“Your mother taught you something no one would ever take away from you. I wish my parents taught me something too. But their wish was for me to get bonded to a rich alpha.” Jamue sighed. He moved back to the chair.
“Are they still badgering you to bond with the alpha?” Mac thought they'd stopped since Jamue changed his mind.
“Yes, they won’t stop until I do it. I wish I hadn’t broken down and connected with them. But I couldn’t continue living in the commune house.”
“I know,” Mac said. He poured the spirit into a glass and handed it to him. “Here we are. Tell me what you think.”
Jamue took a sip.
His eyes went wide. He took another sip.
This time he moaned.
“It’s delicious. It's bold and overpowering at first, but then there's this delicate sweet taste that takes you by surprise. I think I’m going to be addicted to this one.”
You and me both, Mac thought as he poured himself a glass. He moaned as the spicy taste exploded on his tongue. Bold and overpowering – that was Deltta Kohle at a glance. But once you get close to him, you realize there's this sweet, delicate side to him that Mac wished he could pull close and protect.
“Your customers are going to love this,” Jamue said.
“Faria too. I guess we have another hit.”
“Have you ever thought of selling your spirits? I mean, you could make a fortune with this. Plus, you won’t have to work for anyone.”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin. And I’d need a lot of credit to buy the base ingredients. Faria supplies those now.”
“Did you use base ingredients when you were doing it with your mother?”
“No. We were dead poor. We made everything from scratch...” Mac stared at the glass of spirit. “Do you think I can do it?”
Jamue nodded with a smile. “We can learn together.”
“What will you be doing?”
“I can make things pretty."
Mac laughed. "I would like to see that."
***
“All the spirits are mixed and ready to be served. The cylinders will last for four days. Unless you have more customers than usual, then you’re in trouble,” Mac said, tidying up the table. He worked for three days straight to get everything ready for Faria, so he wouldn’t have to close the leisure room because of his heat.
“Don’t say that. The cylinders will be enough for four days, and then you’ll be back here to make more, right?”
“Yes.”
Mac finished cleaning up and said his goodbyes. He made his way to his place. His heat was starting tomorrow, but he could already feel the throbbing ache in his lower body. He hoped his heat would last for three, not four days, because he burned to be with Deltta again.
Not this time, Mac thought despondently.
He hurried down the walkway but came to an abrupt halt when he saw Yarr outside his building...waiting.
Did he really send him?
Yarr turned and saw him standing there.
“There you are. I’ve been waiting for you. Your friend said you’ll be returning shortly. Are you ready to go?”
Uhh...Mac didn’t know what to say. He nodded dumbly, then paused.