Nanna Nia finishes packing up thest of the breakfast dishes and hangs up her apron.
“Kids are out the back, breakfast is done, they’re all yours.” She taps me lightly on the shoulder before turning to Envy. “I’m so happy you’re hear deary. We’ve been waiting ever too long for this one to bring a girl over.”
Envy smiles sweetly as Nanna Nia leaves and we’re left with Macey looking excitedly between us.
“Should we go meet the others?” I ask.
“I would love to.”
We make our way through the open back door where everyone else is enjoying the sunshine. There’s a bubble machine that catches Macey’s attention and some soft music ying. Some of the older kids are hanging out in the back corner under a tree and the younger ones run crazily across the yard doing all sorts of things. While the littlest pup, Henry sits in a bouncer under the shade of the house taking a nap. He catches Envy’s eye, and she saunters over to sit by him. I follow her, leaning against the old brick house as I sit by her.
“This is Henry, he’s six months old.”
“Where are his parents?” She asks, not taking her eyes off the little pup.
“Henry’s father was a drunk. He constantly abused his mate, but we could never prove it. One day a she wolf came to the border with a little bundle, stating that it was Henry’s.”
Envy gasps. “He cheated on a mate bond?”
I nod. “Rapped a rogue, and she couldn’t keep him as it was too unsafe for her out there. We offered to bring her in or find her another pack away from Henry’s father, but she didn’t want that. She just wanted him to be safe. We took the pup to his father, hoping maybe he would do the right thing, which he did not, so I brought Henry here. His father’s mate was so distraught she burnt down their house while he was passed out inside and took off, herself.”
“Oh my god.” Envy breaths out, a stray tear falling down her cheek and I quickly wipe it away.
“He has a good life here. All of the orphans do. I make sure of it. Nanna Nia does so much for them.”
“This ce is beautiful. It’s…it’s a beautiful thing.”
I nod, knowing just how much a ce like this would have meant for her when she was a pup.
“What did your pack do with orphans if they didn’t have an orphanage?” I question. It’s been on my mind for a while. It’s odd for a pack to not have one.
She shrugs. “If they didn’t have wanting parents from other packs.”
“So why did they keep you?”
e pack
“I have no idea really. Felix just said it was something he felt. Something in here, telling him to keep me.” She taps her heart. It saddens me that even though they kept her, they didn’t really give her a home.
By now most of the kids have noticed our new guest, the older kids stay sitting in the back corner but I don’t miss how they look over at her with partial hope. The younger kids have made a very messy semi- circle around us with Macey acting as their ringleader. “Alpha Noah, tell them she’s your mate!” She says dramatically.
“She is, indeed, my mate.” I nod and smile while the kids all ‘ohhh’ and ‘ahhhh’ and ‘eeeep!’ making Envyugh.
“Can you bake?!” L, who I think is about six steps forward.
“I can.” Envy says with a grin.
“Finally! Noah can’t bake for shit!”
“Language.” I warn and she covers her mouth quickly. “Sorry, but Nanna Nia never bakes sweets, and all Alpha Noah here can cook is a good breakfast.”
“Hey! I also make a mean BBQ, don’t forget that!”
“Hmmm…yeah okay, but I’d killlllllll for a good muffin, or cake, or something with a heap of sugar and
chocte!”
Envyughs as she gets up off the grass. “Well, what’s a movie night without baked goods? Come on, I’ll teach you a thing or two.”
Henry begins to wake as the kids all rally in excitement, so I scoop him up and bring him inside to prepare a bottle. I watch from the other side of therge kitchen ind as Envy instructs the kids to wash their hands and ties back some of their hair. She begins giving out orders for some of the kids who can actually take an instruction while the younger ones y with the bowls and spoons, she’s gotten out. By the time melted chocte has started to waft through the house the older kids have all joined me on the stools, watching intently as my girl whisks around the kids happily, singing into her baking spoon and letting the kids have little licks of chocte off their fingers.
“She seems like a good one.” Jeremy, the eldest of our orphanage at sixteen says to me.
“Yeah. She is.” I smile dreamily and heughs.
“You’re a goner already.”
Envy holds out a spoon covered in melted chocte to Jeremy, and he stills for a second, looking between me, the spoon and back to me and Iugh this time.
“Come on, oldest gets spoon licking privileges. If you don’t take it then I’ll have to give it to someone else.”
All the kids start in an uproar of “Me, me, me!” as they wave their little arms and jump around. Jeremy’s eyes narrow on the spoon as I grin at him. Just as Envy starts to pull away, he snatches it and takes one big, long lick up the spoon making all the kids winge and whine.
“I licked it. It’s mine.” He pokes his tongue out at the kids and continues to lick the spoon. Envy smiles triumphantly, full well knowing she just cracked the hardest egg. Once the industrial sized oven is full of baking muffins and cakes and then fridge is being stocked with different slices the older kids actually offer to load the dishwasher, taking me by utter surprise because those kids don’t like to do anything they’re told, let alone to do it without being told. Henry starts fussing again after he’s just finished his bottle and nothing, I’m doing seems to be calming him down.
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