Damian's Wolf - 17. Mating Gifts

Jordan pulled off his helmet in front of the bookstore. One thing was for sure, there would be no more walking to work. He knew Damian realized the same thing. The neko scowled under his hood, Jordan barely seeing the look.

“I’m not sure if we can get the bake sale done on a bike. In fact, I highly doubt it,” the neko said, setting the pink helmet next to Jordan’s.

Jordan took the cat in his arms, kissing Damian gently.

“There’s a way to get it done,” he said. “Maybe Lysander can help. We’ll just have to set up the day properly.”

Damian nodded slowly, accepting Jordan’s suggestion. They headed into the store, finding Blanche busy with three people, one of which had a slight wolfish smell.

Jordan hurried behind the counter to help the next person in line, Damian trying to stay out of the way. Another elf entered the store, and the neko approached him, offering his help.

Jordan slid the two silver he had received into the register, motioning for the last person to step forward.

As the store quieted down, Blanche let out a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but the store has been busier than ever the past two days,” she said to Jordan.

“Yeah, yesterday morning was rather crazy,” Jordan agreed as Damian approached.

“Did you two get everything figured out?”

Jordan shrugged.

“I think so. We have a roof over our heads at least. The company remains to be seen.”

“I like him,” Damian said.

“Because he let you cook pigeon,” Jordan said.

“Hey, you’re the one who kissed him,” Damian grinned.

Blanche raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, you found a boyfriend?” she smiled.

“He isn’t my boyfriend.”

“But he could be,” Damian said.

“But he’s not,” Jordan denied firmly.

“Anyway, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to do the bake sale,” Damian said, turning to Blanche.

“That’s quite okay,” the woman smiled. “Just let me know if you find a good day. I’m just happy you two are safe. Oh, I have a legal thing I need to take care of today. I was going to close this afternoon and take care of it, but since you two are here, do you think you could watch the store for me for the morning? I should be back before noon, and I’ll add this as extra on your next payday.”

“Of course,” Jordan said, happy to be off the subject of Lysander. “Take as long as you need.”

“Thank you,” Blanche smiled. “I’ve been swamped this morning so the floors haven’t been swept, and it would probably be good if the walls were dusted, just to be on the safe side.”

“I can take care of it,” Jordan promised.

It wasn’t like they had much they could do before Lysander got back. Jordan had locked the apartment, and neither of them had a key for it. The two were here for the long haul.

Arisa shoved through the store door, stopping as she took in the sight of Jordan wiping down a wall while Damian dealt with a customer. She crossed the store, stopping beside the werewolf.

“Excuse me, but I told you to pick up your phone the next time I called,” she muttered.

“I’m a little busy,” Jordan said, reaching up the wall.

“Yeah, I can see that. Where else would you have been?” Arisa muttered. “So dish. What’s the new place like?”

“Big. Not the biggest place ever, but a lot bigger than where we were before. And it’s surprisingly cheap.”

“And your neighbours?” Arisa asked.

Jordan sighed, watching the customer leave.

“We’ve only met two of them. They seemed nice, but who knows? Did you hear anything about the fire?”

Arisa frowned.

“Yeah. There were faint magical energies around the door. It’s possible you were supposed to die in that fire.”

Jordan growled quietly at the noise.

“There’s only one person who would want Damian and me dead…”

“Eric?”

“No, he’s dead apparently.”

“It would have to be a human. No one else can use magic,” Arisa said.

“Or it would have to be someone who used a human. Tell the authorities to look at an elf named Halor. I need to stay out of this or I might end up going after him myself.”

“That’s the last thing we need,” Arisa muttered.

Jordan turned toward Damian.

“Hey, do you remember how to price the new books?” he asked.

The neko nodded.

“I’ll get it taken care of.”

Jordan returned to his own task, scrubbing a bit of dirt from near one of the windows.

“What are you two doing back at work anyway?” Arisa asked.

“Helping Miss Reyla. She needed to take care of something, and with the business the way it’s going, we can’t really afford to close.”

He went into the backroom, tossing the rag into a hamper as he checked up on Damian.

“Everything going okay so far?”

“I’m barely on the first book,” the neko said with a laugh. “Why don’t you ask me again ten minutes after I begin, rather than two?”

Jordan shrugged, stepping out of the room. He went back to Arisa, handing her twenty silver from his wallet.

“Can you go buy a phone and put your number in it?” he asked.

“For…?”

“Damian. He needs one, but I don’t want him to think he needs to pay me for it.”

“Ah, a mating gift?”

“Of a sort,” Jordan chuckled.

