Mason stared around in awe. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” He looked towards one of the counters. A young omega was asking the shifter who worked there about various food items, gesturing and pointing to the ones he wanted. A moment later, the employee brought them out from the freezer and handed them to him in a large sturdy bag. I noticed one of the foods was a hunk of venison wrapped neatly in butcher paper.
“I think that was from last week’s hunt,” I told Mason, nodding at the meat currently exchanging hands. “Real big boy. Took all of us to finally battle it to the ground and give that killing bite.”
“You caught that?” he asked.
“Sure did. Me and the guys from the hunting guild.”
“I’m impressed,” he said. “It looks like it was a big animal.”
“Huge buck,” I confirmed. “I think I mentioned this before, but if you ever want to come with us and hunt, we’d all be happy to have you.”
He nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
We walked around a bit more as Mason took it all in. This was the most excited I’d ever seen him. He examined everything - the tables, the counters, the menu, the itemsonthe menu. Finally he turned to me with a cautiously optimistic expression.
“Hey, Jericho,” he began. “Do you think… they’d let someone like me work here?”
“Someone like you?” I asked.
He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “An omega. From a different pack.”
“Well, why don’t we go ask?” I offered with a grin.
Mason shyly walked behind me as I strode up to the counter. A woman - a beta shifter, judging by scent - stood there with a smile.
“Hey, guys,” she said. “How can I help you?”
I spoke quickly before she had time to make an assumption about Mason and I’s relationship, since I knew that bothered him.
“I’m looking for information about working here for my friend,” I said, gesturing to Mason beside me. “He’s a newcomer to the pack.”
“That’s not a problem,” she said, turning to Mason. “You’re the friend, I presume?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m Mason.”
He extended a hand, which she shook. That seemed to ease Mason’s anxiety a little.
“I’m Beth. I’m actually from a different pack, too. I came here a few years ago,” she said with a smile. “So you’re looking for a job here?”
He raised his chin, looking a bit more proud. Although Beth still outranked him as a beta, he seemed to have an easier time speaking to her than with an alpha male - especially since she was similar to him in the sense that they were both once outsiders here. It would be good for him to have a friend who wasn’t originally from Indigo Mountain, I thought. I wondered which pack Beth came from, but I didn’t know her well enough to ask, and I didn’t want to interrupt their conversation.
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“Well, we’re always looking for new people!” she said. “The food bank gets new families to feed every day, and we also supply food to the grocery stores, so we always have a ton of work to do. You’re welcome to join us. It’s actually lucky for us that you asked right now, because with all the new couples and pups popping up, we’re a bit understaffed.” She chuckled and lifted the divider on the counter. “Here, come on through. If you have time, we can start training right away!”
Mason gazed from Beth to me with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe this was happening so fast. “Um - okay.” He shuffled through to the other side.
Beth reached underneath the counter and pulled out a fresh white apron before handing it to Mason. “Here you go! We’re allowed to wear anything we want under it, but this is our ‘work uniform’, I guess.”
Mason slipped it over his head. I grinned. He already looked like he belonged here. And hedidlook pretty good in the apron, too, I had to admit.
“So, do y’all get paid here?” I asked, leaning on the counter.
Beth laughed. “We actually get asked that all the time. The food bank is funded by the pack, so yes, we do actually get paid.”
I had the feeling Mason would want to work here even if it was just a volunteer position, but hearing that he’d actually get money for it made his face light up.
“Wait… There is one thing,” Mason began cautiously. “Is it okay that I’m… pregnant?”
