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“He has like six jobs around town.”
Theodore quirked a brow at him.
“He’s unmated, likes to keep busy.”
“I see.” Theodore took an experimental bite. “This is delicious. Oh my—I’m starving.” He finished the bar in two bites and seized a second. Apparently, his body was trying to make up for all the missed meals in one day.
“If you were so hungry, why didn’t you eat the pastries?” Royce looked at the fresh pink box sitting on the counter next to the grease-stained one.
“I wasn’t sure about them … I didn’t know what was in them, and I didn’t want to be rude by asking. Also if they were poisoned, the poisoner wouldn’t tell you that.”
“Who gave you the box?” Royce asked in alarm. “Was it someone from outside Elk Cove? What did they look like?”
“It’s an omega that’s been to the clinic before. Shorter than me, a little gangly, dark black complexion, smiles way too much.”
“Does he wear bow ties and have an evil cat named Stardust?” Royce deadpanned.
“I wouldn’t call her evil.”
“That’s Hershal,” Royce sat in the living room with the pastry box, handing it to Theodore. “He owns the bakery in town and made the other pastries you ate. His mate, Amelia, works with me.”
“Oh …” Theodore took the box.
“Theo, why would you automatically assume one of our citizens would try to poison you?”
“I don’t know, why would he give me free pastries?”
“Some people are just nice.”
“Sounds suspicious, if you ask me.” Theodore plucked a cookie from the box. It was small and covered in powdered sugar. He sniffed it—lemon.
Royce chuckled and shook his head. “And I thought I was anti-social.”
“I’m distrusting, there’s a difference.” Theodore stuck his tongue out, then shoved the little cookie in his mouth. “Why did you call Stardust evil?”
“I’ve met her more than once, she’s not nice.”
Theodore narrowed his eyes, studying the alpha’s face. “Oh no, you don’t like cats, do you?”
Royce pursed his lips.
“Oh, come on, you’ve got to be kidding me. What’s wrong with cats?”
“I’m literally a dog.”
“Don’t give me that bull. If Mutt and Big Poppa can be besties, then you’re just blowing smoke.”
“Who?”
“Mutt is the dog you ran over with your car,” Theodore said, making Royce wince. “She’s still at the vet clinic, and one of the stray cats has bonded with her. They’re living at the clinic together until Mutt is better. They’ll probably need to be adopted together at this point.”
“How is the dog? It was an accident, I swear!”
Royce added that last part when Theodore gave him a scathing look.
“She needed a lot of stitches, a lot. She’s wearing a cone while her incisions heal. She had three broken ribs that punctured the skin but thankfully missed her lung, and a nasty cut on her forehead. That’s what was causing all the blood. Bruised ribs on her other side, strained tail, and a fracture in her radius and ulna. However, they’re hairline fractures, and I’m hopeful she’ll recover without needing an amputation.”
“So much damage … I wasn’t even going that fast.” To Theodore’s horror, Royce’s voice cracked, and his eyes became wet.
