“Don’t omegas usually stay with their parents until they find a mate?” she said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. Blake looked up at that.
He wanted to say ‘society left the nineteen twenties behind, Val,’ but he didn’t get the impression the comment was meant as a dig. “Oh, well I suppose some do, but I… It was time.”
He shivered at the thought of his mum.
“Mammy got tired of you, did she?” Val was grinning, but Pember only swallowed and stared down at his bowl. A long, awkward silence stretched between them, until the breadbasket suddenly appeared under his nose. Blake’s arm was bridging the space between them.
“Bread?” he said, raising an eyebrow.
Pember gave a grateful smile, nodding as he took a piece. They looked at one another for the briefest of moments before Blake withdrew his arm and placed the basket back on the table.
“How’s your hand?” Blake said, looking down at the old alpha. “Still giving you trouble?”
Valerie lifted the appendage, grimacing at the unnatural, claw-like shape of it. “It’s getting better now the weather’s warmer.”
“Have you tried a heating pad in the evenings?” Pember said, easing back into the conversation.
Val shook her head. “No, no. I don’t need any of that.”
Blake let out a soft breath. “It’ll help ease the pain in between the injections.”
Val frowned, putting her fork down. “I go for my morning walks, like the doctor told me.”
“Yes, but I keep finding you stranded in the woods.” Blake huffed, also putting down his fork. “I told you I’ll help you shift if it’s what you want. You keep getting stuck in the?—”
“And I toldyou, I’m fine. I’ll be dead soon anyway.”
Pember’s throat tightened as silence descended over them again, the only sound coming from the corgi’s tail beating against Blake’s chair. Pember stuck his head under the table and stroked its muzzle.
“What’s her name?” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
Blake exhaled through his nose. “Him. His name is George.”
Pember grinned and tickled George’s chin, making his back leg vibrate. “Hello, George.”
“I wouldn’t give him too much attention,” Blake said flatly. “He’s a huge flirt.”
Pember’s smile widened as he scratched George more until he was practically sitting in his lap.
“Bailey’s a huge flirt, too. Give her a treat and she’ll go home with anyone.”
Blake huffed and leant across the table. “He pisses when he gets overexcited,” he said, retrieving the corgi from Pember’s lap.
Conversation became easier after that, and all three of them made polite small talk whilst eating the stew. Blake ran a piece of bread around his bowl, consuming it in one bite, his fangs popped out, grazing his bottom lip, which made Pember feel all kinds of funny. He distracted himself by collecting up the dishes, and Blake helped Valerie into her armchair. What he hadn’t expected was for Blake to reappear at his side with a tea-towel in his hand.
“D-don’t worry about it. I can dry up,” Pember said, warmth creeping up his neck.
Blake frowned. “Letting you cook, wash and dry? I’m notthatrude.”
The alpha’s arm was warm at his side, a stark contrast to his cold fingers. Pember found himself looking at Blake’s hands as he dried the dishes. They were unexpectedly graceful and…gentle, in their movements.
“Thank you. For the meal,” Blake said, the words so quiet Pember almost didn’t hear them.
He chuckled and looked up. “I don’t think you had much choice in the matter.” When the alpha didn’t answer, he turned back to the dishes. “I really am sorry about running into you, by the way. I genuinely thought you needed help.”
Blake frowned, placing a dry bowl on the countertop. “Does that happen often?”
“What?”
