The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,38

gift is bringing dead plants back to life?"

Giggling, I shook my head and held my thumb up. "I prefer to think of it as having the ultimate green thumb. In fact, I was musing earlier how I should show you my garden. Paula believes I have special plant food and fertilizers. There aren't many gardeners in this pack, and the ones here think you drop the seed into the ground, water it, and pull a few weeds while you wait for Mother Nature to decide what you get."

"Good for you, though. It definitely works in your favor. You'll have to show me your garden when we get home—I'm intrigued. It also explains how we had kiwi in the fruit salad yesterday. You could've ordered it, but the produce normally shipped this way isn't as fresh and juicy as the meals you’ve been serving me."

"Thank you for noticing. It makes me happy." Hello, understatement of the year. From the look on his face, Matt could feel my joy through the bond. In my defense, having my efforts appreciated really was nice. "Oh! And wait till you see the flower garden. All the fresh flowers around our home come from there."

Matt leaned forward for a kiss, his lips brushing softly over mine and sending goosebumps down my arms. We smiled at each other as he pulled back, contentment flowing through our bond. "I always notice you, Elisha. And everything you do. From what I've seen so far, you're nothing short of amazing. And I thought so before I saw your ultimate green thumb magic. Is there a restriction to what you can do? And is it okay to ask what other kinds of gifts omegas are blessed with?"

"So far I haven't found my limits, but then, I've always had to be careful, so I haven't had a lot of time or privacy to try. As for other omega gifts, they can include anything involving the natural world from psychic powers, to being able to heal anything short of death with a touch, to controlling the weather. And even though you know, don't ever ask an omega about their gift unless they offer to tell you or you accidentally catch them at it. It's truly the sole thing many omegas have to protect themselves."

"Speaking of, as much as I love seeing the proof of your abilities, I think it's probably best if we hide it, yeah?" As soon as I nodded, Matt was on his feet. He looked around and said "gotcha" when he spotted one of the trash cans—or wooden barrels, in this case—left here to rot. Surprisingly, the thing still seemed strong as he carried it over. I carefully pushed up and stepped out of the way while Matt placed it precisely over the small patch of grass and shoved it up against the stripe in the bush. Wiping his hands on his hips, he stepped back with a look of satisfaction.

"This should do it, don't you think? If anyone moves the barrel, they'll think trapped moisture worked wonders or something. Right?” He stopped and rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the barrel and second-guessing himself. "The logic doesn't work, though, because plants need sunshine to grow."

Laughing, I hooked my arm through his and tugged him toward the sidewalk. "It's perfect, my love. And you're perfect for thinking of it. Believe me, people are more willing to take things at face value than you'd think. If anybody happened to move the barrel in the next few minutes, they'd shrug and say ‘cool’ before getting on with their life. Covering it gave anyone who might come along later the perfect reason not to overthink it."

"Good point. I would've reacted the same way. Now I don't know about you, but I'm ready to track everyone down and head home. We have the big potluck tonight, and I’d kind of like to take a nap before I have to give my rah-rah speech so our people don't worry when I step into the challenge ring tomorrow morning. I want them to see me confident to the point of looking cocky."

Imagining all we had left to do today made me want to nap along with him. Paula hadn't allowed me to be involved with the planning or any preparations for our first party with our new Alpha tonight. She told me my job was to relax and enjoy being newly mated. But I would still be making the rounds during the party, ensuring