I couldn’t focus on my uneasiness for long without going crazy, so I directed my thoughts to the food I was beginning to desperately crave. Shifting always had me starving thanks to the amount of energy it consumed; though, now that I thought about it, I hadn’t been stricken with the urge to eat while in my wolf’s form like usual. Another strange thing to add to the growing list. My hunger probably had more to do with how ridiculously long I had slept.

No matter what the reason, I was thankful to find the fridge in Viktor’s kitchen fully stocked.

And it was a beautiful kitchen. I’d gotten a glimpse of it when I was exploring his house, but hadn’t cared enough in that form to give it more than a cursory look. I could appreciate it as a human, especially compared to my father’s tiny, cramped kitchen which had barely enough counter space to make a sandwich, much less cook an actual meal. Viktor’s kitchen was a home chef’s wet dream. Wide black marble counters, a stainless steel range and stacked ovens that had four different compartments for setting things to different times and temperatures, and so many cabinets I couldn’t imagine he even used all of them- I was in heaven.

I may have spent more time checking through those cabinets than actually thinking about food. It made me realize Viktor probably didn’t use his kitchen very much, if at all; it was too clean, too organized, in a showroom kind of way. As if he had tried to make it look lived in to impress somebody. Me? Maybe, though the thought that he wanted to impress me flustered me a little- why would that even matter to him?

Stop being an idiot, I scolded myself silently, forcing myself to get back to the task at hand. Breakfast- or lunch, rather, because the blinking clock on his microwave said it was past noon- probably should have been something simple, considering I was in somebody else’s home. But I couldn’t bring myself to not put his gorgeous kitchen to good use. Before I knew it, I’d involved myself in a much more extravagant meal than I would have thought.

A soft whistle distracted me while I was mid-stir, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Viktor looking around his kitchen with wide eyes. “Wow. I don’t think my kitchen has seen this much use the entire time I’ve lived here.”

“I’m sorry!” I blurted out the words. “I just- I thought-”

Viktor seemed startled, before he smiled at me. “I’m not mad, Tsuki. I’m glad somebody can enjoy this ridiculous kitchen- I certainly can’t. Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“My father comes home late a lot, so he used to be take-out all the time. I thought learning to cook was the least I could do if he was going to let me live with him. I even make him lunches to take to work when I’m up early enough- he says the girls always tease him about having a wife.” I couldn’t help the fond smile as I remembered him apologizing to me for not being able to tell the girls it was his son who made him lunch; I’d seen first-hand that it had saved him from dealing with endless flirting, the poor man had always been flocked by women trying to get to him until he had a ‘wife’.

“Oh, now I’m jealous. I want you to cook for me every day. I hope his kitchen isn’t as big as mine, at least,” Viktor huffed.

I snorted a laugh, surprising even myself with it. But he sounded like a jealous ex, though it wasn’t usually the size of a kitchen men compared when trying to sound superior. “Yours is much bigger,” I answered, trying my best to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

Viktor caught on, and snickered at my attempt to be serious. “Good, then I don’t have to feel completely insecure. Maybe I can tempt you away from him one day. I have a big kitchen, a huge yard, and a pack that’s to die for. Bet I make more money than your dad, too. Looking for a sugar daddy?”

I laughed so hard I had to step away from the range to avoid accidentally burning myself. “You sound like an online dating profile. Desperate much?”

“For you? Maybe.”

His words stunned me for a moment, and I couldn’t figure out if he was joking or not. Clearing my throat, I put the lid on the pot and searched the fridge for scallions while I changed the subject. “You make some wild claims. Where do you work, anyway, to make so much money?” It was teasing, so that I wouldn’t sound like an ass who was trying to catch him in a lie; I was genuinely curious, and a little confused as to why I was so eager to know more about him. “I thought you were a college student.”

“Well…” Viktor drew out the word, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “I may have only signed up for a few college courses to try to get close to you. I also may have finished my actual required courses and graduated two years ago.”

“I was starting to suspect you lied a little.” I pulled out one of the big kitchen knives to keep from bruising the scallions as I chopped them, and Viktor made me laugh again with his dramatic flinch. “That still begs the question of what the hell you’re doing with your life, other than chasing boys from another pack and trying to get yourself killed.”

“Only a little. I’m actually going to finish the business degree I’m working on, I think it will help.” Viktor paused, because there was an upset dog jumping at his legs; Camellia must have finished whatever he fed them, and was quietly happy when Viktor lifted her up into his lap where he was sitting at the island counter which served as the center of his kitchen, and was surrounded by tall stools. “I… own a business here, actually. Well, Alyx technically owns everything, but he has buildings built and just sort of gives them to people he thinks can manage the business well. He gave Kibba a miniature hospital, you wouldn’t believe the equipment Alyx got a hold of for him. That man could move a mountain if he tried hard enough.”

“I can believe that,” I murmured as I scraped the chopped scallions into a bowl and started to set out everything else- sour cream, cheese, basic toppings for the chili which was almost finished in the giant pot on the stove. Alyx was unbelievably charming, and seemed to be ridiculously stubborn- I doubted he would ever give up on anything he wanted. “So, you own a business. Impressive, for somebody who’s only twenty-three. What do you do- sell your stalking services?”

Viktor snorted at me. “Rude. I wouldn’t have suffered through six years of higher education for that- college is expensive as shit, you know that. I’m a vet, fully accredited and certified, and the only one in a hundred miles in any direction. I’m deadly busy all the time, and I get a lot of emergency calls, but I love it.”

