time working, serving his Alpha. An Alpha had a heavy burden to carry, caring for his pack and a Beta assisted him, doing as much as possible to lighten the load. But then she turned to Dirk and took in the glimmer in his eye as he stared out the window. He was a Delta, the fourth in command and certainly had quite a workload himself, yet he seemed to be bursting with life and energy.
As she studied him, he turned and caught her stare. She smiled politely and he returned it, his grin lighting up his amber eyes.
His eyes left her and moved to Fritz as he replied, ?I want a thick juicy steak.?
Jane licked her lips at the sound of the word steak. She couldn?t remember what her normal eating habits were like, but steak definitely sounded like what she needed right now.
Chapter 5
Jane sat in the restaurant, eagerly devouring the steak she?d ordered. There was no better meal than steak and eggs. She glanced across the table at Dirk who was complementing the cook and seeming to be enjoying his steak just as well as she was. Then there was Fritz. He sat next to Dirk, chewing quietly and staring blankly at a spot on the table in front of his plate. The man really needed some fun in his life, he was like a robot: work, eat, sleep, work. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions assuming that she knew what his life was like, after all, she?d only known the man a few hours, but something told her that this was his normal behavior. She guessed she?d soon find out since they were taking her back to Germany with them.
She cut another piece of meat from her steak as she eyed the two men before her privily. Without realizing how much pressure she was bearing down on her knife, the handle snapped, she jerked and the piece of steak she?d been cutting off smacked Fritz in the forehead.
She bit her lip, awaiting the Beta to chastise her for flinging food at him and a snicker erupted from across the table. She ignored it, keeping her eyes locked on Fritz who was pinching the steak off his lap and placing it up on the table. The snicker turned into a chuckle and the chuckle turned into a roar of laughter. She and Fritz each turned to find Dirk nearly falling out of his chair.
?What is so amusing?? Fritz asked in a horrifyingly calm tone.
Hardly able to catch his breath to get out the words, Dirk said, ?I was just thinking that there?s been so many times over the years that I would have liked to throw my food at you, and Jane here has done it the first time being at a table with you.?
Fritz narrowed his eyes at him, then turned his gaze to Jane. Jane felt the curve of her lips drop as his eyes met hers and then she quickly looked down to her lap. She covered her mouth as a giggled threatened to escape and when she heard Fritz growl, she couldn?t hold it any longer. Laughter burst out of her mouth and she glanced back up to Fritz. ?Don?t bite the hand that feeds you,? she mumbled.
Dirk lost it all over again, but she kept her eyes fixed on Fritz, hoping that he wouldn?t be angry that she?d cracked a joke at his expense. It wasn?t proper form to laugh at a commanding wolf, but damn, somebody had to lighten the mood. She watched as his face appeared shocked by what she?d said to him, then much to her own surprise, the corners of his mouth curved slightly and a brief chuckle escaped.
?About time you develop a sense of humor old man!? Dirk told him with a slap on the back.
He smiled over at Dirk and Jane couldn?t help but notice that the smile didn?t reach his eyes. The man had a sadness about him and when you looked in his eyes, it gave the impression that he was hollow inside.
Their meal eventually grew quiet again and Jane focused on cutting up her steak, trying her best not to fling anymore food on anyone. She glanced quickly at Fritz, wishing his lighthearted manor would have lasted a tad longer. Dirk caught her eye, he was looking at her and she looked back. He smiled, apparently still amused by her unintentional food fight, then he winked at her.
She wasn?t sure why, but that