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“I was more along the line of both.” He winked.
“Deal.”
The yogurt shop was cute and had a fabulous array of choices. As a surprise to no one, Choccie won a few hearts.
The yogurt was absolutely delicious, but not nearly as wonderful as the dessert I had when we got back home. I wasn’t sure I could ever get enough of my mate, but was looking forward to a lifetime of trying.
Chapter 16
Anders
“Anyone else we should invite?” I showed Brett the names I’d typed out.
He added two colleagues from work who both happened to be shifters. While my mate was friends with humans at work, this was an occasion for our shifter friends to get to know Brett and for his colleagues to meet our community.
Despite my mate not eating meat, he insisted he could cook a mean steak and his sausages would sizzle to perfection, having been brought up with wolves.
“Right, so you’re manning the barbecue.”
Choccie, as we’d nicknamed our puppy, whined until Brett picked him up and sat him on the sofa. He was too little to jump up, and we spoiled him rotten. He’d already torn to shreds his first and second lot of toys and had dug up the new plants I’d put in the garden. He was more work than a baby, not that I’d brought up any babies.
“Will there be enough food for the vegetarians and vegans?” I studied my list. Our friends were bringing desserts and salads, and I was crossing my fingers they all didn’t bring one and not the other. I had considered polling them but decided against it. That felt more like work and this was supposed to be a fun event. I wanted them to enjoy themselves and not feel pressured about what they were making.
“Yeah, I have a recipe for vegan burgers if anyone wants one.”
My snow leopard rolled his eyes at that, and I told him to stop being disrespectful, thankful neither my mate nor his unicorn could see my beast. I got up and removed the dog carrier I’d bought from a drawer.
Brett raised a brow. But if we locked Choccie in a room, he’d bark and destroy the place, and if we let him out, he’d be underfoot and near the grill. On my back, he’d be with me and not crying, and I could give him doggie snacks if he got irritated.
“He’s family.”
The weather report said the next day would be fine, and it didn’t lie. It dawned sunny with a hint of a breeze. I worked from a list, completing one task and checking it off before going on to the next, while Brett whipped up some of his vegan burgers, dip, and salad dressing made with cashews.
Jonah and Kyle and their kids were the first ones through the door. We’d set up an arts and craft station, and there’d be a scavenger hunt in the garden when all the kids had arrived.
Kyle had met my mate before I did, and I introduced him to Jonah. Dylan and Truman and their girls arrived, and Brett and Truman were in a corner of the garden chatting. Having beasts that didn’t exist in the wild but were part of human mythology might create a bond, and I hoped they’d be friends.
When Brett’s colleagues arrived, he introduced them to everyone and one tech suggested he’d like to move to Snowford. They shared how good Brett was at his job. “He’s so empathetic with the patients, he never hurries them, and listens to their hopes and fears. But he always has our back too. We can really depend on him in an emergency.”
I kissed Brett ‘cause I was so proud of him. I fixed people’s toilets, leaky faucets, and flooded basements, but he changed people’s lives.
Isabella, Andrew, and their passel of kids arrived and the noise level rose. Cecily came and finally Alpha Waylon and Daxon walked in with their family. The Alpha Omega and my mate had something in common; being brought up in a pack which their beast was not part of.
Brett was at the barbecue, swaying his hips as he seared and flipped the meat, lightly toasted the buns, and skewered meat and vegetables for kebabs. My playlist was on blast, and Choccie, having run himself ragged whenever more children arrived, was asleep on my back.
And Isabella, being as organized as she was, had polled everyone coming, making sure there was a balance of desserts and salads.
Some of the kids wanted to see Truman fly, so he arranged a night when we’d congregate outside Oakheart and he’d take his wings and fly. I tensed, thinking they’d want to see my mate’s unicorn. While dragons had a reputation for being temperamental—uncalled for, in my opinion—they may not be aware of Brett’s beast’s reaction to being with people. Had most of them met a unicorn shifter previously? Andrew, the former Alpha, had mentioned meeting one years ago.
“This is delicious.” Cecily was munching on her vegan burger with the special spicy sauce Brett had made. “You must give me the recipe.”
I hid a smile, thinking back to the night my mate had ruined three courses.
“Should I make a speech or something?” I whispered to Brett.
“Only if you want to.” We’d both circulated and chatted to all the guests, and everyone had welcomed Brett to the sizzle, even though technically he wasn’t a member because we hadn’t marked one another.
I tapped a glass and Choccie woke up, but I handed him a snack over my shoulder and he quietened.