“You got it,” Arisa smiled.

“Oh, and he likes pink.”

The elf nodded, exiting the store. Jordan let out a sigh, heading to the werewolf section. He picked up a book on mates and sat down behind the counter.

His phone rang an hour later, and he answered it with a hesitant greeting.

“Save this number,” Arisa said through the phone. “I’m on my way back, so if you want anything special done with it-”

“No, I just wanted one,” Jordan said quickly.

“I think he’ll like it. I pitched in a bit of my money too, so it’s a newer phone.”

“You didn’t have to-”

“I know that. Maybe I wanted to.”

“Well thanks,” Jordan smiled. “It means a lot.”

“I know. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“We’ll be here. I got to go.”

Jordan hung up as a woman walked through the door. He set his book aside, standing with a smile.

“Good morning, how can I help you?”

“Do you have any books to help someone trying to learn Elvish?”

“Rellanic?” Jordan asked.

“Uh, I don’t know,” the woman said.

“No, the language is Rellanic. No one calls it Elvish,” Jordan explained. “I have a friend who’s an elf. The first and only time I referred to it as Elvish, she punched me. Rather hard, I might add.”

He walked around the counter, grabbing a book on a nearby wall.

“Here, this should help you get the basics of the language,” he said, handing the book over.

The woman flipped through the pages as Blanche came through the door.

“I’ll take it. It’s a start, right?”

Jordan smiled, setting the two silver for the book into the register as the woman left.

“Another happy customer,” Blanche noted. “Do you have a moment?”

“Of course,” Jordan said.

“Good, there’s something I want to discuss with you. You are doing well as one of my employees, and it is obvious you care about this store as more than just a job. I have a proposition for you.

“I’m getting older, and it’s only a matter of time before, well, my time comes. When that happens, I would hate it if my passing left you and Damian out of a job. So I’m offering you half of the store.”

Jordan’s eyes widened and he sat in the chair behind the counter hard.

“Now, before you say anything, you need to know exactly what this means. You know we aren’t doing well. There is a chance we could both go under from this. But I’ve already noticed the store is bringing in more money than it has been. Whether that’s due to the increased business, Halor’s absence, or both, it means we stand a good chance of profiting from a partnership. I’ve already set everything up. If you agree, all you’d have to do is sign a few papers. If not, nothing will change. You’ll have a job for as long as I am around.”

It took a minute for Jordan to find his voice.

“You’re giving me half of the store?”

Blanche nodded.

“You’ve already paid me for it. There isn’t anyone I would trust with this place other than you.”

“This… This is unbelievable… Thank you!”

Blanche smiled at the werewolf.

“It sounds like you have already decided,” she said.

“You’re okay with a werewolf owning part of your store?”

Blanche shrugged.

“Our store,” she said, holding out a folder.

Retreating into the office, they spent the next few minutes signing papers. As they finished, Jordan heard the store door open. He left the room, pausing next to Damian.

“How are you doing?”

“Almost done I think,” the neko smiled.

“Great. When you’re done with the books we’ll head out to get some milk. That is if you don’t need us anymore,” Jordan added, looking at Blanche.

“Oh no, you two have done enough for the day. Can you open tomorrow though?”

“Of course,” Jordan smiled.

He returned to the main part of the store, finding Arisa looking at a book.

“Got it,” she said, handing him a phone with a pink cover. “I tried not to make it too glittery.”

“Thanks,” Jordan smiled. “He’ll love it.”

“I hope so. You better let me know when I can visit,” Arisa glared at the werewolf.

“I’ll ask the pack today,” Jordan sighed as Damian hurried out of the back room.

The werewolf handed the phone to the neko, who stared at it suspiciously.

“Take it,” Jordan said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not going to bite you.”

“I’m not too sure about the person next to you,” Damian whispered, his hand closing around the phone.

Jordan barked, laughter filling the air.

“Gods… Arisa won’t bite you,” he said, doubled over. “We need to get going. I’ll let you know when you can come over.”

“I’ll try to stop blowing up your phone,” Arisa grinned.

Jordan snorted. The elf wasn’t going to leave him alone until she got to see where he was living now.

He and Damian stepped outside, Damian staring at his new phone.

“How did you afford this?” the neko asked quietly.

“Arisa helped a bit. But you needed a phone, and I wanted to get you something to celebrate our mating.”

Damian face fell slightly.

“I didn’t get you anything,” he said quietly.

Jordan took the neko in his arms, smiling at Damian as he leaned to kiss him.

“You don’t have to give me anything,” he said, kissing Damian again. “You have already given me all I could ever dream of.”