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“Well, that’s where it gets tricky. I don’t want to talk to my mate about it until I know it can fit in the budget. I don’t want him to feel obligated to buy me some sort of new toy just to make me happy.” He grinned.
I suspected that Morgan would do just that. The two of them were adorable together.
“I have money,” Cooper said. “I didn’t do much with it when I was traveling around, and I got a salary from the council.”
“I’m not using your money,” Gideon insisted.
Cooper took a long swig of his beer. “It makes sense, though. I have it, we should use it. It’s not like the entire pride doesn’t benefit from the work you do around here.”
Dean set his phone down. “Hey, if we’re passing around money, I want a bigger grocery budget. I have ideas, and I need another oven. Honestly, setting up a central kitchen instead of using the Forerunner’s house would probably be the most ideal thing to do.”
I probably should’ve been taking notes. Dean might’ve been half kidding with the way he asked, but he was serious about the equipment. I was for sure going to have to take a long hard look at the numbers because it sounded like there were a lot of worthy projects to be considered.
“We’ve thought about that,” Gideon said. Gideon flipped the pages in his notebook, and the two began talking about plans for where and how to set up a central kitchen.
Pol was making his way across the grass. A trio of three omegas whom I hadn’t met trailed after him. They were young, but if there were at Asilo then they’d probably experienced parts of life that weren’t fair for any age. I wanted to call over to him or at least wave, but he was working, and the omegas might not feel comfortable with the attention.
“Let me see if I can familiarize myself with the numbers more, and we can put together a budget or a plan for raising the money or saving it in order to get what we need.” AKA spreadsheet time. I could hardly wait. While some people looked forward to watching scary movies or going to karaoke nights, I was there for the spreadsheet.
“That would be great,” Gideon said. “Morgan won’t be opposed to it as long as we have a plan.”
“I do think all of these things are doable. The pride is in good financial standing. It just might not happen overnight.” But it might. A deep dive would let me know soon enough.
“Perfect.” Gideon held out his hand, and I shook it. “Welcome aboard,” he said. “We’re happy to have another one like us.”
I raised a brow. I’d never been a “like us” in anything. I’d always been the outsider.
“It takes a special kind of alpha to resist the alpha-holeness that is rampant throughout the prides that we all grew up in and to let our mates do what they do best.”
I grinned. “They really are great omegas. Aren’t they?”
“The absolute best,” Gideon agreed.
Pol waved at me from where he stood on the lawn. More omegas came out of their homes or from the walks in the woods until there was a large crowd of them gathered. There had to be twenty of them of varying ages, in addition to Pol, Thomas, and Morgan. Those three stood at the front of the crowd.
I waved back, happy to take his lead.
“What’s going on?” I asked quietly, though I doubted it mattered how quiet I was since we were all shifters here.
“Looks like they are going to do some outdoor yoga today. Have you seen your mate lead a class before?” Dean asked.
I shook my head.
He snorted. “You’re in for a treat.”
Gideon slapped his shoulder. “Be professional.”
I had no idea what they were going on about. I loved to hear about my mate’s work, and I loved even more to see him in action. His work was so incredibly important, and he made such a difference to so many people.
It was an honor to be his mate. I admired him greatly. What was the big deal about watching him lead a yoga class? I knew they used the practice to help omegas meditate and build their flexibility and strength. Was he like a super teacher or something? My default was to assume he excelled at all things, so I hadn’t suspected otherwise.
Then Pol took off his shirt and led the omegas through a series of stretches, and I knew… this was what Dean was referring to. He very much deserved that shoulder slap. But also, he was right.
It was a blend of amazing and torturous to watch my mate bend and twist, his muscles flexing and rippling with each movement. He was fifty feet away from me surrounded by people who didn’t need to see me objectifying my mate in this way. Sure, he was my mate, and knowing him, he would love that I couldn’t keep my eyes to myself while he worked his magic. But he wasn’t alone, and for the others? They might care.
I half paid attention as I continued to try and hold a conversation with my new friends. If I was to guess, my mate noticed. I was sure that with some twists and turns my mate was doing, he was purposely flexing in my direction. Best. Mate. Ever.
I cleared my throat. “I better… go back to crunching those numbers,” I said.
