Titan shuddered. “But you deserve better. Iwantto give you better.”
Something in Mathlin’s chest shifted, grew, and ached. “I’ll help you.”
“But as the alpha, I should be the one—”
Mathlin pressed his fingertips over Titan’s mouth. “I’ll help,” he said firmly. “You can’t do much right now, anyway. You need to heal first.”
Titan sagged against him, suddenly heavy. “If I didn’t help that drunk omega—”
“You had to. It’s not in your nature to stand aside and watch someone get hurt.”
Titan sighed.
“I like that about you, though,” Mathlin said.
Those hazel eyes snapped up to him. “You do?”
Titan had said those words hopefully, bright-eyed. Mathlin couldn’t help himself; he hugged Titan more tightly and rubbed his face against Titan’s chest. “Yes. I do.”
Titan’s breath hitched. Carefully, he lowered his head, nuzzling Mathlin’s hair. “Okay. I like you too, Math. You know that, right?”
Mathlin’s heart skipped. He remembered Titan laughing along with him, Titan agreeing to all his insane suggestions at the party. Titan cheering when Mathlin made his first perfect cupcake.
“I like you too,” Mathlin whispered.
Titan shuddered, a low rumble vibrating through his chest. “That’s—That’s good to know.”
When Mathlin leaned away, he found the tips of Titan’s ears red. His heart leaped. “Are you blushing?”
“No!” Titan’s ears grew redder.
Mathlin ducked his head and grinned to himself. “Anyway, I think I have a plan.”
“You do? A plan for what?”
“Well, maybe your bakery,” Mathlin said. “But also your healing.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“During my apprenticeship, I learned a few things. Not just healing magic. The wizard had some books about healing herbs, too.” Mathlin chewed his lip. “Some herbs have to be cooked before you can eat them, so I was thinking... maybe you could bake those herbs into your bread and cookies? There’s herbs for all kinds of things. Pain relief, accelerated healing, cures for flu and insomnia. Things like that.”
Titan was quiet for a long while. “You know... That might be really helpful. People already bake brownies with certain weeds in them, but... I don’t see why we can’t make healing brownies and cookies, too.”
Mathlin nodded. “Besides, not everyone has access to an apothecary. Sometimes they might be too sick to cook. If they had brownies on hand, that might help.”
“I’m liking that idea a lot more than selling myself on the internet, to be honest.” Titan stood straighter, looking almost...hopeful? “Would you like to help with the research and product testing?”
“You’ll be the lab rat,” Mathlin said. “Since you’re the one with the injuries.”
“I’m game,” Titan said. “Lay it on me.”
Over the next week,Titan and Mathlin worked together in the bakery. In the early mornings, Mathlin would make large batches of things, such as bread dough or pie crusts. These could easily be tweaked into a variety of pies and loaves without Mathlin having to put in a lot more work.
Titan was the brains behind the operation; he would tell Mathlin what to do next, so there was no time wasted while they waited for something to proof or bake.
Twin Buns still wasn’t operating at full capacity. At least the regulars were coming back in; when they did, Mathlin handed out samples of their new brownies. Right now, they were experimenting with brownies for pain relief.
“I think these might be working,” Titan said, leaning against the counter. At the start of their experiment, he had eaten the herbs by themselves to see if they worked for his pain. Then he had come up with a list of herb combinations and doses that Mathlin could add to small batches of brownie batter.
