That wasnothow I would’ve classified Dietrick or their trip.
It’d taken me entirely too long to figure out who the pup was, but in my defense, his family had called him Ricky and he’d been half his current size. His family had also fought the whole time and he’d spent at least ninety percent of the trip in his wolf form to hide from their chaos.
He was Macy’s nephew.
The one she’d been going to check on when she went down for her brother’s funeral.
Clearly that hadn’t gone as planned and to say I had questions would’ve been an understatement.
“He’s hard to forget.” Trying not to smile, Dorian cleared his throat. “I’m glad he was able to help us connect you to the pack, though. I had no idea who ran the park, much less that they were like you, so I’d have never thought to list them off.”
“You’d have figured it out.” Emeric seemed to have placed Dorian in hero status. “You did great.”
“Thank you.” Finally looking slightly flustered, Dorian actually changed the subject. “Now, burgers were mentioned for dinner but what else should go with that?”
Emeric blinked a few times but quickly went with the flow. “Should I say salad?”
Dorian’s dramatic sigh had me fighting to keep a straight face. “There aren’t enough vegetables for that, but I appreciate you trying to find something healthy to go with the burgers.”
The pup was either trying to make his favorite person happy or fucking with the funny human. I couldn’t tell which, but it was hilarious either way.
“We don’t really have a lot of options for delivery out here but what about…what about green beans?” I was positive I had those even if I didn’t have anything else.
“I have questions about the state of your pantry and fridge.” Dorian’s tight expression said I might’ve saved Emeric but I’d thrown myself under the bus. “Who is supposed to be doing the shopping for you?”
Well, at least he didn’t think I’d gotten myself into this situation?
“It’s usually a job that gets passed around but there was a wedding yesterday and I’ve been traveling.” I shrugged when Igot to the point where I had to admit I didn’t know whose job it was. “I’ll go tomorrow?”
Dorian’s eye roll had Emeric snickering again. “I’ll pick up groceries before I come back out. Before I leave, I’m going to need both of your favorite foods and any allergies.”
Yep, Alpha Mate material.
“No allergies.” I glanced over at Emeric who shook his head. “I’ll give you my card before you go. If you shop at Aldi or Winn-Dixie, they’ll all let you use it if you tell them you’re buying for Braun.”
Sighing, Dorian frowned at me. “Are both of those run by…nonhumans?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “It’s a practical job and useful for the community. Walmart’s a pain in the ass and has too many humans, though. So we try to avoid all of them.”
Even on our best behavior, somehow our inner predator made a lot of humans nervous. They could never explain why but we got followed around Walmart by their rent-a-cops on a regular basis.
“That makes sense.” Glancing around the kitchen, I could see him formulating plans in his head. “We’re going to have to work out a better system, though. You don’t have nearly enough food to just feed you, much less anyone else who comes over.”
The dramatic Alpha Mate had Emeric nodding too. “This is a good pack, so he’s probably got people showing up all the time. You’ll need to make sure he’s got social kind of food too.”
The pup wasn’t wrong, but neither of them needed me to point that out.
“The old Alpha Mate in my previous pack used to have little sandwiches and tea, but I think you could do something different.” Emeric shrugged. “They don’t have anything like that anymore, but this pack is nice, so you’ll need to help him have good manners.”
When they both turned to me, I rolled my eyes. “When I have time for a nap and to buy my own groceries, I’ll remember where I left my manners.”
Ignoring me, Dorian turned to Emeric. “Shouldn’t Braun’s mother be helping with some of the social responsibilities? I’m not trying to be a misogynist but it seems logical.”
Emeric nodded, not worried about my opinion at all. “Yeah, but my dad used to say she’s feisty, so she’s probably not doing it just to make Alpha Braun crazy.”
People gossiped too much.
“You both need to stop looking at me like that or I’ll remember that my mother has a guest room and likes to hover.” I glared at Emeric as Dorian started to cough in a vain attempt to cover a laugh. “She might let the pups watch R-rated movies, but she’ll follow you around the rest of the day asking about how you’re feeling and if you need to talk.”
