“Avilyna, care for some waffles? Nothing like protein and sugar to fuel our day in this wild world, right?”
Kai grabs his plate and strolls to the wooden table, owning the place, his presence already thickening the air. I glance at Wyll’s overloaded plate.
“Well, it looks like your goal is to become diabetic.”
He smirks without missing a beat. “Nah, darling. You’ll learn fast. Lycans are built differently. And with all the training ahead of you, trust me, you’ll need every bite.”
I arch a brow. Unimpressed, but too tired to argue about metabolism. “Mmm. I’ll take your word for it. But what I really need is a big-ass iced caramel latte and two waffles, please.” Wyll looks at me like I just spoke another language. I wait a minute, but the clueless look he keeps showing me tells me that there’s no hope.
“Coffee,” I clarify.
“Ah! That I can do. What’s thatlatte? Milk? That sounds horrible.” He says it with every ounce of disgust.
“Don’t yuck someone else’s yum, especially when you don’t even know what it is, Wyll Lindir.”
The cowboy raises both hands in surrender. “Yes, ma’am. One suspicious sugar potion coming right up.”
As I reach for the plate, a strange prickling crawls up the back of my neck, faint but unmistakable, a kind of sixth sense. I turn, slowly, and sure enough, Kai’s watching me. Eyes locked, unblinking. There’s a tension in the air, a rope pulled tight, and neither of us is willing to let go first.
“I’m surprised,” he says, voice low, a little too smooth. It cuts through the hum of the room, and I feel it down my spine. A flicker of something I refuse to name. But whatever he was about to build with that moment, he wrecks it instantly. “Who knew you were capable of manners?”
My scowl is immediate, classic Kai, two steps forward, three back. I step closer. Reaching him, I let my shadow stretch across the table, leaning in just enough to feel the shift in the air between us. For once, I’m the one looming over him,and Irelishit.
“Oh, believe me,” I say, voice low and laced with a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes, “I’m perfectly capable of being a good girl.” I pause, letting the words settle. “But unfortunately for you, that’s something you’ll never get to experience.” Without breaking our stare, I dip my finger into the swirl of whipped cream on his plate, then bring it to my lips.
Sucking on it, slow, deliberate.
His Adam’s apple bobs.
The only tell that he isn’t as indifferent as he wants me to think. That will teach him not to fuck with me. I offer a slow, playful smile, unvoluntarily biting my lip before I turn on my heel. Basking, for once, in the weight of silence that follows. That rare, satisfying moment when Kai doesn’t have a comeback right away.
But, of course, it doesn’t last.
“That’s fine with me, Princess,” he drawls, voice cool enough to cut glass. “I’ve never been the type to care about delicate things.”
Heat creeps up my neck before I can stop it, damn him.
I push forward and join Wyll at the counter. He hands me my plate and a suspicious, cold brownish beverage, with a knowing look, one that says he saweverything.
“Oh, and next time you go into my room without permission?” I turn just slightly, just enough to make sure Kai hears me. “I’ll cut your balls off.”
He laughs.
The fucking audacity.
But the sound is soft, deep, and unexpectedly luminous. It slips into the space between us, warm and uninvited. The kind of laugh that feels almost out of place coming from someone as rough around the edges. And then it’s gone, fleeting; he clearly doesn’t allow himself to do it often. I shake it off, irritation rising to smother the odd flutter in my stomach.
“You’re a reallittle terror, aren’t you?” Kai says, still eating like we’re just having brunch on a weekend. “But to do that, you’d have to notice when I’m there.” He shrugs, casually. “Maybe next time, I’ll let you know.” He leans in, sinking his teeth into a strip of bacon, but it’s not the food that makes me tense; it’s the look.
That cold, calculated gaze he pins me with.
And from the way he’s staring, I’m his next bite.
A loud knock echoes, the sound lingers, stretching out in the stillness of the manor. Without a word, Kai licks his left thumb before slipping out of the kitchen, leaving us only for a minute. When he returns, he’s followed by a very animated Nalaka. She launches herself into a lecture. Hands on her hips, full of concern and annoyance at the boys. Chastising Kai for not notifying her sooner, insisting that he should have just brought me to her room. It’s the first time I’ve seen Nalaka so…human. The edge of authority is still there, leaving no doubt on her Corporal title, but this care. This fierce protectiveness catchesme off guard. Strangely, it stirs warmth inside me, cracking a small layer of frost.
“Thank Kvirr, you’re okay!” Nalaka exclaims, her voice softening as she pulls me into a warm embrace. It's a jarring contrast to the guarded, unapproachable demeanour I’ve gotten from her so far. I can’t help but relax into it, just for a second.
“Why didn’t you come get me?”
