Dinner proposal

Greg’s POV

Without a second thought, I launched myself into the water, swimming faster than any human could, powered by desperation and anger.

The icy water bit at my skin, but I ignored it, pushing myself harder as I closed the gap. The traffickers on the boat hadn’t expected anyone to follow, and by the time they noticed me, it was too late.

I grabbed onto the boat’s side, pulling myself up and over the edge. The men on board scrambled for their weapons, but I was on them in an instant.

My fists were a blur, my wolf strength easily overpowering them. I tore through the men, throwing them overboard one by one until only the driver remained. I grabbed him by the collar, my eyes burning with fury.

“You’re done,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “This ends now.”

He didn’t put up a fight. He just nodded, terrified, and I steered the boat back to the dock, where the girl was waiting anxiously.

She rushed forward as we pulled in, her eyes searching the boat until they landed on her brother. Alex jumped off, running into her arms, and they held each other tight, tears streaming down their faces.

“Thank you,” she whispered, looking up at me with gratitude and relief. “I don’t know how to repay you.”

I just nodded, exhausted but relieved that the nightmare was over, at least for tonight. “Just take care of him.”

The girl and her brother left, and I watched them disappear into the night, the weight of everything I’d done settling on my shoulders.

I’d stepped in to help when no one else would, but I knew that by doing so, I’d risked everything. I was supposed to be lying low, staying out of sight, but once again, I’d been pulled back into the chaos.

As I made my way back to the house, dripping wet and exhausted, Anna was waiting on the porch, her eyes filled with relief and worry. “Greg, what happened?”

“The usual,” I chuckled as I smiled at her but she wasn’t laughing.

“You look like you’ve been through hell,” she said softly as she wrapped her arms around me, holding me close. I let out a long breath, feeling some of the tension drain away.

“I’m okay,” I replied, my voice low and tired. “Just a rough night.”

Anna guided me inside, and I sat in the tub as I dried up and changed clothes before going to the couch.

Before I could even begin to explain what had happened, the doorbell rang again, startling us both.

Anna tensed, her instincts kicking in as she glanced towards the door. I got up, half expecting more trouble, but when I opened it, I was surprised to see Alex, the girl I had helped earlier, and her parents standing there.

The girl’s eyes lit up when she saw me, and she beamed with gratitude. Her parents, a middle-aged couple with kind eyes and tired faces, smiled warmly, though I could tell they were still shaken by what had happened. Alex was by his sister’s side, looking relieved to be home and safe.

“Hi,” the girl said, her voice full of emotion. “We just wanted to thank you again… for everything. We can’t even begin to express how grateful we are.”

Her mother nodded, stepping forward. “We heard what you did tonight. You saved our son. We… we don’t know how to thank you properly.”

I gave them a small, tired smile. “I’m just glad he’s safe.”

The father, a tall man with graying hair and a firm handshake, looked at me earnestly. “We wanted to invite you and your wife over for dinner as a way of saying thank you. It’s not much, but it’s the least we can do.”

Wife, I smiled. She would be very soon I thought to myself.

I hesitated. The last thing Anna and I needed was to draw more attention to ourselves, but before I could politely decline, Anna appeared beside me, her warm smile brightening the doorway.

“That’s very kind of you,” Anna said, her voice cheerful. “But we’ve already eaten tonight.”

“Oh, well,” the girl’s mother said, not missing a beat, “maybe tomorrow, then? It would mean a lot to us.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Anna was faster. “We’d love to,” she said before I could object, and I shot her a look that she returned with a reassuring nod.

The girl’s parents smiled gratefully, and Alex waved at us shyly. “See you tomorrow,” he said, his voice filled with the kind of innocence that had almost been stolen from him tonight.

We said our goodbyes, and I closed the door, turning to Anna with a mix of exasperation and confusion. “Why did you say yes?”

Anna shrugged, a teasing smile on her lips. “Because we can’t keep acting like reclusive weirdos if we want to fit in here.”

I sighed, running a hand through my still-damp hair. “Anna, you know we can’t get close to these people. It’s too risky. We’re not normal, and if they find out—”

“They won’t find out,” she interrupted, her voice gentle but firm. “But Greg, we can’t keep living like fugitives forever. We need to start blending in, or else we’ll always be looking over our shoulders. Tonight was a reminder of that.”

She was right, and I hated it. My whole life, I’d been trained to stay sharp, to trust no one, and to keep my secrets buried deep. But now, with Anna, everything was different. I couldn’t just walk away from her, and I couldn’t keep us hidden forever. We needed to find a way to live, not just survive.

“I don’t like this,” I muttered, collapsing onto the couch. “But I get it. We’ll go tomorrow, keep it light, and then we go back to keeping to ourselves.”

Anna sat beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” she said, her voice soothing. “We’ll just have a nice dinner and be friendly neighbors. That’s all.”

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer. “Yeah, sure. Friendly neighbors,” I said, my tone sarcastic, but there was no real bite to it. I couldn’t stay mad when she was right there, making everything feel a little less heavy.

We sat there in comfortable silence, but the weight of the night’s events lingered. Eventually, we made our way to bed, our movements slow and tired. I couldn’t shake the thoughts running through my mind—the fight, the kids, the fear in Alex’s eyes. I knew I needed to talk to Anna about it, to unload some of the things I’d seen.

As we lay there, staring at the ceiling, Anna turned to me, her expression soft and full of understanding. “What happened tonight, Greg? You looked like you’d been through something intense.”