Page 7 of Delivered to My Fury

“Yes. It’s like dessert.” The redhead with the date looked up from her phone. “Can I buy this by the case? Is there a limit?”

Oh yeah. They loved it.

“There’s a limit of five cases on those specialty brews. We want everyone to be able to take a case home if they wish.”

“That’s good. I’m going to have some in the fridge for my date. He’s a shifter.”

I never gave my animal away to strangers. Didn’t know why. Most shifters boasted about their animals, but a guy had to keep some things private. “Is that right?” I asked. “Well, I’ll bet he would love this brew. Maybe some of the stout.”

“Oh, the stout? Can I taste that as well?”

We walked over to another table where the stout and IPAs were untouched. Females tended to go for the sweeter options which was why we really wanted to get that cream ale right. “Here it is. It’s got a richer mouthfeel. Notes of caramel, coffee, vanilla, and bourbon. Try it.”

She took one sip and moaned. “Oh, that’s good. I might take a case of this for myself.”

I went from table to table, asking people what they thought and getting their general opinion.

While they were drinking and having a good time, there was a central topic of conversation. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. My shifter hearing picked their words up easily.

All of them were talking about an app for shifters and humans to date.

The Mail-Order Matings app.

Intriguing. Since we were surrounded by nature and other small towns like ours, it was hard to find our mate. From what I overheard, there were people all over the country and the world on this app, all trying to date or find their mates. One female in the tasting said she found her reverse harem on the app. All shifter males in her harem.

“It’s not just for shifters, either. I found a yummy minotaur in there. Something about the horns does it for me,” another said, with a little shiver.

Okay, that answered that question. We wouldn’t leave Zyon out no matter what. He might be an orc and we shifters, but he was our brother and our packmate. Perhaps this app would help us find the right female for all of us.

When we first decided to travel together to find a place to settle, we called ourselves a pack, but that didn’t quite fit.

So, one day, we decided, we were a fury.

Unique. Like no other pack.

Now all we needed was a mate to complete us.

Mabel came in to handle their purchases while I went for the handcart and took care of loading their cars. A tasting a success. We sold out of several of our flavors. We even moved a dozen T-shirts with our logo on them and some koozies and key chains. That was what sold beer. Word of mouth and seeing our logo everywhere.

That and big contracts with big stores.

One day, we would land it; I had a gut feeling.

The other thing I had a gut feeling about was that app.

“That was successful,” Mabel said as I walked into the office.

“It was. Did we make out like bandits?” I asked, using her phrase.

“You did. Excellent day already, and the tavern hasn’t even opened yet.”

I leaned on the wall between our offices and hers. “What do you think about dating apps, Mabel?”

She snorted. “Dating apps. Mating apps. I’ve heard of them, but if you want an old lady’s opinion…I think it’s too good to be true. Sounds like it to me. Get on your phone and find the mate of your dreams? Come on. What’s the catch?”

At least she was honest.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s all a bunch of hokum.”

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