her.

As she knocked on the door to medical, she heard a gruff, “Come in.”

“Could you get the door?” she asked as she balanced the two bowls of lasagna, a couple bottles of water, and the clothes.

A second later, it swung open, gusting the air between them, allowing his scent to swirl around her. Her jaguar reacted as she never had before, pacing and growling, rubbing against her skin as though she wanted to come out but wasn’t sure. She drank in the sight of him for a split second before snapping herself out of it. Two alphas never worked. That being said, the man was gorgeous. He had taken the papery disposable gown off and replaced it with a thick, fluffy white towel he’d found somewhere, leaving the large expanse of his torso uncovered. Flat planes of muscle covered most of his upper torso, with just the hint of a six pack on his abdomen, culminating in those mouth-watering V-lines that disappeared into the towel.

“Food . . .” she said quietly.

“That smells amazing!” He practically groaned as he swiped a bottle of water and the bowl with the larger portion from her hands.

“Lizzy is an amazing chef, so it should be at least as good as it smells, if not better.” She regained control of her faculties and was able to at least get a full sentence out before she found herself ogling the muscles of his butt as they flexed under the towel as he walked away.

“You have a chef?” His eyebrows raised in surprise.

“We have a lot of things. Most of us hold full-time jobs, and Woodhaven is big enough for us all to live here, so it just makes sense. Sometimes we each still cook for ourselves, but it’s never as good as what Lizzy makes.”

“Who’s all of us?” he asked, and her guards fell right back into place.

“Tell you what, you put some clothes on, and we’ll do a quid pro quo. You ask, I answer, and vice versa. Deal?”

He looked at her a moment before he acquiesced. As he took the clothes from her outstretched hand, he stared at her, waiting. “Going to turn around?”

Valentina’s cheeks heated as she realized she was just waiting for him to get naked in front of her. “Sorry, of course,” she said as she spun around on the stool, her back stick-straight as the slight embarrassment nipped at her heels. Her ears were painfully alert to every sound he made—the soft rustle of the towel dropping to the floor, followed by the slight creak of the metal examination table as he leaned against it to put the clothing on.

“You’re good to turn around now.”

She turned back around, plastering her professional smile to her face, the one that said, “You can trust me. I know what I’m talking about.” He settled on the table, his legs hanging off each side of the corner while the green plastic cushion peeked out from between his legs. He clutched the bowl of lasagna in one hand while the other held the fork, as though he was waiting for her to eat first. That wasn’t how this game was going to go, though. She was alpha. She might get her choice of food, but she made sure everyone else was eating before she ever took her first bite. It was part of making sure her pack was taken care of, and he might not be a packmate, but he was injured, maybe not so much physically, but injured nonetheless.

There was a moment of standoff between them, each waiting for the other to eat first, before he relented and ate the first bite. As soon as the fork entered his mouth, she began devouring her own bowl, watching as his eyes closed in bliss at the rich taste of the tangy food.

“Damn, your chef can cook!”

Valentina laughed and agreed. They ate in silence for a while, which felt oddly intimate, or maybe it had more to do with the furtive glances they kept sneaking at each other. She could feel his eyes on her, and whenever she looked up, his eyes would dart away, usually to his food. The faint musk of his arousal, or at the very least, interest, colored the air, and was making her body respond in kind, even though her brain was slamming on the breaks and trying to lock all the doors.