Phones

Zeff

Liliam sat at her desk, visibly frustrated as she stared at her dead phone, tapping it as if willing it to come back to life. Her brow furrowed, her fingers fidgeting with the useless device. "I can't believe it's completely ruined," she muttered under her breath.

I watched her, amused but also feeling a pang of sympathy. She used that phone for everything in the office—notes, emails, reminders. It was her lifeline, and the fact that the waterfall incident had fried it only made her more agitated. I decided then that I needed to fix this.

After lunch, I casually suggested we take a walk. Liliam, still grumbling about her phone, agreed. We wandered down the street, and I led us to a phone carrier shop. She looked up at the sign, her eyebrows shooting up in confusion.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

I chuckled softly. "I lost my phone at the waterfall, remember?" I replied, trying to sound nonchalant. I could see the guilt flash across her face, and she immediately looked down.

"You don't have to buy a new one just because—" she started, but I shook my head, cutting her off.

As we stepped inside, I noticed how her eyes lit up at the sight of the latest tech. Liliam was always tech-savvy, and it was clear she loved having the newest gadgets. She wandered over to one of the displays, her fingers gently gliding over the newest models, inspecting them with fascination. Her eyes gleamed in that way they did when something truly piqued her interest.

Perfect.

I approached the representative at the counter, and she barely contained her reaction, her eyes widening as she took me in. She was practically drooling. I ignored it, but I felt an unexpected tug of annoyance building within me. The feeling was unfamiliar, and I couldn't quite place it. Then I turned, and saw Liliam. She was watching the representative, her expression slightly irritated.

Was it the bond? Did I just feel her emotions?

I cleared my throat, shifting my focus back to Liliam. "Do you like that one?" I asked, my voice warm, trying to soothe the tension. Her gaze snapped to me, and the annoyance melted away. Instead, she gave me a warm smile that instantly relaxed something in my chest.

"This is Samsung's latest model!" she said excitedly, holding up the sleek device.

I looked back at the representative, handing her my card without hesitation. "We'll take two of those," I said, nodding toward the phone Liliam was examining.

Money wasn't an issue for me. My father had left me not only the pack but a sizable portion of Big Sky Realty Group, one of the most successful real estate agencies in Montana. While he and my mother lived peacefully in the southwest, I had been running things nearby, taking care of the pack's business as well. This was a small gesture, one I knew would make her day a little easier.

As the transaction finished, I walked over to where Liliam was still admiring the phone and handed her one of the bags. Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth opening in protest.

"Zeff, no, you don't have to—" she began, her voice tinged with guilt.

"Consider it a gift," I interrupted smoothly. "You really need it, Liliam."

Her emotions swirled, a mixture of gratitude and reluctance. "You didn't have to do that," she whispered, almost to herself.

I shrugged, flashing my usual smile, the one I knew she couldn't resist. "It's just a phone, Liliam. Besides," I added with a wink, "it's better than you using a brick for work."

She shook her head but smiled, still clearly feeling conflicted about the gift. "Text, huh?" she teased, her tone lighter now. "You mean so you can keep tabs on me?"

"Maybe," I replied with a grin, unable to help myself. "Or just so you don't end up needing a rescue again."

She laughed softly, the guilt slowly fading as she clutched the new phone. There was still something between us—something I knew she was wrestling with. But for now, I was happy to see her smile.

*****

I leaned back in my study chair, exhaustion weighing down on me as I pushed the pack and company paperwork aside. The long hours were nothing new—balancing the demands of my family's real estate business, Liliam's work and leading the pack had become my daily grind. Normally, I didn't mind. But lately, the strain had been different. A heaviness settled in, not from the work itself, but from the growing bond with Liliam.

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. The connection between us was getting stronger, more intense by the day. I could sense her moods more clearly, her presence like a steady pulse in the back of my mind, even when she was miles away. In theory, that should have been comforting, but instead, it left a dull ache in my chest. It was like trying to hold on to something that kept slipping just out of reach—a reminder of the distance between us, both physically and emotionally.

And then there was that night. The dream. It was so raw, so real. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down my spine. The way I touched her, the way our connection blazed like wildfire—there was nothing dreamlike about it. I could still feel it in my bones, as if her warmth, her energy, was imprinted on my skin. The vividness of it worried me, left me questioning if it was more than just a dream. Was the bond with Gaius—my wolf—affecting me more deeply than I realized? The line between what was real and what was a figment of the bond was starting to blur, and that unsettled me.

Just as my mind started spiraling, the soft ping of my new phone pulled me back to reality. A grin tugged at the corner of my lips. I didn't even need to check the screen to know who the message was from.

I unlocked the phone, and there it was: a message from Liliam. A simple *Thank you*, followed by an attached picture.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I opened the image. It was her, snuggled up on the bed with Shadow. Her smile was radiant, her eyes glowing with joy in a way that made my chest tighten. Shadow's little head rested on her lap, looking just as content as she was. The whole scene was filled with such tenderness, it made something in me ease.

I stared at the photo for a long moment, letting it sink in. I didn't regret buying her that phone for a second. It wasn't about the money—it never was. Liliam worked so hard to keep her life together, and I knew how much she struggled to save for simple things. Buying the phone wasn't about showing off or trying to impress her. It was about making her life easier, taking something off her shoulders, showing her that she didn't have to do everything alone.

She didn't ask for help, and she wouldn't have. But I wanted her to know I was there. In any way I could be.

I gazed at the picture a moment longer, my grin softening into something more. It wasn't just the phone—it was everything. The way she smiled when she was with Shadow, the way she lit up when she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. That's what I wanted for her. Peace, comfort.

I closed the photo and typed a quick reply, feeling the warmth settle into something more serious in my chest.

*You're welcome. You deserve it.*

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to wonder what life would be like if things were different—if that bond between us wasn't tangled in so much chaos. But those thoughts were fleeting. Right now, all that mattered was keeping her close, even if it was just through a text message and a phone call away.

I didn't regret a damn thing.