Chapter Eleven
Penn
The guys were being so sweet, sending gifts to my work.
Nothing over the top that would have me feeling pressured, just cute and sweet: a mug, a plant with balloons, and yummy dinner.
I appreciated and loved every one of them, but I couldn’t bring myself to call and say thank you, not until I made a decision.
Because if I did, that wasn’t fair to them. So instead, I stayed quiet.
That was until I was asked to feature a book the children’s librarian had run out of time for.
The book she had picked out was one I wouldn’t have chosen.
Not because it didn’t have value or wasn’t important to kids but because it broke my heart.
On the surface, it was a book about a little bunny who said they would run away, and each and every time, the mom said, “Don’t worry, I’ll follow you.
” It was cute. The illustrations were great, but the story was about how some loves are unbreakable. In this case, it was a parent’s love.
And my parent’s love? Mine had been breakable. It was forgettable on his part. And the foster situation was no better. My foster family had been cruel and their pack treated me like dirt, dirt expected to carry its own weight. That unconditional love people talked about was foreign to me.
But with these alphas, the ones who wore the ridiculous shirts as they waited for me for years? I was growing to believe that they would give me that love. Freid had already shown me his commitment, with Ty joining in.
I’d had the person who was supposed to love me most leave me, but now, I was holding back people who had already shown they cared more about a stranger they hadn’t met yet than anyone else had in my entire life.
That was the catalyst for me reaching out, wanting to get to know them better, but also being brave enough to suggest we do it in a place where we could have a real conversation—not a restaurant where people could overhear, or where we might be too careful with our words or be interrupted.
I hadn’t even reached Freid’s door when it opened. Ty was standing there with a big smile on his face and wearing an apron.
“Are you cooking dinner tonight?” He looked good in an apron, but it was spotless, and that had me wondering if it was a prop or he was that careful or if Freid was one of those cooks who wanted to do it all and had you “help” only for the company.
“No, I’m just helping. Come in.” And it was option number three.
It had been easier to comment on his apron than to figure out if I should hug him or not, or how to greet him. And he seemed okay with that. There was no awkwardness. He just accepted it.
They really were willing to go at my pace.
“Freid’s in the kitchen, along with every dish he ever considered owning waiting to be washed. I’ve never seen a man use that many dishes for a simple meal.” He was teasing, but there was such affection in his voice.
“I know how to wash dishes.” And I didn’t hate the chore.
“But you’re not going to. You’re company.”
For some reason, being referred to as company stung.
“You are, too, but you have an apron on.”
“It’s not the same.”
Before I could find a comeback for our silly argument, Freid came out with two oven mitts on. “You’re here! Dinner’s almost ready. Why don’t you and Ty sit down while I finish up?”
We went to the dining room table and sat down. It was set semi-formally. There were no fancy silverware or napkins turned into swans, but everything was in its place, ready to go.
“How long have you guys been working on this?”
“Since noon.”
“I feel bad now. I didn’t even bring dessert.” I’d thought about it, but I wasn’t sure what anybody liked, and then it became an overwhelming decision, so I dropped it.
“Don’t. We had fun.”
“We’re not gonna have fun when it comes time for dishes,” Ty said, holding back his laughter.
“Ain’t that the truth?” Freid came out with a big casserole dish and set it on the trivet. “Can you grab the salad and the bread?”
I started to get up, but Ty put a hand on my shoulder. “I got it.”
It was the first time he’d touched me like that. It was just a normal type of brush that you would have with anyone. There was nothing extremely intimate about it. But try telling that to my body. It was ready to go.
“Rumor has it there are more dirty dishes in here than at Animals,” I teased.
“It’s not that bad.” Freid rolled his eyes and sat down next to me.
“Ty is just one of those wash as you cook kind of guys,” Freid explained. “And I’m a let disaster strike, and after we’re full, we can take care of it kind of guy.”
“That sounds about right,” Ty said, setting the salad and bread on the table and sitting across from Freid. “How about you? What kind of cook are you?”
“Me? If it can all go in one pot, that’s the way I’m going. And I’d rather spend the money to have things already pre-chopped than do it myself. So, not really chef quality.”
“Sounds smart to me,” Freid said. He handed me serving utensils for the chicken bake he’d made. “Let’s eat.”
From the time I walked in, the conversation flowed.
All the anxiety and awkwardness I feared stayed in my imagination.
We were just having fun. My dingo wanted so much more than fun, this kind of fun anyway.
He wanted me to beg them to mark me, to make me theirs.
And I kind of wanted that too. No, not “kind of.” I did, but I was also still a little nervous.
“You two… You two have been together awhile?”
“That depends on what you mean by together,” Ty said, setting his fork down. “We’ve been friends, but we never crossed that line.”
“So you’re saying you haven’t been lovers this whole time?
” I had sort of known that, but hearing the words was good.
I wouldn’t have been upset if they’d been lovers.
Why wouldn’t they be? But I’d have been nervous going into anything intimate when they knew each other’s bodies and I was going to be playing the hope I know what I’m doing game.
“No,” Freid said. “I was waiting for you. We both were.” He took Ty’s hand from across the table.
“Although, to be fair, I was a little scared about Freid finding you,” Ty admitted.
“I wanted him as my mate, and I was afraid his true mate would come along, and that’s how our story would end.
I don’t think either of us can fully grasp the joy I felt when I realized we were both waiting for the same person. ”
“The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” I muttered, repeating the words I’d read in countless books. That was just fiction, but it felt true, like it applied here.
“What are you saying?”
“I mean, we can sense each other as mates. This caution is me being human because I’m second-guessing Fate. That’s not—that’s not working anymore. I panicked, and it’s time to move past that.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I accept you, Ty, as my mate.”
I turned to face Freid. “I accept you, Freid, as my mate. Please, both of you, mark me as yours.”
The look on both their faces told me I’d said the exact, perfect thing. My dingo agreed.