Page 108 of The Pack Next Door
I strode out of her office, closing the door with a click behind me, lest she see it. The need for more praise. Whatever it took, that’s what my heart beat, as I walked through the warehouse.
To find my brothers messing around with gold dust and glue.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I didn’t mean to snap at them and the unfriendly looks as Mads and Jace looked up made clear how welcome that was, but Jace was holding pieces of pottery together.
Glued with a mixture of gold and glue.
“It’s breaking Briar’s heart, seeing all these pieces broken,” Jace told me, pulling his hands away, then grinning when the shard stayed glued in place. “Well, I think I’ve come up with a plan to fix that.”
I dropped down onto a stool and scooted closer.
“Tell me more.”
Chapter 53
Mads
“So, what’re we looking for?” I asked for the third time.
Jace kept scanning the aisles of the art supplies place, only to pause for a second and shoot me an unfriendly look.
“I’m looking for stuff to do that Japanese gold thing.”
“What?” My eyes skimmed over the display of paint tubes. “Why?”
“Ruined pots upset our mate.” He sounded distracted, moving down the aisle, then coming to a stop in front of gold leafing materials. Lifting a small container of gold flakes, he peered at it with a frown. “Gold cracks are acceptable, but glued ones aren’t, so I’m going to work out a way to do that kintu-whatever it is.”
“A Japanese craft that no doubt takes years to master?” I said.
“The proper way where you can use the bowls to eat from afterwards?” He nodded. “No. But apparently there’s a modern version that uses epoxy glue and…” A hand darted out and he grabbed a larger container. The contents sparkled in the earlymorning sun streaming through the window. “Gold dust.” Jace smiled as he hefted it in his hands. “This is what I need.”
Collecting several containers, he headed towards the counter. The shop assistant chatted to him, asking what he was going to use it for. They discussed the finer points of application, but my focus was on a flier. Sip and paint, it read. Looked like a nice, relaxing way to spend an evening. Get a little tipsy, play with some paint. Maybe I could persuade her to paint me ‘like one of her French girls.’ I picked it up and folded it up in my pocket as Jace finalised the sale.
“Your brother is in with Briar.” I turned around to see Seb standing there. I’d made a beeline for the door, intent on asking my omega out on a date, only to discover my brother had made it there first. “He’s been there for a bit.”
Was that hope I saw in the little guy’s eyes? If it was, he was in good company. Gideon’s change of heart was a good thing, but it was almost as if he forgot how to be an alpha. Strong, decisive, and finely attuned to what our mate needed, that was what Gideon, and I, needed to be. I returned to smell the familiar stink of glue being mixed up. Jace had made a small batch, working the gold dust into it.
“That look right to you?” he asked.
“And I would know this because…?”
“Not because you have a deep and abiding understanding of Japanese art,” Jace sniped, “but you’ve got eyes in your head. You know if something looks like shit or not.”
And I was blunt enough to say what I was thinking. I bent down and looked at the bowl closely and then let out a low whistle. “What?” Jace snatched his fingers away and then I did the same. The piece held, and that’s when we both saw it.
The same deep blue glaze used on every piece made the gold reflect back twice as brightly. There was no hiding theimperfections, so they were made into a feature. I smiled and then nodded, glancing over at Jace.
“It looks amazing. Reckon you can do the lot?”
Of course, that was the moment when Gideon arrived. A quick recap and he realised why we went AWOL this morning.
“This could rescue the whole launch,” he said, frowning as he stared at the gold lines. “If we can get customers to accept these as substitutes for what they ordered.”
“Substitutes?” I scoffed. “These are strictly limited edition, one of a kind items. Nothing like exclusivity to get the rich and powerful wetting their panties.”
“If the existing customers don’t.” Jace rubbed his chin. “Maybe we need to cast the net wider, see if new or other customers will buy them.” He nodded at the pot. “If I can do enough in time.”
