Page 24 of Crew

He hated that Colton had attacked them the way he had, but he’d never be sorry he invited the male to come to town because otherwise he wouldn’t have met Zara, and that was a hell he didn’t want to think about.

* * *

By the time dinner rolled around, Crew, Dexter, and Khyle had hooked up the new security system, and the others had replaced the slashed tires and fixed most everything with the machinery and vehicles. The only thing that hadn’t been fixed was a rototiller that they used for the garden, and it needed to be replaced because it was beyond repair.

He found Zara in the house setting the table, and he whistled at her and she joined him in the bathroom where he washed his hands. “How’s your day been?” he asked.

“Good. I had fun with Nancy and Tris. We organized the pantry and watched Tris’s favorite movie. I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure.” He dried off his hands and hugged her, so glad to have a chance to just inhale her sweet scent.

She hugged him back and sighed happily. “Could we go shopping?”

“For what?”

“Clothes. I don’t really have anything. Nothing nice, anyway. Nancy offered to let me shop on her online account, but I’ve only ever shopped at thrift stores so I thought it would be cool to go to a mall maybe? I don’t have any money, though.”

He kissed her and said, “Everything I have is yours, including money. When you’re part of the herd, everything is covered. We can go out tomorrow and get something to eat and shop.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

“Date number two,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

They joined the herd and their guests, and after he introduced Zara to their guests, they sat for dinner.

He cleared his throat. “I just want to say how thankful I am for allies. We’re fortunate to have the park shifters nearby and willing to help. Not only Neo because he’s Dani’s mate, but his friends and the alphas too. Thank you, all of you, for coming to help today and bringing the supplies. It means the world to me and the herd.”

“You’re welcome, it’s our pleasure to help,” Neo said.

“And Tris is a fabulous cook,” Patton said. “We’d never turn down an invitation to hang out here and get a meal.”

Tris grinned.

They tucked into the meal and conversation flowed around the table, with the park shifters talking about the times the park had come under attack over the years, most recently from a wolf pack that Jasper had belonged to and his soulmate was from.

Their own stallion herd had troubles not too long ago when they invited a herd to join them, hoping to form an alliance. The other herd had tried to take over, much in the same way that Colton seemed to be planning.

One way or another, Crew was determined to keep the herd safe—particularly his beautiful soulmate—from Colton and his people.

When the meal was finished, they said goodbye to the park shifters, and then the males shooed the females out of the kitchen to handle the cleanup.

Crew piled a few plates on top of each other and carried them to the sink where Avi was up to his elbows in suds.

“Look at you being all domestic,” Avi teased. “Finding Zara has been good for you.”

Crew laughed. “She’s definitely good for me. I feel like I was only half living before I met her.”

“Man, I can’t wait for that,” Grey said.

“What if Colton comes back?” Avi asked.

Crew mused on that. He’d been wondering too.

“He might not,” Crew said. “He could have just fucked with our equipment as a pissy move meant to cause a ruckus. But it would be foolish of us to assume hewon’tcome back. The security measures will help keep us informed, and we should do what Neo mentioned—no one goes anywhere alone.”

“Agreed,” Ford said. “If he does come back, we’ll be ready for him.”

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