Page 22 of Briggs
Briggs’s smile widened. “You can. Just promise to come back to me.”
“I’ll always come back to you,” I told him. I wasn’t sure we were still talking about running in our shifted forms together, but Briggs was my mate, and I couldn’t see myself without him already. I’d known him for all of a few hours, and I barely knew him.
“And I you,” Briggs told me. He took his free hand and brought it to my face. He cupped my cheek and then rubbed it with his thumb before he dropped his hand.
“How—” I was cut off by the loud grumbling of my stomach. My eyes widened while a smile returned to Briggs’s face.
“Are you hungry?”
I cringed. “Maybe. I didn’t really eat much of my lunch. Actually, only a few bites.”
Briggs looked around. “Well, we’ve only made it about ten or so minutes away from the council building. Why don’t we head back, and then we can go down to Timber Valley and get started on our date?”
I smiled just as my stomach rumbled in agreement. “My stomach says yes.”
Briggs chuckled. He gave my hand a squeeze and started walking back in the direction we’d come. “Do you know what you want? There’s a diner that has diner-type food, a pizza place, chicken, Chinese, a few burger places. You name it, and I’ll take you.”
I was torn. “Can I be typical and just say either pizza or burgers?” I glanced down at our still-joined hands. Something as simple as Briggs holding my hand meant so much. I really needed to get over things before Briggs decided I wasn’t worth the hassle that I’d probably end up being.
“I’m down for either. Which would you like tonight? We can always pick the other next time.”
Oh, that made it even more difficult. “I…” I sighed. “Burgers. But only because I really want some fries.”
Briggs chuckled again. “Burgers and fries it is.” He glanced at me. “Milkshake with it?”
Now, that just wasn’t fair. “That’s just wrong,” I said with a smile.
“How so? If you aren’t a milkshake guy…”
“No, I love ice cream. I love all foods and will eat absolutely anything. Seriously.”
“Milkshakes go great with burgers and fries. Personally, I’m a pie guy myself. Fruit pies are my favorite, but I’ll eat just about any pie. I’m not a fan of rhubarb pie or pecan pie, but other than that, I’ll eat it.”
“Have you tried the pies at the bakery? My friend Banner works there. He and I…” I trailed off because his story wasn’t mine to share. “He was rescued too. Not with me, but probably from some of the same people.”
“I have been to the bakery, yes. It’s a favorite of the enforcers. The cafeteria at the council building has a great selection of cakes and pies, but that’s about it. I think whoever they have baking for us, their specialty is cake because we have it all five days of the week. And if there’s pie, there’s still cake as well. And some of the cakes are really extra.”
I looked up at Briggs. “I’ve not had the cake from there. We get lunch from there sometimes, but not often. Usually, lunch is provided by Dr. King.”
Briggs’s smile dimmed a bit. “Do you like working for him? Is that what you want to do?”
I snorted. “It’s not what I ever saw myself doing, but I’m not going to complain. My housing is covered, and the council pays me well. That’s saying a lot since I suck at my job.” How ironic was that? I happened to be paired with an alpha that had a degree in computers, and I could barely turn the things on.
“Why do you say that? Is it that you don’t like working there or something else?”
I sighed. There was no time like the present to tell my mate about how messed up my life had been. Actually, there wasn’t nearly enough time to tell him, but I could give him the basics. “We were homeschooled, but not well. Our pride was paranoid, and I’m not sure why. But I can barely read and write. Until I was rescued and brought here, I’d never used a computer. We weren’t allowed any sort of electronics. So throwing me in with a quick overview of how to do things didn’t really work.”
Briggs gently squeezed my hand. “Is there anything I can help you with? I know a thing or two about computers and their programs. And I’m more than happy to help with reading and anything else.”
I knew he was saying that from a place of kindness. I had no doubt that Briggs was incredibly sweet and just overall nice. “Dr. King knows now. He didn’t before. He just put up with me. Although I know I frustrated him every single day. I am learning. But it’s really slow and things get really confusing if I click somewhere and the screen changes.” I sighed. “I’m trying, and I do like my job. Dr. King is nice, and I love talking to all of the pregnant omegas.” We were still walking but had slowed down considerably. I glanced around, and when I didn’t see anyone, I looked up at Briggs.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why do you think something’s wrong?”
“Because you have this look of panic on your face.” Briggs stopped us and cupped my face again with his free hand. “I’m your mate, Todd. You can share anything with me. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what.”
I sighed. He would know soon enough. “I like my job because I get to see all of the pregnant omegas and then their babies when they come in for checkups.” I glanced away, staring at the council building that was now in view. “I don’t think I’ll be able to have babies, though, because I haven’t had a heat since beforeI was kidnapped. I had one a few months before my parents died, but I’ve not had one since.”
