Chapter 26:

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It was only five minutes before Kayleb almost laughed out loudly as he was in the city's central business district with Luke and James.

James especially surprised him. Every time he took his eyes off the slightly older Alpha, he grabbed his arm and tried to get his attention. It was almost cute. He just wanted to enjoy the boy's attention before bringing him back to reality. Maybe it was selfish of him.

He only felt sorry for Luke because he hadn't done anything wrong. And yet, the bond made him seem just as clingy. Kayleb could only vaguely imagine how uncomfortable this scenario must make him, given his past.

All eyes were on her. Some looked funny, just like Kayleb felt. Others were disgusted, and still others were in "awe" at the display of perceived affection.

Before anyone could get too uncomfortable, he took them to an elegant clothing store - the outer layer looked like a black box. Kayleb knew the business from Trailton, where it was founded. Even if they were there for Luke because, after everything he'd been through, he deserved to wear what he wanted and not what others told him to. James decided to try a few things on himself before they even set foot in the building.

The three wandered around the store for a while. As usual, not a single worker interrupted them. At one point, he allowed James and Luke to roam alone. The werewolf Alpha seemed almost too much in his element, while Luke was overwhelmed. Whenever Luke found something he liked, he would go to his new Alpha to ask his opinion. Almost as if he had no opinion of his own.

Although Kayleb promised not to interfere with his choice of clothes, Luke's poor fashion sense forced him to do it anyway. Three items were immediately put away, while more than a dozen others were replaced with other colors or patterns that better suited the younger wolf.

Up to this point in his life, Kayleb has never had so much stress going shopping with anyone. Not with Amelia, who could shop for hours, or Victor, whose fashion sense was almost as bad as Luke's.

As he remembered these two, sorrow began to run through his heart. After all, like everyone else, they weren't his friends but his twin brothers. Sometimes Kayleb wanted to kick his own ass for being so dumb for hiding behind Maxie for so long.

"Is everything okay?" A soft voice asked him from the side.

As he looked down, a concerned Luke's eyes stared back at him. In his arms was a mountain of clothes: it was almost as tall as he was.

"Don't worry, all is good," he tried to calm Luke's nerves. "Do you have everything?"

Luke nodded eagerly, which put a small smile back on Kayleb's face. He really was like a puppy. It only took a single question to distract him from the subject he had raised himself.

"OK. Then let's go to the dressing rooms."

Along the way, James suddenly appeared on Kayleb's other side with his arms full. The Alpha lycan could only shake his head and chuckle lightly.

Kayleb sat in a comfortable egg-shaped chair in front of the two dressing booths James and Luke were in - the room they were all in was at the back of the store, reserved for Alphas and their packs. He let his head fall back for a moment. The stress had strained his broad shoulders. He just wanted to relax for a moment. Just as he closed his eyes to relax, a light tap on his shoulder brought him back to his exhausted reality.

At his side was a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties. A shy smile graced her thin pink lips.

"You're an Alpha, aren't you? I need to make sure because you and your group went to one of our specially reserved rooms without a word." Her voice was so soft, so shy. To Kayleb, it was almost cute.

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