Chapter 27 Wolf-Cat Titan #2
“It healed him?” Abercrombie said, surprised. He looked Titan over and gave an approving nod.
“It’s all thanks to Mathlin,” Titan said. “Because—”
“Because I told the sphinx just how amazing Titan’s brownies are. And Titan couldn’t bake if he couldn’t use his arms. But we had a pan of leftover brownies to share with the sphinx, so it could understand just what the world was missing. You should’ve seen the way its eyes lit up!”
“Those must be some special brownies,” Abercrombie said thoughtfully.
“Uh-huh. They’re pretty special. They relieve aches and pains. Here, try some.” Mathlin pulled away from Titan, hurrying over to grab their sample tray. He offered Abercrombie a bite of brownie in a cupcake liner.
Abercrombie popped it into his mouth. His face lit up. Mathlin cheered inwardly.
“Give it a couple moments to sink in,” Mathlin said. “It’s infused with herbs, and depending on how much you eat, it can relieve any aches and pains for a while.”
Abercrombie took another square and munched on it. Then his eyebrows shot up, and he stood taller. “My knees don’t hurt as bad anymore.”
Mathlin grinned. “Yeah! I’m glad it’s working for you.”
Abercrombie bought four squares, cradling them protectively against his chest. “I’m going to tell everyone about this.”
“We’d really appreciate that,” Mathlin said. “Oh! And you should see Titan wash his face.”
Titan shot him a look of absolute betrayal.
“He does it like a cat now,” Mathlin said with a grin. He curled his hands into loose fists and scrubbed his face. “Like this.”
He wasn’t sure how Titan would react, to be honest. Titan stared at him for another moment. Then the alpha mimicked Mathlin, clumsily wiping his face.
Abercrombie’s eyes almost fell out of his head.
“Meow,” Titan said.
“Well, this is very interesting,” Abercrombie said, clutching his bakery box more tightly. “Does Mrs. Everdin know about this?”
“Not yet,” Mathlin said.
“Ha!” Abercrombie cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. “Well then. I should get going. People to see, friends to meet. You know.”
“Have a great day,” Mathlin called as Abercrombie all but ran out of the bakery. “I hope he remembers to tell everyone about the brownies.”
Titan snorted. “The brownies? Math, you threw me under the bus!”
“You wanted more publicity for Twin Buns,” Mathlin said cheekily. “It wasn’t a bad impression. I think it’s an investment. Now everyone will show up.”
“Including Everdin.”
“We’re counting on Everdin,” Mathlin said. “She’ll really spread the news everywhere.”
Titan sighed.
“You know I’m right,” Mathlin said.
Another sigh. “You are.”
Fifty minutes later, Mrs. Everdin charged into Twin Buns.
Mathlin grabbed Titan’s phone and posted on the alpha chat—to log the timestamp, because Titan’s alpha friends had a bet going: how long it would take for Everdin to show up.
Titan
Gossip queen is here. Who won?
He had to set down the phone despite the flurry of messages. “Mrs. Everdin!”
She was red-faced, her chest puffed out. “How dare you!”
“What did I do?” Mathlin asked innocently.
“You’re such a troll,” Titan muttered in the kitchen, quietly enough that only Mathlin heard him. The alpha strode out to the service counter, sliding his arm around Mathlin’s waist. “Good morning, Mrs. Everdin. How can we help you?”
“You!” She pointed a quivering finger at Titan. “First you propose—”
It wasn’t a real proposal, but Mathlin blushed anyway. “It was a very elaborate courtship. I felt very courted.”
“You didn’t invite me!” she wailed.
Titan cleared his throat discreetly. “To be fair, I was proposing to Mathlin, Mrs. Everdin. Not you. But you’re invited to our wedding!”
She huffed and ruffled her shawl, slightly appeased. Then she squinted at Titan. “I thought Abercrombie was lying, but... What happened to your face?”
“Meow,” Titan said. “I’m a wolf-cat.”
Without Mathlin’s prompting, he began to paw at his face.
“You’re just as much of a shit-stirrer as I am,” Mathlin whispered under his breath.
Titan’s lips twitched.
Everdin looked scandalized. “How is that possible? You can only be a wolf or a cat! Not both at the same time!”
Had she not heard of interspecies mating? Mathlin carefully did not mention Jannie. Instead, he said grimly, “Titan got an injection of cat DNA. Up his butt.”
Titan choked.
Everdin’s eyes bugged out. “What?”
“It’s true.” Mathlin nodded. “Titan was mauled by a sphinx. There was a great battle, but we won it with his secret family recipe.”
“What about the... the cat DNA?” Everdin asked faintly, glancing at Titan’s hips as though she could see through him to his ass.
“Oh. The sphinx came to an agreement with us,” Mathlin said. “In exchange for a pan of the most amazing brownies, plus its healing powers, it promised to heal Titan and leave the state. It was a very special healing process.”
“Its healing went into Titan’s...” Everdin trailed off as though she couldn’t believe those words had just left her mouth. Then her expression changed, into that of a dragon hoarding gold.
“Shhh. It’s not something for polite company.
” Mathlin waved dismissively. “But I bet you want to know what the secret recipe brownies taste like.” At that, Everdin’s curiosity returned.
Mathlin handed her a brownie sample. “It’s an amazing recipe that has been in Titan’s pack for generations.
They’ve only just allowed us to bake it for the public, and you’re one of the first to try it. ”
Everdin chewed on the brownie bite, humming. “This is decent. I’ll take two.”
Mathlin boxed them up for her and added a cookie. “We wanted the sphinx to officiate our wedding, but alas. Titan and I are just ordinary cats. We were not special enough for the great sphinx.”
“What a pity,” Everdin said. Her eyes gleamed, though. “I hope you’ll recover soon, Titan.”
She paid for the brownies and headed for the door.
Mathlin bit his lip, trying not to giggle. This was all so silly.
“If this was the climax of a book, I would be upset,” he declared in an undertone.
“Really?” Titan whispered back.
“Where is the surprise? The high stakes? There’s no great trouble that we have to overcome.”
“I don’t mind, to be honest,” Titan said. “I’ve been injured enough to last me for a while.”
The moment Everdin grasped the door handle, she paused. “Oh! I forgot to mention!”
Mathlin eyed her warily. “What?”
“There’s been an old man skulking around asking about you,” she said. “High forehead, long white hair? Waves a stick around like a staff?”
Mathlin’s stomach plummeted. “There’s the climax of my story. Fuck.”