Harry narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You will not eat until my mate has had her fill."

His brother could eat as much as he.

Jack held up his hands in surrender. "Of course."

Harry sighed. He might be Alpha, but they would always be his family. Whereas he wouldn't hesitate to toss out any other member of his pack for dropping by unannounced, he couldn't do that to his parents or his brother.

"Go sit down. I'll make more."

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Beth Styles didn't bother to introduce herself until after she'd already wrapped Raina up in a surprisingly strong embrace. Raina would have never guessed the other woman was so strong. She was tall but slender.

"Let me look at you." She stepped back. Raina resisted her natural tendency to squirm. She hadn't been expecting company so she wasn't wearing makeup and her hair had looked better. "Oh, you're pretty. I'm Beth. That's my husband—Jim, my son—Jack, and his wife—Helene." Her grinned widened. "Now I have two daughters. Helene and Raina. I couldn't have planned it better."

She was passed around for hugs until Harry intervened. "I need Raina's help in the kitchen."

"I'll help, too." Beth volunteered.

Harry opened his mouth then seemed to think better of it. "Sure. More hands will make the work go faster."

He picked up the previously prepared food and their plates. Raina and Beth helped him carry it back to the kitchen. Harry turned on the oven and put the food inside.

Raina frowned as Harry pulled out two more packages each of bacon and sausage. Before she could ask him about it, Beth said, "Tell me all about yourself. Harry told me that he met you in a restaurant."

"Yes, I was a waitress." She said, hoping that Beth wouldn't be disappointed or think that she'd agreed to mate Harry simply to improve her lot in life.

The other woman nodded. "That's hard work."

She was clearly familiar with Harry's kitchen. She took out more flatware and glasses.

"I've been working at Millie's since forever. My parents are deceased."

"I'm sorry."

Raina shrugged. "Thank you, but they've been gone for a while." She tried to think of what else to say about herself. Her poor life choices haunted her. "Um, I majored in art history in college."

"Really?" Beth glanced at Harry who was creating an impressive mountain of pancakes while also tending to the sausage and bacon. Yeah, they weren't helping out so much as gabbing. Harry was doing all the real work. "Harry, have you considered offering Raina a job? I bet she'd be great with design."

He glanced over his shoulder at the two of them. "If—"

"So... how much longer?" Jack interrupted. "My stomach's rumbling."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Be patient. You're so small. I don't know why you're always hungry."

Raina choked. Jack was by no means "small."

Raina judged him to be over six feet, but Harry had him by several inches. Harry hadn't been lying when he said that he'd outgrown his brother. Harry was also taller than his father. She was becoming accustomed to his size. Seeing him with other men, reminded her of how large he was. His height and his broad shoulders dwarfed his brother and father.

Despite their different sizes, anyone could tell they were related. They had similar features and the same brown hair, though Jim's was sprinkled with gray. Raina thought Harry was the most handsome, but she supposed she was biased.

The Sweetest Alpha | H.S.Where stories live. Discover now