They headed back to the apartment and found that everything they had purchased had been delivered to the front desk. Henry had someone bring everything up. He then helped Layla carry everything to her room.
"I'm going to take a shower, so I'll see you tomorrow," he told her as he lingered in the doorway to her bedroom.
"Okay," Layla told him, looking at all the bags that now covered her bedroom floor. "I can't thank you enough for all of these things."
She was sure that far from just paying back his life debt, she now owed him too. There were just so many things. Seeing everything together brought it all into her mind again.
How had she even allowed him to spend so much on her?
"Don't mention it," Henry told her with a smile. "I had fun today. Well, right up until your heart sounded like you were going to do a full shift in the crowded restaurant, but the ice cream after was nice."
Layla had been wondering if he'd felt that. She was pretty sure the entire restaurant had felt how uncomfortable she was there. She'd managed to hold it together, and she was proud of herself for that much.
"I had fun too," Layla told him sincerely.
Even if she did feel immensely guilty for everything, she was grateful for everything that he had done, and she had had fun with him.
"Goodnight," he told her, as he turned and left her room.
"Goodnight," Layla whispered after him.
He was already halfway to his bedroom, but he would hear her. They were wolves. They heard everything.
....
When Layla woke up the next morning, Henry was gone again. She found breakfast waiting for her under a dome in the kitchen, but Henry was gone.
He hadn't left a note like he had done the last time he was out, but Layla tried to make herself not worry. He probably just assumed that she would also not leave the apartment today.
It wasn't like she had anywhere to go.
Layla knew that she had to start looking to find a way that she could survive in the city on her own without being entirely dependent on Henry. He had already given her such a great start.
Layla headed to her room. She'd been too tired the previous night to unpack any of the things they had bought, and she supposed that she should probably get a start on that. She had plenty of tags to remove and bags to put away.
It had been rather fun to wake up surrounded by bags of gifts.
She made her way to her bedroom she slowly started to unpack everything that she'd gotten. There was a closet and a separate chest of drawers.
She folded and put everything away, taking her time to look through each thing.
She carefully hung the dresses up in her closet and put the one she had worn yesterday in the laundry hamper in her room. They had walked by the river afterward, and she was sure that it needed a good wash after that.
Layla grabbed some clothes and headed into the shower.
Thoughts of Henry once again took over her mind. He was a mob boss. There was just no kind way to say it or think it. That was what he was, or what he was going to become once he inherited the empire from his father. But what did that entail?
What did it mean that he was a mob boss?
What were the gangs of Lunavia like?
They were wolves, so there had to be a pack element to it. She supposed that a gang wasn't all too different from a pack. A group of wolves that protected and fought for each other until death.
No, that part of it wasn't what worried her. It was the other parts. The parts that were less like a wolf pack and more like the human side of them.
The parts that were violent without need. The part that wanted to control what they didn't have to control. She knew what a pack was and what being part of a pack was. She had no idea what being part of a gang meant.
Sighing, Layla finished up her shower and got dressed. There was no need for her to stress over it again and again. She decided she would have another look at Henry's bookshelf.
Once she got to the shelf, running her fingers over the titles that were on offer, she found that she was too nervous to read. She couldn't exactly start reading about the Wonderful World of Oz when Henry was out, could be in danger, and she knew nothing about anything that was going on.
Layla shook her head. Why was this distracting her so? Why was she so worried?
When she posed those questions to herself, she knew the answer. She felt something for him. The depth of those feelings both confused and scared her. Could she really have such strong feelings for Henry? They had only known each other for a few days.
Layla was ready to admit that they had been through a few things together that normally bonded wolves to each other. They had protected and cared for each other like a pack, but they weren't a pack. Layla forced herself to remember that they had only met just a few days ago.
Still, she felt closer to him and more for him than she had felt for anyone else before. She felt more for him than she had ever felt for Jake. There had been wolves in her pack that she had been interested in before, but nothing like this.
Then again, she hadn't ever met anyone like Henry before, both good and bad. There was definitely bad. There was no way she could write off the title of a mob boss. She also knew that he had saved her from being attacked that night by those three men. He had taken her in and helped her try to find her new life here.
No one had ever done something like that for her before. She knew precious little people that even would do something like that.
Without thinking, Layla found herself outside his bedroom door. It was open, so it wasn't like she was intruding. He hadn't specifically told her to stay out of it, so she stepped across the threshold.
This was the room that he had put her in when he'd just brought her here. She'd slept that first night in his bed. It was still mostly the same. She could even still pick up traces of her scent lingering in the room.
He had a large bed, and two pedestals on either side. The pedestals each had books on them, similar to the ones that were in the living room outside. There was a walk-in closet that led to the bathroom.
There was also a laptop on a sideboard and a large flatscreen hanging just above it. There was an old record player to the one side, along with a stack of records. Layla thought she would have to go through those later.
Packs were used to a more rustic way of living, but even they had moved from record players to iPods. She wondered what music he liked that he had to keep a collection like that.
There was a guitar to the one side. She traced her fingers over the strings gently. She supposed that with all the time he spent by himself, he had to find a way to keep himself busy.
Layla felt herself fill with a deep sadness for him. Living life this way couldn't be easy. He must not have been able to trust just anyone and could not keep close friends other than from the pack. Even so, as next in line to be Alpha, he was an easy target.
Other wolves would look at him with envy and caution.
It had been one of the reasons that she and Jake had even gotten so close. Since she had been an omega, and he was supposed to be the next Alpha, they had both felt a little on the outside in their packs.
She imagined that Henry must have felt something similar.
She sat down on the edge of his bed, trying to force her heart to calm. She laid down on the pillow, breathing in his scent, and felt a wave of calmness wash over her. Nothing seemed so scary when she was laying there surrounded by his scent.
She curled onto her side on his bed. Within moments, she was fast asleep.