Page 106 of Talk About… Dramay

Sure, my mom wasn’t the loving type, but Brandon more than made up for it. There were a lot of things I would have changed about my childhood, but the way they were with each other always made it fun.

There was teasing and talking, always something to do, someone around to help when you needed it.

Even though I wished my mom had been around more emotionally, I never felt neglected. Not once.

I truly wish that everyone in this pack could say the same. At least, I knew damn well that if we had a baby together, they would have a childhood like mine.

The flea market was in full swing by the time we got there. Henry hopped out of the car, his tail already wagging a mile a minute and nose pointed in the air as Tate took the lead.

It was funny how my oldest alpha, who had adamantly wanted a cat not a dog, had, apparently, become Henry’s caretaker.

They’d become old friends over morning coffees and bone broth.

“Oh my god, look at the puppy!” I heard a child’s voice yell out. He was running towards us at full speed before his parents could stop him—though they were trying.

I tensed, freezing as I watched, but Tate was faster. He bent down and scooped up Henry in one arm so the kid came colliding with his thighs instead.

The parents apologized profusely, but Henry was letting out a whimper, trying to lean down to the kid. Everything about it screamed friendly. I may have swooned a little bit when Tate crouched down to the kid’s level, putting Henry within reach but still controlling the situation.

“He’s new to us. We just adopted him, and I don’t think he’s been around a lot of kids, so can you be gentle?” Tate asked, his voice soothing but holding an edge of sternness that meant the kid was wide-eyed, nodding along.

He heeded Tate’s words. His hand reached out slowly, and then giggles erupted the moment it came into contact with Henry, who licked him furiously, tail wagging even more.

“No harm done,” Tate said, giving the parents a smile. “I just scooped him up because he’s new to this. We’ve only had him a few days.”

“Thanks for understanding,” the kid’s dad said as he scooped his son up with an exasperated eye roll. “Boy, you don’t run across the parking lot like that!”

“Sorry, Papa,” the boy said, attempting to look properly chastised, though his eyes sparkled with excitement as he continued to look at Henry. “Can we get a puppy?”

With a quick goodbye, the family was gone, trying to convince their eager son the timing wasn’t right.

And with them, went my fears. Tate put Henry back on the ground, and he practically pulled us through to the market.

In fact, Henry was living his best life, getting an insane amount of attention. Every few feet, somebody was crouching down to give him scratches and love, talking to him in baby voices, and he ate it up.

We did have to dodge a few dropped treats on the floor so he didn’t make himself sick, but with all of us watching out, Henry was safe.

It also gave me the perfect distraction to ease into the market without getting in my head. We may have rescued Henry, but he also did the same for me.

We wandered through the aisles of the farmers’ market, taking it all in but not really stopping—we didn’t want to buy food today.

My eyes were already set on the antique booths ahead.

“At least we know where to come when we need a fresh round of fruits and vegetables,” Hudson commented as we passed the stalls stacked full from local farms. “It’ll take everything in me to get vegetables into this group.”

“Speaking of vegetables,” Cameron said, a smirk on his face, “come on, Baby. Our favorite booth is just up here.”

I let out a squeal of excitement and slid my hand in his, letting him pull me ahead, right for the funnel cakes.

“Are you kidding me? How is this ‘speaking of vegetables’ you brat?” Hudson asked, exasperated. As if to prove a point, he veered towards the fruit stand, buying a bag and filling it with a few different things to snack on today.

I appreciated his commitment to keeping us healthy, but I also appreciated that Cameron wasn’t going to deny me something as amazing as a funnel cake.

“Do you still want it the same way?” he asked.

“A chocolate drizzle? Absolutely, I do,” I said with a grin. Looking up at my alpha brought back memories, but this time I didn’t shy away from them.

In my memories, he was younger. His hair less shaggy and lighter from the summer sun, but his smile was almost the same. Just a few fine lines around the edges of his eyes now, showing he’d been giving that same grin for years.