During my heat, Kaelen tried to keep me fed, but it proved to be an impossible task. Now that I was lucid again, my body reminded me how hungry I was.
“Breakfast? Isn’t that a bit odd for nighttime?” I asked.
“Nonsense,” he scoffed, placing the platter on the edge of the bed and sitting behind me.
He positioned me on his lap, feeding me a piece of bacon followed by a few blueberries. I licked his fingers, smirking at his unhinged noises. His desire flared in our bond and I shimmied in his lap, grinding on his dick.
A sting radiated over my thigh as he swatted me, making me squeak.
“Be good, Omega,” he said, his voice almost a bark. “You need to eat.”
I huffed, but he wasn’t wrong.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to a blackish cake in the corner.
“Black pudding. My favorite. Try it.”
Those large fingers broke off a piece, bringing it to my lips. My nose twitched, unsure about the coppery scent. Tentatively, I closed my lips around it, taking a small bite that I immediately regretted.
An earthy nuttiness tainted with the tart tang of blood lingered on my tongue even after I swallowed it. Spinning in his lap, I glared at him as if he had betrayed me. This was supposed to be his favorite.
I felt as though I had licked sausage off a lamppost.
“You like this?”
“It’s an Irish delicacy. We had this every Saturday morning growing up.”
“You must have ruined your tastebuds,” I said, finding the water bottle on the table and draining it to rid the taste lingering there.
“You’ll learn to love it.”
“Doubt it,” I grumbled, scarfing down all the strawberries to make the taste disappear.
After spending hours lecturing me on the importance of black and white pudding in an Irish diet, Kaelen pulled me down onto his chest. A fondness hung around his words as he told me more about what it had been like to grow up in Ireland.
They’d lived in a quiet village surrounded by rolling valleys. Every year, they celebrated Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane—something Kaelen missed. His mother had been the one to organize all the holiday events when they moved to Boston.
After she passed, no one else took up the mantle to continue with their traditions. I made a mental note to poke Liam about it. I had a feeling he’d be more than willing to help his new sister breathe some life back into their home.
While I didn’t see myself ever enjoying black pudding, I was willing to try the white one. Everything else sounded lovely. I’d never traveled overseas before. Ireland sounded like a beautiful place, and I wanted to know everything about Kaelen.
Where he’d grown up was a big part of him. Of his family. My family now.
“Maybe you can take me there someday to visit? I’d like to experience those things with you.”
Flecks of silver moonlight glittered in his green eyes, his hands bracketing my face.
“I would love nothing more,” he said.
At some point, I fell asleep, drifting off to the steady sound of Kaelen’s decadent purr. Bright morning sun spilled in, pushing against my eyes. I grumbled, burrowing further into my alpha, wiggling when I scented him.
“Grumpy, omega,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. “You’re cute when you’re still tired.”
“And you’re brave to poke a testy omega.”
“If I die, tell my men I fought valiantly,” he said, his smirk narrowing his eyes.
I shoved at him, annoyed when he didn’t budge.
