Callum is predictably already awake when I get up, once again holding and looking through my photo album. He’s got a soft smile on his face and I suspect he doesn’t even know it’s there with how soft and barely there it is. 

“Why do you keep looking at that?” I ask, sitting up and stretching my back as I sit up. 

Callum shows me the album and points at a picture of Ramsay and I when we were probably six or seven, both of us completely covered in mud from playing outside in the rain, mud, and puddles. Both of us have always liked going out in the rain. Even now when we go on runs, we’ll purposefully run in the puddles and mud. 

“I just like seeing baby pictures of you,” Callum says, turning to the next page. “How did that happy little kid end up so broody and judgmental?”

“When have I ever been broody or judgmental?”

“When we met you were pretty broody.”

I scowl. “I drank two drinks with supernatural alcohol in them, threw up on my mate, and was terrified I’d be grounded for fifty years, so positivity wasn’t the energy I felt like giving off. And I was judgmental of you because you deserved it.”

“How did I deserve it?!”

“Come on, your personality that night versus how you usually are? You were, like, two different people. That deserves my judgment.” I get out of bed and open my closet to pick what I’m going to wear. 

Callum comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. “Can I borrow some clothes?” 

I’m not sure why he’s asking me because he definitely didn’t last night when he went through my drawers to pick out what to wear to bed. Not that I really mind; I thought it was kind of funny to watch him pick through my clothes and try to determine what was the softest and what would comfort him the most. 

“No, you have to go out naked.” I put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Embrace your inner stripper.”

“I would if it wasn’t October and forty degrees,” Callum says, opening my dresser and choosing clothes very similar to mine. “Let’s go downtown and go for a walk.”

We go downstairs and, despite it being early, the house is already empty. Dad, Raina, and Joseph being gone is normal, but I’m still suspicious of Ramsay. He’s hiding something and I feel like it’s something big. He’s my brother and I care for him, but I’m worried he’s doing something that will change how I see him. 

Callum starts his car after I take my vitamin and lock the house up. He drives us to the downtown district and very smoothly parallel parks on the street. Before we get out of his car, Callum pulls down the mirror and puts in colored contacts. It’s a common practice for vampires to utilize colored contacts when they may have a run in with a human; all of my siblings were using them when they started going out in public. 

I don’t like that they take away from the gorgeous wine color of Callum’s eyes, but I also wouldn’t be a fan of humans freaking out over seeing red eyed people. There have been the extreme humans who are convinced we exist (which, honestly, isn’t extreme because they’re right) but thankfully no one is taking them seriously. 

It’s not rainy, but it is cold out and the sky is cloudy and gray. I’m glad I’m wearing a jacket even though I can withstand the cold better than humans can. We cross the bridge to the shifter and werewolf district, even though I don’t usually come over here. 

The city part is primarily shifters and werewolves, but the ones who live here aren’t part of a pack. They have large families or smaller packs made up of five or six people, but it’s not the same as the local pack that resides in the forested area and reflects what packs were before moving to cities. 

As Callum has described, the local pack is nearly sixty people and they have their own neighborhood in the woods where their pack lives. Even though things are safer now and there are laws against trespassing, Callum told me that they still have wolves that run patrol. Since there are laws against hunting animals unless they attack in areas close to the city, there isn’t much danger for werewolves running patrol. 

I can tell we’re in a werewolf centered area by the scent. I don’t spend time around strong scents, but shifters and werewolves have the strongest ones and it hits me all at once. I don’t feel on edge because I don’t possess any of this territory, even though technically we can’t own any territory except our homes. 

Werewolves kind of ignore that rule and get possessive anyways, based on what Callum told me. Now, I’m not entirely sure if that’s a werewolf thing in general or if it’s just because Callum is a vampire and they would be on edge around him anyway. 

It’s weird to be able to sense who is a shifter and who is just a human that happens to be in the area, but I usually feel the same way when I’m in the vampire district and even the human one. I think it’s just different because I’m not usually around this many werewolves or shifters. 

