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“Leven hates me.” I shrugged. “Woke me up and said get here by 4:45, so I threw my hair up and ran.”
“I like your dedication. He’ll calm eventually though, hang in there,” she said with more than a little sympathy. Was Leven known for being a dick around here?
“What are we doing this morning?” I asked, taking the apron she handed over.
“Baking until we’re sick of it.” She laughed. “It’s restock day. Muffins, granola bars, sandwiches, salads, anything we can make and store and send out to the pack. We’ve got some elders and new moms around and this makes sure they’re fed.”
“I love that,” I said. “Where do you want me?”
“Sandwich station, we have a lot to make. Go until you can’t anymore,” she said, pointing to the ingredients she’d already set out.
“On it,” I promised, falling right into cleaning the veggies and getting it all together before compiling. We worked in silence for a bit before Emma spoke back up.
“What was your pack like before this?” The question had me flinching, nearly cutting my finger off in the process.
“Traditional,” I said evenly, keeping my tone from betraying me. “Everything-and-everyone-in-the-pack-belonged-to-the-alpha type. Punishments for those who misbehaved. That kind of thing. Our newest alpha was better, but still abided by those traditions.”
“I come from a pack out west, they were in the trade of females,” she said softly. “I know they’re different, but this pack truly isn’t the same.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” I told her. My intentions to leave regardless didn’t need said out loud. I’d lived in a pack I wasn’t truly welcome in for long enough. Sure, Torryn and Sophie cared about me, but I was still subjected to submit, to fight my instincts, and that was the kind of scar that cut soul-deep. Ties may have kept me there, but I was an outcast through and through and I knew it.
“Did you ever have a mate?” I asked. Now I was curious to know who she was traded to.
“No, Callum was at this Alpha meeting and heard the trade. Apparently the asshole buying me was talking about enjoying breaking his mates then leaving them. So he bought me out from under him. He brought me here, gave me a home. My brothers joined me a few years later to escape that awful pack. Here I have freedom. You will too.”
“Did you have to do probation?” She snorted and shook her head.
“No, very few have. But it’s their way of testing to make sure we don’t put ourselves at risk, so don’t take it personally. We had a bait wolf come in a few years back. They took her in then she led a group of hunters in here. Our warriors fought them off but it made them a lot more careful.”
“That’s understandable,” I agreed. In fact, hearing that made me feel a whole lot better about this bullshit. Plus, they weren’t forcing me to be some random guy’s mate, just a roommate.
A few hours later we had enough food to feed an army and Emma and I loaded it all in baskets.
“Time for deliveries,” she said as she glanced at the clock. “Just in time, too.”
I was a bit shocked it was now after eight, meaning the last few hours flew by. Emma and I really did work well together, which made it so much easier.
“We’re at your service,” Brent called out as he and Waylen came walking in. “It all goes in the back of the truck.” The last part was for my benefit, and I grabbed a few baskets to take out with them. The brand-new pickup truck looked like it barely saw the open road, but then again not all of them needed to leave for work.
“You coming on the route today?” Waylen asked as he helped Emma crawl into the back of the truck with the baskets. They had a makeshift bench back there and she took the seat. Nodding, I followed her up, allowing Brent to help me, not because I needed it but because he was sweet enough to offer.
Every time I knocked on someone’s door with a basket I got curious looks, but no outright rudeness. Apparently that behavior was held by Leven only. And I couldn’t place why it bothered me so damn much, but it really did.
“We have one left?” I questioned now that we were at the end of the road.
“You can take it in with you,” Emma said.
I snorted. “Leven can’t cook for himself?”
“That I don’t know,” she chuckled. “But his grandfather can’t and with Leven working crazy hours it helps keep him fed.”
“His grandfather?” Then I remembered the voices from last night.
“He didn’t tell you or introduce you?” I shook my head and she rolled her eyes. “We’re going to have to have a chat with him. But yes, his grandfather lives there too.”
“Hmm,” I hummed as they parked in front of my temporary home. I grabbed the basket and hopped out. “When should I be back at the pavilion?”
“We’re good for a few days, we don’t do full community meals often,” she promised. “I’ll see you in two days, same time?”
