Just like yesterday, there are three wolves whose job it seems to be to serve the food. They’re different faces than yesterday, so I can only assume this is a chore that rotates between the entire camp. Today, there’s a bearded, heavyset man stirring a large caldron of porridge, a smaller man carving large slices off an enormous roast bird, and a tall red-haired woman piling wooden bowls and utensils into teetering stacks along a rough-hewn wooden table. All three of them shoot me sidelong glances as I approach, their expressions unreadable.
“Morning.” I flash a smile and reach for one of the wooden bowls. “Would you mind if I just…”
I don’t have a chance to finish before the larger man grins widely, grabs a bowl, ladles some porridge into it, and tries to shove it into my hands. It all happens in a few seconds, and I just barely have time to remember that Fox told me not to take food from anyone. I jump backward, and the bowl clatters on the ground, the porridge splattering across my boots.
I brace myself for a scolding about wasting food, but the woman laughs, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Serves you right,” she says out loud, rolling her eyes at the man who tried to hand me the bowl. “Clean that up.”
The man’s cheeks redden as he comes around to clean up the mess. Meanwhile, the woman retrieves another bowl and ladles steaming porridge into it. Instead of handing it to me, she places the bowl down on the table. “You can take it now,” she mumbles.
Something in the woman’s eyes feels trustworthy, so I take the bowl with a quiet “thank you.”
She just nods in response, so I linger for a moment, hoping she might say something else. Besides Kai, she’s the only one who’s even bothered to speak to me. But the woman doesn’t look at me again as she resumes stacking the rest of the bowls.
I choose an empty log on the right side of the bonfire, as far away from the rest of the wolves as I can manage and dig into my breakfast. “At least the food here is good,” I mutter, offering a spoonful of cinnamon scented porridge to Eugene.
“Is that a squirrel?”
I glance up, startled by someone speaking out loud, and twist around. A vaguely familiar blonde man is walking toward me from in between the many rows of tents. It’s Fox’s friend from yesterday, the one who told me that they usually expect soldiers to die. I wrack my brain trying to remember his name. Lars? No, Luka. That was it.
“Morning,” Luka says cheerfully as he reaches me. “Seriously, is that a squirrel?”
“Oh, er, yes. His name is Eugene.”
“Never seen anyone feed one of them by hand before. Is he friendly?”
I start to say yes, but break off as Luka plops down on the log next to me and reaches out to scratch Eugene on the top of the head. I glance at him sideways, unsure. He seems nice enough—something in his easy smile reminds me of Jett—but I’m not certain if I’m even supposed to be talking to him. Fox never exactly gave me a handbook on wolf pack etiquette.
Clearly reading my hesitation, he says, “I was introduced, remember?”
“Yes, I remember meeting you.”
“Then why the frown?” he asks, grinning.
“Sorry,” I say, fidgeting with my spoon. “I, I mean,we, uh, don’t live with shifters normally. I’m still trying to remember all the rules.”
“Makes sense.” He nods in understanding. “If your mate introduces you to another male directly he’s allowed to talk to you.”
Oh. Oh,I understand now, and actually now that I think of it, I remember Fox introducing Kai to me too. Before then, Kai had ignored me. That explains a lot.
“Am I allowed to talk back?” I ask.
“You’re allowed to do whatever you want, it’s us that’s supposed to ignore you.” He grins. “It sounds stupid, but it’s actually a good rule. Prevents a lot of fights from breaking out. Shifters can be really territorial.”
“Got it.” I smile in relief. “And I understand. Fae are possessive too, especially about their bonds.”
“What’s a bond?”
“A mate. We call them soul-bonds, but I’m told it’s the same thing.”
“Hmmm,” he looks genuinely interested. “Is it rare for you to find them like it is for us?”
“I don’t know about rare, but certainly not everyone forms a bond. I know several bonded couples though, Fox and I live with a few.”
Luka looks confused. “You live with a lot of other Fae?”
“Well, yes. There’s always people at the manor now, all our friends, but also the servants and the soldiers and sometimes the rest of the court.”
Luka’s eyebrows shoot up, his mouth forming a small ‘o’ of surprise. I suddenly wonder if I’ve said too much about our home. Maybe Fox wouldn’t want me sharing details about the manor and our court. I clear my throat and pivot. “Are you hunting more wyvern today?” I ask, stirring my porridge.