“Ugh, so many werewolf pheromones,” Callum comments. “I usually can’t smell them but they’re strong right now.”

I scoff. “You can’t smell them in my room?”

“I don’t feel like there's pheromones in your room. It just smells like you and you’re my boyfriend so I like the scent, and I don’t know if it’s from living with vampires, but yours isn’t very strong in general. Out here though… bleh. It’s a lot.”

We walk a few blocks into this part of the city and it’s clear we’re getting attention from the people who live here. Not only am I an unknown Alpha werewolf, but I’m holding hands with a vampire who isn’t openly welcome in this area. Maybe by the pack wolves that he knows, but not by the general population. 

“Are you hungry?” Callum asks me when the aroma of breakfast food drifts through the air. 

I feel kind of embarrassed by my high metabolism because he doesn’t need to eat and I’m hungry a lot of the time. I guess my answer was kind of delayed because Callum just rolls his eyes and pulls me into the closest breakfast restaurant. As far as meals go, breakfast is definitely my favorite and Callum knows that.

“We can go somewhere else,” I whisper in Callum’s ear. “It doesn’t make sense to sit at a restaurant when you don’t need to eat.”

“I like human food,” Callum says, kissing the side of my head. “I have the money so it’s not a waste and you have super high metabolism.”

I shrug. “It’s just awkward because I eat huge portions while everyone else just has a piece of toast.”

Callum shakes his head. “Don’t feel uncomfortable, Lennox. You’ve just grown up around people who don’t really need to eat so it feels weird, but I guarantee that since we’re in werewolf and shifter territory that you’ll see people eating more here than in the human district.”

The hostess seats us about twenty minutes after we arrive, as it’s a popular and busy place, especially at breakfast. We’re brought to a booth and I order a hot chocolate while Callum gets his usual English Breakfast tea with almond milk. Since we’re in Portland, every place has all of the alternative milks. 

I don’t think Callum would survive in a place like Texas or Kentucky because I don’t think they believe in alternative milks. 

“Let’s just order an assortment of stuff so we can try a little bit of everything,” Callum suggests. 

I’m all for that idea because that way I can try everything without looking like the dumbass who orders half of the menu and finishes it all. I’m sure the waiter would understand, though, because his scent reveals that he’s a werewolf so he definitely understands the werewolf metabolism. 

When the waiter returns with our drinks, I notice he’s a little shaky. He sets down Callum’s tea but his hand slips when he tries to set down my hot chocolate and he drops it on the table. It spills all over me and I stand up in surprise because it’s really hot. 

“I’m so sorry!” the waiter exclaims, his eyes wide in fear as he backs away. “I’ll go get you a towel, I’m so sorry!”

Thankfully, even for being hot, it won’t hurt me too bad because werewolves heal quicker and my skin will just be a little bit red. 

“He looked really shaky,” I comment, still standing up so I don’t sit in the puddle of hot chocolate on my seat. 

Callum nodded. “Well, he’s an Omega and you’re an unfamiliar Alpha in the area. He probably feels overwhelmed since most people that come in here are probably from the area. And, well, you’re hot as fuck so I can see why he’s shaky.”

“Oh, gods,” I murmur, rolling my eyes at my endearing but idiotic mate. 

The shaky waiter comes back and hands me a cloth and then starts to wipe off the seat and the table. He doesn’t look at me and keeps his eyes on his task. 

“Are you okay?” I ask him, careful not to touch his shoulder to comfort him because I think that would scare him off. “You’re… really shaky.”

He nods. “Yes, perfectly fine!” he exclaims, finishing cleaning up and moving out of the way. “I’ll, uh, get you another hot chocolate and comp your meal and-”

Callum cuts him off. “You don’t have to do that. It was an accident and he’s perfectly fine. Besides, I think it’s just karma for what he did when we first met!”

“Callum, I swear-”

“Yeah, my poor mate got drunk and threw up all over me. Much more embarrassing for him than spilling hot chocolate, am I right?” Callum asks, making the waiter laugh a little bit and visibly relax. 