“You’re… a vet?” I repeated the words, floored. All my life, I’d believed werewolves couldn’t even be around animals. It wasn’t as if it had been hard to believes; dogs being walked by their owners in the city would growl at us, and god forbid we try to get close to a cat. So a werewolf vet… it sounded like a bad joke. “You’re… serious? I mean really. Don’t you terrify all of those animals to death?”

Viktor sighed, massaging behind his dog’s ears until she collapsed in a content puddle in his lap. “Your damn pack, I swear…” he grumbled the words, honestly irritated. “I work mostly with pack pets. It’s true that city pets can get a little… uppity around us. But that’s because they’re prissy, spoiled little pieces of shit that have never been around a real animal in their lives. City pets are turned into spineless little monsters, overfed and pampered with shit food until they’re no better than toddlers.

“Pack pets are treated like actual animals. They get real food, and as much as we love them and smother them with affection, they’re still treated like animals. They run, and play, and most of them have been around us since they were infants. They’re… desensitized, I guess you could say. It’s not like these animals have always been housepets- they used to be wild, it’s just that selfish humans bred them down and ruined their genetics, is all.”

“Somebody’s got a strong opinion,” I teased, and was pleasantly surprised to see his face turn a slightly darker shade.

“What can I say- I love animals,” he shrugged, looking down at the puddle of fluff in his lap with a fond smile. “I don’t think it’s fair, the way most people treat them. There’s so many awful people who get dogs when they shouldn’t. Dogs they can’t take care of, who are locked inside all day and don’t even go on walks, but their owners think they’re happy because they’re fed fries every day. And the dogs who aren’t that lucky are ditched on the side of the road by irresponsible idiots.

“It just… makes me sad. They should be treasured. I try to do as much as I can, but I can’t save them all. I can only save a few, like Camellia and Cindy. I adopted both my dogs when I was doing an internship in the city- I was a vet tech while I was in college, to gain practical experience. Some asshole probably didn’t fix their dog, and dumped a whole little of two or three week old puppies on our front step. We only managed to save Cindy, and just barely- she almost died along with the rest of her siblings. Those monsters killed a bunch of innocent babies for no reason.”

I was quiet for a long moment, understanding his anger. It was like parents who abandoned pups because they weren’t of a high enough status. Most of them died, not given the care a werewolf needed, many shot in forests or simply starving to death on the streets. Packs weren’t kind to the useless wolves who didn’t belong to them by blood. “And Camellia?” I asked gently, wanting to know more but not sure if I should push him.

Viktor gave me a small smile, to tell me he didn’t mind my curiosity. “I found her right before I left the city. People have a bad habit of giving dogs away on social media forums online. And when they give them away for free, they end up in… bad places. I think they were going to use Camellia in a dogfighting ring.”

“Seriously? I thought those monsters used bigger dogs!”

“For the fighting, yeah. But they’ll throw little dogs in and let the big ones rip them apart to get them riled up. Camellia was just a baby, a dirty, matted ball of fluff. They pulled her out of a tiny, nasty kennel when they raided the place because they’d heard rumors about dog fighting. I was there in case of any medical emergencies, so we could save as many dogs as possible. I could smell the pain in the air. And Camellia… she was afraid of me at first. I’m sure I smelled like one of the dogs they put in the ring.”

I swallowed hard as I watched his eyes get misty. “It must have been hard for you.”

“Yeah… just a little.” Viktor gave a weak laugh and cleared his throat. “Anyway. They were going to put Camellia down, it’s pretty much common practice with dogs involved in those dog fighting rings. I ended my internship and snuck Camellia out with me. I couldn’t watch them do something like that to a dog who didn’t deserve it. I don’t know what the rest of her story is, or who decided to get rid of her, but I’m glad I could save her. Just one out of hundreds, but.... I made a difference to her.”

My heart twisted in my chest, and I came around the counter to him. Wrapping my arms around him from behind, I rested my chin against his shoulder. “You’re a really good person, aren’t you?” I said, and there was probably relief along with the concern and sympathy in my voice. If I had ever thought he was going to use me, our conversation would have destroyed that.

I could figure out why he was interested in me, now. I probably reminded him of the ones he couldn’t save from the dog fighting ring. Unwanted, abused, worth nothing more than hurting for the amusement of the people who watched from on high. He just wanted to save me. It broke my heart a little; it sounded like he tried so hard.

Viktor laughed again, a little stronger that time. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m just a person doing his best. Isn’t that what we all are?”

My breath hitched in my throat, and I shook my head. “In my experience, most people are monsters who take advantage of others however they can. Your pack…. your pack is different. I know why you like it here. And I’m really glad you came to stalk me, Viktor. It might be like you said, and other kids who are like I was might not make it, but… it mattered to me.”

“Tsuki…” Viktor hummed my name, turning his head to look at me. I raised my face in response, and we met somewhere in the middle.

I didn’t know kisses could be like that. Soft, sweet, filling my heart to overflowing in his quiet kitchen. Tasting ever so slightly of salt, and it wasn’t just Viktor’s fault. When I pulled away, Viktor’s hand came up to cup the side of my face, and he gave me a smile I’d never seen before. “I’m glad I could be the one to bring you here, Tsuki. I care about you so much. You’re becoming the most important thing in my life.”

I didn’t have words, not for that. It was a distinction I never thought I would have. A useless, worthless omega like me- being important to somebody beautiful and important like Viktor shouldn’t have been possible. It certainly shouldn’t have felt right. I shouldn’t have leaned in to kiss him again, food forgotten where it was simmering on the stove. When Viktor stood up, his dog smart enough to jump down to the floor, my heart shouldn’t have swelled at the way he pulled me into his arms and held me while he parted my lips with his own.