A Wolf's Kiss

Chapter : 4

A trip to the supermarket is necessary, and to Cole’s surprise, Mark behaves quite well. He stays close to Cole, and he watches everything curiously. Mark told Cole he had never been in a human town before, and Cole can tell, but Mark’s behavior is more charming and adorable than anything else.

"Is there something you want to eat, Mark?" Cole asks.

"Meat," Mark replies quickly.

Nothing else.

He focuses on the shelves again, so Cole doesn't press for another answer.

"Do you like snacks?" Cole wonders. Cole usually doesn't buy snacks, because he tries to eat healthier, but since Mark is his guest and Cole hasn’t had guests since he moved, he can buy some.

"What’s snacks?" Mark squints his eyes.

Cole grabs a chips bag from the shelf. "Chips? Candy? Pepero? Choco pie?" Cole stops himself at that name. Mark is half a wolf, maybe he can’t eat chocolate. Cole stares at Mark silently and Mark stares back. Can Mark even eat chocolate? “Everything on this

aisle?” Cole says in the end, gesturing at the snacks and Mark frowns at the colorful packages.

“I’ve never had any of that,” Mark admits, and Cole's mouth falls open. He starts to fill their cart with snacks, every single one he likes, and Mark only eyes him curiously as he moves frantically. Cole hasn't eaten some of these in a long time, so he chooses his favorites.

"I can't believe it," Cole mumbles. "How do you know what a clinic is and what anesthesia is? But you’ve never eaten pizza or chips?" Cole whines.

"There's a shifter in our pack that travels to different human cities when the pack needs something from the humans. Like medical utensils or electronic artifacts."

Cole perks up, interested in the information about Mark's pack. "Oh. That's how you know stuff about humans?"

The shifter nods. "But Davin only brings back important human tools to the pack. Not pizza or chips," Mark murmurs.

Cole is about to argue pizza is essential, but instead, he decides to ask something else. "And only one wolf- this Davin- is in charge of coming to the city for human tools?" Mark nods. Cole starts to push their cart as they walk down the supermarket. "And what are you in charge of in the pack?"

"I build shelters and huts. Furniture too, I work with wood mostly," Mark says. He did offer to build furniture for Cole in exchange for shelter. Cole wonders about the place where Mark lives; it must be different from a human town since Mark is so curious about everything.

If they have bonfires and live in the wilderness, Cole can imagine some sort of farming village. He waits for Mark to elaborate on what he does as a builder, but after a moment of silence, Cole realizes he needs to stop expecting the shifter to explain his vague comments.

“You know how to fix things then?”

“Yes.”

Cole’s eyes widen when he comes up with an idea. “The window you used to sneak inside the clinic is still stuck. Maybe you can check it out and fix it for me.” Cole smiles sweetly at Mark.

“Of course,” Mark murmurs.

The atmosphere is calm between them, but Mark frowns when Cole pays at the checkout. Before Cole can ask why he is frowning, someone comes up to say hi. It's a regular client of the veterinary clinic that has three kittens. She and Cole talk for a while, mindless conversation about the weather, but she keeps glancing at Mark until she excuses herself and goes to pay for her groceries.

Cole turns to see Mark and finds that he's glaring again. The poor woman is steps away, but he doesn't stop glaring at her.

"Mark! Stop that!" Cole shrieks.

Mark could pass as human, but then he does weird stuff like this.

Cole apologizes to the cashier for the chaos and hurries outside the supermarket. "She smelled like a cat," Mark murmurs when he catches up to Cole.

Cole sighs at his answer but he won't argue with the werewolf. As they start to walk back to the apartment, Mark insists on carrying the paper bags full of groceries. Cole hands them to him because Mark looks pretty intent on not letting Cole do it himself. Cole is more than capable of carrying his own bags, but the fact that Mark offers to take the bags is sweet. No one has carried Cole’s groceries in many years.

"Why were you frowning at the cashier before glaring at the lady?" Cole asks as they walk down the street, Cole greets some people that recognize him, but his attention is on Mark.

Mark doesn't answer, opting to blink at Cole instead, as if he didn’t understand. "You were also frowning at the person who gave us the bags. Why?" Cole tries to be more specific. Mark nods; he knows now who Cole means.

"I wasn't upset at that person. I was confused." He looks at Cole between the several paper bags on his arms.

Mark frowns and pouts when confused. How cute.

"Why?"

"Since you take care of the animals from everyone in this town, I thought you didn't have to give human money for the food. In my pack, we trade services and objects. Since you work for the community, then you receive something in return. I’ve heard some tales about humans, but I still don't understand how you behave.”

Cole can't help the chuckle he lets out; he can sympathize with that thought. At least both of them are out of the loop when it comes to the other, constantly confused by each other’s behavior. "I get paid for taking care of the animals, and with that money, I buy food."

"In my pack, alpha distributes the food to every shifter that works for the community. And we all work," Mark explains.

"Well, that sounds fair." Fairer than whatever humans have going on, if Cole is honest.

But Cole doesn’t want to discuss economics or politics with Mark. When they arrive at the apartment, Mark has many questions, though. "Did you have to pay for your house too?" Mark asks. "With human money?" He seems to be displeased by that concept.

"Oh no, I inherited this house. The building was my grandfather's veterinary clinic. I only took after the business after he passed away,” he explains, putting the key in the lock to open the door. “Back in city, though, I did pay the rent of the apartment I lived in”. Mark squints his eyes, but he doesn’t comment. “It was a little place, way smaller than this and far more expensive.”

They take off their shoes at the entrance, and Cole grabs some of the grocery bags from Mark’s hands. The werewolf frowns, but he doesn’t say anything.

"After my grandfather's death, he left the veterinary clinic to me, and I decided to move here," Cole continues talking. They start to arrange the food in the small kitchen- well, Cole starts placing everything where it needs to be, and Mark copies him. "In city, I was an assistant in a larger clinic. Here, I have to take care of every detail from the clinic myself, but I'm my own boss. I wouldn't have the opportunity to do that in City since I'm a very young doctor."

Cole catches Mark nodding, so he doesn't stop talking. "Coming here meant leaving a lot behind, but I thought it was a good opportunity. My father wanted me to sell the clinic, but I convinced him I should keep it, and now I'm here," he pretty much summarizes the last two years of his life. "Living alone in such a quiet, monotonous place gets kind of lonely and boring from time to time," he admits. "Especially because back in City - in the big city, everything is fast. I was running to get my degree, a job, my specialization, and then suddenly, I found myself here, and it was an abrupt pause. A good one, sure, but- there was certainly a shift in my life."

Silence settles between them as they finish putting the groceries inside the fridge and the pantry, and Cole notices Mark is blinking at him, speechless, confused.

Cole covers his face, suddenly embarrassed. "I must have made you so dizzy with all those words."

Mark shakes his head quickly, but then he grimaces. "Well, yes, you did confuse me. But it's okay- you-'' he stops himself and only speaks once their eyes meet. "You can explain what those words are to me if you want."

Cole smiles faintly at his suggestion. They open all the snacks and stay up until late at night. Cole talks about his life back in City, and he laughs when Mark admits he finds the concept of universities stupid.

The first days go by like that, with Mark and Cole talking until late at night, eating snacks, playing board games, and comparing how different their lives are. With Mark glaring at the pan when Cole fries an egg for him and with Mark growling lightly at the dogs that come to the veterinary clinic and Cole laughing at him. Cole feels at ease.