Page 50 of Protection of the Pack

He shut the heavy door. ‘Hey,’ he smiled. ‘I come bearing gifts.’

He slid a plastic bag across my desk, and I opened it eagerly. My eyes almost filled with tears when I saw the contents. ‘You brought me Ben and Jerry’s!’ I exclaimed in delight.

‘Phish food,’ he confirmed. ‘Your favourite.’

I beamed at him. ‘Thank you so much. You’re the best.’

‘No problem. I saw you’d dropped the tub in your haste to rescue Archie.’

That made me sound rather heroic and I quite liked it. No one had ever accused me of doing anything heroic before, apart from offering some excellent tax advice.

‘Thank you,’ I repeated, meaning it with all my heart. It was such a kind gesture.

‘No problem, doll.’

I grimaced. ‘No. Not doll, either.’

‘Doll face?’ he suggested, with a teasing smirk.

‘God, no.’

‘I’ll work on it,’ he promised.

I rolled my eyes at his continuing efforts to find me a suitable nickname then pulled the lid off the tub and peeled back the cellophane. I frowned. How was I supposed to eat it? Manners pulled out a fork from the side pocket of his combats. I grinned. Having a soldier as a number two was the best thing ever: they were so observant. ‘Perfect,’ I said, digging in happily. He watched with open amusement as I chowed down.

Thisisgood,Esme admitted.What is it called?

Phish food.

I never thought I would enjoy fish food.

I giggled. Manners looked at me questioningly. ‘Esme didn’t think she would enjoy food that fish eat,’ I explained. He laughed.

I do not get the humour,Esme complained

It’s too complicated to explain, Esme. Sorry.

She mentally shrugged and decided to ignore our human weirdness. She sat down to lick and groom our fur.

‘I’ve a few updates,’ I said to Manners. I ran through my chat with Archie and my call to Jess. He knew she was a truth seeker, so that made it easier. I told him about the candle and what Amber had said, including that she might be able to scry something from Fred’s mind.

‘You’ve been busy,’ he praised.

‘I need to sort this. I hate that the mansion doesn’t feel safe.’

‘New security will be in first thing tomorrow,’ he promised.

I nodded. ‘But for tonight, most of the pack is here and we can’t have another attack. I’ll patrol the grounds.’ I grinned. ‘After all, I need to run off this ice cream.’

He studied me seriously, his face giving away nothing. ‘I’ll patrol with you.’

‘That would be great.’ I could use the companionship; besides, he would be a huge asset if trouble came knocking.

‘Give me ten minutes and we’ll head out together,’ Manners said. ‘I just need to make sure there are beds and blankets for everyone who wants to stay human.’

‘Is everyone staying?’ I asked, surprised.

‘Strength in numbers, and comfort in them too. The majority will bunk down in the pack lounge.’

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