Hunting For A Mate 4 (BBW Shifter Menage Romance) Read Free Page B

and joined us.

    “Looks great,” I said. I sank my fork into a piece of egg and watched it bounce out. I resorted to using it as a scoop, bringing a chewy white slice of egg white to my mouth. I chewed and chewed and finally got it down. I had to follow it up with a slam of coffee, still too hot to drink but a relief after the burnt taste of the egg.

    “Smells wonderful, Sven,” Helmut said. He dipped his spoon into his bowl of oatmeal, but what came out was a milky water with sparse oats floating in it. He swallowed the watery slurry and quickly moved onto the bacon.

    “I remember you two telling me I didn’t do enough around the house. All the time I get the little yippy barks from you,” he said to me, “and the stern looks from you,” he said to Helmut. “So, fine, I said. I’ll take up the cooking.” He shoveled a huge fork of eggs into his mouth. “Mmmm,” he said, chewing with apparent relish.

    “Well, maybe we were too quick to judge,” I said, looking over at Helmut for support. He held a piece of bacon up in front of his face, like he’d just found an artifact from a bygone era. “Right, Helmut?”

    “Err,” Helmut said, dropping the bacon. “Yes. I agree,” he said as he wiped his hand on his napkin. “Maybe cooking would be better handled by someone else.”

    “Hmm…no, I think I like it,” Sven said, twisting a slice of bacon around his fork like spaghetti. “I don’t say this lightly, but I feel like I might have found my calling.” He popped the wad of undercooked bacon into his mouth.

    Helmut and I stared at him slack jawed.

    A knock from the front door knocked me out of my trance. “I’ll get it,” I said, rising to answer the front door.

    A middle aged couple stood on our doorstep. The woman, Ulpi, had brown curly hair and more than her share of frown lines, which she was engaging now. Next to her was her husband, Griggen, a disheveled man with thinning black hair and clothes that he’d obviously slept in. They were members of our Pack, and I remember them both kneeling before me when I was initiated as Grace. They hadn’t as much as said hello in the months since then.

    “Where is Helmut?” Ulpi said.

    “We don’t need to involve them,” Griggen said sharply. His eyes were cast downward.

    “I’m at my end with you, you good for nothing!” Ulpi said to him.

    Griggen’s shoulders slumped forward in silent surrender.

    “What’s this about?” Helmut said, walking up to the door. “Griggen. Ulpi. Good morning.”

    “Helmut, I need you to do something. I can’t go on like this, with this…good for nothing!” Ulpi said, gesturing to her husband like a pile of filth.

    “Domestic matters are matters for our Grace,” Helmut said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

    I stood up a little straighter, trying to look regal in my still damp track suit.

    Ulpi eyed me up and down. “But…you always judged in the past,” she said. “No, Clarissa will not do. I demand an audience with you.”

    “Ulpi, my door is always open to you and Griggen, but this is a matter for the Grace. I used to do this in the past, true, but now we have a Grace. This is one of the Grace’s duties,” he said.

    “I refuse!” Ulpi said, crossing her arms. Her brow was a furrow of angry lines.

    “You’ll take my help or learn to solve your problem yourself, whatever it is,” I said, puffing my chest out.

    Her mouth turned to a sneer. “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth.

    Griggen’s shoulders shook briefly with a chuckle.

    Ulpi turned to unleash a savage belt of words against the poor man.

    “Excellent,” I said with authority. “Wait here on the porch while I change into something more suitable. Keep your voices down: some people are still enjoying their breakfast.”

    “If only we were one of them,” Helmut said, so quietly that only I could hear him.

    I gave him a soft elbow, not wanting to laugh in front of Ulpi and Griggen. I closed the front door and