Chapter Nineteen
Rork
I was up at dawn and for the best reason ever. Today, we began the not-so-official courting of our mate. Really, it started the day before, but this morning, I wanted to show off a little.
“What in the world?” Flint came out of his room at the same time Craven did. He had a big cup of lavender and chamomile tea to make sure he slept through the night, counter to his regular schedule. We needed all our energy for our mate today.
“What? Is it too much?”
The island was full of goodies. Breakfast sandwiches of all kinds. Pastries. Muffins. Baked donuts. Even breakfast burritos. With no direction about what Tawny liked or didn’t, I had to run the gamut. And I’d already packed the hot sauce, ketchup, and honey.
All I had to do was pick up coffees, and I’d sent a text to Byron at the coffee shop the night before, warning him that I had a big order.
This was my thing.
“It’s a lot, but you did well,” Craven said, stealing one of the donuts.
Flint sighed. “Just so we’re all on the same page, she’s ours, right? Scent-match. Fated mate. True mate. Soul mate. Our omega. Whatever you want to call her. I’m not the only one.”
“No doubt about it,” Craven answered. “Rork?”
“Not a single question about it. But we have to take this slow. I have a feeling she’s not an easy truster. We’ll earn her trust though. I believe it.”
We dressed in work clothes, and I packed an ice chest, without the ice, to keep the breakfast fare warm. On the way, we picked up a dozen coffees to go for good measure. When we showed up, the doors were already open, and Holt and his pack were there talking to Tawny.
Damn it. I was hoping for a moment alone with her.
“Good morning,” I said, lugging in the ice chest. “I brought treats.”
Tawny’s eyes lit up and, right then and there, I made a vow to always make her treats.
Good thing it was my forte. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun with some tendrils wildly rebelling against the hair tie.
She had a tank top on with some overalls, and all I wanted to do was grab her up and kiss her.
So damned adorable. “You made all of this?”
Flint clapped me on the shoulder. “He can cook anything. And he was up with the sun, making all this. Trying to impress someone, if you ask me.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know what everyone liked so I cooked…a lot.”
We all ate standing up since the flat surfaces were covered in dirt and dust and who knew what else. First order of the day was to get the door and windows open and clean. Let some light in and some dust out. Poor Flint had to wear a mask but sneezed anyway.
Marla and Janis and others came in and out, helping where they could. And those who couldn’t, stopped to cheer us on or simply introduce themselves to Tawny. Her cheeks grew rosy every time.
Then Darryl, that smart man, showed up with four shop vacs for the dusty shelves.
What a genius. It made everything go ten times faster. We still had to wipe them down, but they sucked up chunks of dirt and dusk, making way for us to do the polishing.
Every time Tawny got near us, her scent spiked. Craven went still and gripped the bookcase when she passed. We all had it so badly.
If I wasn’t mistaken, our girl was nearing her heat, which thrilled and scared me at the same time.
We would take care of her through it, if she consented in a lucid state but if not, it hurt me to think about her going through it alone.
Our pack would have to broach the subject soon. We talked about taking things slowly, but biology and nature had other ideas, it seemed.
Around noon, Holt and his pack left for the day. The others did as well and we stood together with Tawny, scanning our work. We’d done so much. The bookstore had been brought to life again.
“We did great,” I said, turning in a circle.
Tawny nodded. “This would’ve taken me weeks to accomplish on my own. I can’t thank all of you enough.”
Her scent kicked up, mixing with the lingering smell of old books and pages long forgotten. It was heady and I instantly was lost in it.
“I have an idea. How about a run?” Craven asked. “Tawny? We promise to be gentlemen. I could use the stretch.”
“That actually sounds amazing. Yes, please. Do you know a spot?”
“Behind our house,” I said. Having her near our home, on our land, would mean so much to our wolves. She could see our home and see that we had the means to provide for her, not that she couldn’t provide for herself, but it was our honor to take care of her. “Do you trust us?”
She sighed. “Yes. Yes, I think I do.”
“Then let’s go. You can ride with us.” Craven led her to our truck and we went to our home.
We gave her space to take her clothes off and shift but when she came out as her wolf, we all stood back in awe. A beautiful brunette coat, shiny and full. Her wolf was strong and bold but also femininely wild. Just like her.
“You are beautiful, female,” I praised her, kneeling down to stroke her snout.
We didn’t pretend to be modest and stripped and shifted right in front of her.
And then we ran. As a pack. As we were always meant to.
The second my paws hit the ground, my chest warmed as the fire of a bond took its place in the hearth of me. I hoped she felt it too.