“Theo…that’s who I’m supposed to be helping in the garden.”
Plating the scrambled eggs and bacon, Steel placed it down in front of Cain before handing him a fork and knife. “Yeah, Theo has started a garden and can use some help. What do you want to drink? I have juice, water, coffee.”
“Water’s fine,” Cain muttered, staring at the huge pile of food in front of him. It reminded him of the portions he got in prison, but just like then, he couldn’t eat that much no matter how hungry he was. He’d quickly realized, though, that none of the other inmates had a problem devouring every last scrap of food on their plates and finally figured it was because they were shifters. And though no one ever confirmed that assumption, it now appeared that it was correct.
Setting the bottle of water down on the island, Steel saw the look of dismay on Cain as he looked at the food in front of him. Curious, he asked, “Is something wrong?”
Shaking his head, Cain picked up his fork and started to eat slowly, hoping it would allow him to clean his plate. He didn’t want to start off by insulting the Alpha Mate by not eating everything, but unless his stomach grew ten times larger in the next few minutes, he was afraid that was exactly what he was going to do.If only there was…Pausing, Cain asked, hopefully, “Is there a dog in the pack?”
His brow furrowed as Steel thought about the question and the reason behind it. Not coming up with one, he said, “No…why do you ask?”
“No reason…just wondered if someone had a pet,” Cain mumbled before he shoveled another forkful of eggs into his mouth. Luck definitely wasn’t on his side as it had been in prison. In there, he’d given the food he couldn’t eat to another inmate in exchange for protection. It worked well until his cellmate decided Cain belonged to him and made sure his protector knew it. From that point on, he spent his days avoiding his cellmate the best he could, but at night, when the cell doors were closed and locked, Cain lived in a hell few could ever imagine.
Pouring coffee into a mug, Steel thought about Cain’s answer, sorting out the possible meanings, but none of them made any sense. Sitting down across from him, he sipped his coffee while surreptitiously studying him. It was obvious something was the matter because Cain was eating much too slowly for a man who’d previously said he was so hungry he could eat a cow.
Keeping his smile at that comment to himself, Steel remembered when he was young and had said the same thing to one of their parents’ guests. That guest was a human, too. And just like that, he figured out why Cain was hesitating when it came to eating. Early in his business career, he’d failed to close a deal with a human and couldn’t figure out why. His father had laughed when he told him about it and gave him advice that he’d obviously forgotten until now: When dealing with humans, think like a human.
Now, taking a fresh look at Cain’s reaction, it became crystal clear to Steel. Getting up, he got another plate and said, “I forgot I was going to have something to eat, too. I’ll just make some more for me.”
“No!” Cain exclaimed, quickly shoving his plate across to Steel. “I mean, you don’t have to do that…I have plenty…more than I can eat…here, have some of mine.”
Smiling, Steel grabbed a spoon and scooped a big portion off Cain’s plate. “Is that okay? I can put some back.”
Shaking his head vigorously, Cain snatched his plate back before Steel could return any, saying, “No, no, that’s fine.”
Steel sat back down and began to eat, satisfied he had solved the problem, but he would have to tell Dakota and Theo about making smaller portions for Cain, just as they did for Sofia.
~/~/~/~/~
Brian had left after helping move all the luggage to Kieran and Logan’s room, leaving Reif to say their goodbyes to Remy, who promised to return soon with his mate. After thanking the Ruler for his gift, Reif watched Remy disappear before heading back to the nursery where he knew he’d find his mate.
Walking down the hall, Reif pondered Brian’s reaction when Kieran had told them the purpose of his and Logan’s visit. Though it wasn’t obvious to the others, he’d picked up on it immediately, but couldn’t figure out what triggered it. Was it the length of the Shaman’s stay? Or maybe it was his meeting with the Alpha of the English and Welsh Wolves. After thinking it over, he’d bet on the latter and, if he was correct, then why? As far back as he could remember, Brian never mentioned the Alpha nor did he regard him as dangerous when Reif had asked him about potential threats.
Reif entered the nursery and just as he suspected, Brian was sitting on the floor next to the Nessies. Moving quietly over to his mate, Reif sat down across from himand looked down at their sons. “Still sleeping I see,” he whispered.
“Ay…they are.”
Shifting his gaze to Brian, Reif studied him, noting the tension in his body and, though his mate was trying to hide it, he knew Brian too well for it to escape him. “That was a surprise wasn’t it?” he murmured.
Glancing quickly at Reif before returning his gaze to their sons, Brian asked, “What was?”
“The gift from Remy.”
“Ay.”
“Really nice of him to do so.”
“Ay.”
“Takes a lot of worry off of us.”
“Ay.”
“I thanked him for getting the Shaman here in time.”
“Guid.”
Reif mentally rolled his eyes at Brian’s stubbornness. It was one of the things about his mate that had amused him on occasion, but now it was just frustrating. Deciding he’d had enough of Brian’s one-word answers, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me there was an Alpha of the English and Welsh Wolves? My fathers could have paid him a visit.”
