Kellen grins. "I'll take you sometime."
It's all so foreign to me since I lived in a major metropolis my whole life. But if I had known this was here, if I had the physical wellness to live like this—I don't think anything could have kept me away.
It's raining today, but the wolves don't mind. The windows are still cracked since this truck is too old for air conditioning. Which, fine, even though it's summer and humid as hell—I'm in the middle, so I'm not getting whacked in the face by water droplets.
But the entire drive is inexplicably soul-filling. We get to the end of the road and pass a mini downtown, similar to the one up the mountain, then we take another right and pull into a parking lot.
"The cafe is run by the Wren Pack. Lily is their daughter," Doc says quietly as he turns off the engine.
"The shifter that went missing?"
Kellen nods beside me. "We all try to visit as much as we can. I think… Well, we were thinking. I hope you don't mind, but—"
Doc interrupts Kellen's rambling. "Mona, you have a very soothing presence. We think it would be good for them to meet you. Do you mind?"
"Meeting them? Of course I don't."
"We didn't mean to be deceptive—this really is about showing you around. But I thought we'd add this stop to our tour because—"
"Doc, I may not get why everyone keeps trying to touch my arm everywhere I go, but you don't have to explain why we're here. If being around them helps, I'll do it." Beep hums in agreement, and I feel her with me as I nod once, then shoo Kellen out of the truck. He chuckles, then helps me down.
"You're so short. I've never met such a short wolf before."
I groan. He's not wrong. Shifters are huge, and I'm basically a garden gnome. Doc says even though omegas tend to be smaller, the suppressants I was on probably stunted my growth. It was fine when I was human. I was scrawny and too sick to care. But since I've been a wolf, and most definitely since I've been here, I've been eating a ton and feeling so much stronger. So, I've gained a little weight.
And all that weight translates to junk in the trunk. My tits are huge. My ass is bigger than Orion's hands. I know this because I stared at his handprint in the mirror after he unexpectedly spanked me in the kitchen a few days ago.
But I'm still so short, I practically need a stepladder to climb out of the truck.
I shake off the memory of Orion's sudden alpha dominance. No way I want to walk into this sweet little bakery with a grieving family thinking about how fucking hot my mates are and how badly I want them to fuck me.
I still haven't asked how all that works.
Again, I have to point out that there are two of them. What do I do withtwomates?
I'm relieved when Kellen and Doc go ahead of me, the doorbell overhead jingling. The other enforcers that followed us wait in the parking lot like dutiful soldiers.
Considering how small and quiet this town is, I'm shocked at how busy the cafe is. Every round little table is full, including a few booths along the wall in the back. Vintage French music plays overhead. The place smells amazing—of coffee and pastries, butter, sugar, and jam.
I'm gonna eat everything.
Do they have fries?Beep asks.
I snort, then remind myself these wolves don't know mine talks to me.I thought you said that the fries were garbage?
No nutritional value.
So why do you want fries?
The salt tastes good.
Well, so does sugar, I argue back.
She doesn't respond right away. Then,If they have fries, I want those.
Sure thing, Beep.
Kellen and Doc seem to know everyone in here, even the humans. So I stand back and read the menu, trying to decide what to order, letting Beep see for herself that they do not, in fact, serve fries. Someone tugs on my sleeve, and I guess I'm getting used to being touched by strangers because it takes a second for me to realize the woman is talking to me.