I scowl at my mate, but my heart isn’t in it. I don’t know werewolf dynamics too much since I haven’t been involved in them, but it’s kind of common sense that Omegas get a bit skittish around Alphas, especially if the Alpha is upset. If Callum can help our waiter relax by telling my embarrassing story, then so be it. 

The breakfast rush is far from over, so the least we can do is make the first part of it better. 

“I’m really sorry,” he says again, clearly still embarrassed. “Goddess, that was my third strike.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I quickly say, making him look at me in confusion. “I mean, you put the cup in my hand and it slipped from my hands onto me. Totally my fault.”

“That’s not-”

“Your fault,” Callum says, adding onto my blatant lie, because it’s obvious I’m lying. 

Not only because we all know that the waiter’s hand slipped, but also because I’m still a shit liar. Besides, I kind of want to spend a little more time in the werewolf and shifter district, especially since Callum seems willing to come here, so if I build some kind of reputation as a decent guy, that’s not a bad idea. 

And, I’m not an asshole. It was an accident; it’s not worth losing him his job or getting him in trouble. 

The waiter seems confused but he smiles hesitantly. “Uh… I’ll get you another hot chocolate.” He’s much more relaxed so there’s no risk of spilling and he takes out a notepad. “Have you had enough time to look at the menu?”

I order for us, continuously looking over to see the endearing look that Callum is giving me. Once I’ve ordered, our waiter disappears and Callum reaches across the table to grab my hand. He’s still giving me that soft smile, though he’s probably more conscious of it now. 

He looks a little unsure and I’m sure he’s kind of worried that he upset me with my whole throwing-up-on-him story.

“Trust me, it’s not too much of a secret. Way too many people at the club saw it and both you and Helen are known enough that it won’t stay private. Plus, it’s kind of funny,” I say, and the unsureness disappears. 

“Yeah, it’s my current favorite story,” Callum says. “Until you do something else embarrassing.”

I roll my eyes and take a sip from my hot chocolate. I’ll probably do something else embarrassing but hopefully Callum beats me to it so I have a tiny bit of leverage over him. Overall, though, it’s not the worst thing to happen. I just puked on my mate and he still accepted me, so I think I won. 

Our food comes out quicker than I anticipated, and based on our waiter’s happy expression and excitement, I’m guessing he did something to push our food out ahead. I don’t know if it’s to show us he’s sorry or if he’s just doing it to be nice, but I’m starving and everything smells amazing. 

I thank him and Callum and I start to divide up the food. By the end of our meal, it’s clear I’ve eaten two thirds of the food, but I don’t feel as sensitive about it because, like Callum said, everyone else here is indulging in large portions as well. It’s definitely a werewolf and shifter thing. 

Our waiter comes back with our check and Callum makes him wait so he can double check that nothing was compensated. When he’s satisfied, Callum hands off his credit card, despite me trying to give him mine, and I make sure to leave a huge tip in cash. 

“This is too much,” our waiter says, looking at the cash I left. “I can’t-”

“Yes, you can,” I insist, standing up. “Food was amazing, the service was great, and we got our food really quickly in the middle of a breakfast rush. Plus, we were seated in a nice place like this even though we’re both wearing sweatpants.”

Callum gets up as well. “We’ll definitely be back at some point,” he says, laying his hand over my shoulder. “Come on, Lennox.”

We leave the restaurant and go on a long walk around the werewolf and shifter district. We’re still turning heads but I can learn to ignore it. For the first time, I feel sort of welcome in a place like this, even if there’s a vampire at my side. 

“I want to spend more time here,” I say once we’ve reached the bridge to cross back over to the human and vampire districts. 

“I know,” Callum says. “Why do you think I brought you here?”

I pause in my steps. “You did this for me?”

“I figure being around people who are similar to you would be nice for you,” Callum tells me, leaning on the railing of the bridge to look out at the water. “I know you were abandoned by your pack but you should get to be around shifters and werewolves.”

I can’t help but kiss him, and I can tell he’s as surprised as I was the other night but he falls into it just like I did. I don’t know what I did right to deserve a mate like him, but I’m falling further into his spell every day.