Declan was saying something important as my brain frizzled.
You have to understand that she thinks her cooking drove my father further and further away until it all broke.Those maddening circles on my back didn’t let up as I listened and shook the eggs.
Are you serious? Did he think she wasn’t good enough? Is that why I’m getting all this blowback?
Declan sighed.That she was too invested in it. In her magic. The Old Magic rules here and it fosters obsession. She thinks he couldn’t handle her being Godd-touched and the result of their battle drove the Old Magic into hiding.
My indignation on her behalf rose up into my throat. That was why men never made it on my to-do list.He couldn’t handle a few eggs and left you magicless?
Declan slowly shook his head.He was an asshole, Honey.And I… I… was the one who made sure he got gone. It was…
He trailed off as I waited for the rest of that sentence until the scent of burning eggs hit my nose.
“Son of a rotten kumquat!” I almost hurled the pan across the kitchen, my hand clawed around it until my knuckles went white.Sorry. Tell me later.
I was sorry. I wanted to know why Declan carried that sad look in his eyes but I also wanted to get us out of here as soon as possible. The wolf crew had long since left, the sun in the late afternoon sky, taunting me with my lack ofprogress. Declan left me to start again, sitting with his Momma. His flashing eyes said they were communicating mentally.
I set the next plate on the table and Anise tucked in. I was already calculating how to improve when I heard, “Acceptable.”
My body didn’t know how to react other than to shake, but I clamped down on that weakness, afraid they would see too much. No one got this worked up about eggs.
“You’ve been in here all day. Get out of my kitchen. I need to prepare dinner for Marco.”
Declan quirked a smile. “Another lover, Momma?”
“Good thing you don’t get a say, bardeva.”
“I’ll clean up,” I volunteered, even though my legs screamed in protest.
“What do you think I have so many children for? Briggs! Cosomo! Eilie!”
She yelled into the house and I didn’t have to guess why they came running so fast. “Find something else to do so I can have my kitchen back.”
Well, that was a dismissal if I ever heard one. I might not have won breakfast of the year, but I wasn’t kicked out of Nightfell. That would have to be enough for today.
Chapter 10
Declan
It took every fiber of restraint not to commit matricide. I didn’t care if we were fake mates, or half mates, or maybe mates at the moment. That brief kiss felt tangible enough that no one would harm my Honey. Momma had pushed Fallon too far. I saw the tremble in her limbs she tried to hide, the sag of her back. I sensed her exhaustion through the thin mate bond. Momma didn’t understand how to encourage Fallon. The woman would literally work herself to death to get it right but she wasn’t learning. I didn’t like growling at my mother through our mental communication, but I wasn’t above reminding her of my obligations to Nightfell to get her to comply. She recognized that she should show her throat to me.
She might have thinned her smile, but Momma did the right thing and ended the “lesson,” even if she slid in abit of homework. I tamped down my anger at both of them for that and put an excited smile on my face. “I get to reveal my room now. Since the hellions haven’t stripped it clean of all my good stuff.”
Was it an excuse to get her into my space? Absolutely. Did I need her covered with my scent, drenched in my blankets–safe, warm, relaxed? Definitely. Though I encouraged her, it itched that she didn’t sleep with me. The Old Magic returning, filling me back up, demanded it. And I just missed her.
It was a struggle not to scoop her into my arms and hide her away from all trouble. I wanted this chance for Fallon to grow, but the selfish part of me said she only needed to be snuggled into my bed beneath me. The urge to mate fully had never been stronger and I was having a hard time stuffing it back down, especially when this was probably my first and last opportunity to convince Fallon we should be together.
I didn’t want to mess this up since blurting out we were mates hadn’t gone over great on the way here. What if she said something that tore the bond apart? Watching that happen to Momma and my father had been bad enough, and that had been on purpose. I would never forget the blood on my knuckles, or the hatred in his eyes. The consequences of their break had changed Nightfell for years. No signs appeared as to how the Old Magic was treating us with half a bond.
That was probably for the best. I wanted to explainin my own time. After she was more used to the mates thing, more sure of her magic. Maybe when she was a helpless puddle of lust in my arms. A wolf could dream. A look of curiosity spread across her face as I pushed open the door to my bedroom.
Since our individual rooms were sometimes the only space where we found some respite from the sheer size of my family, Momma had made sure that each of them were large enough for a small sitting room, a fireplace, and an attached water closet so we weren’t fighting over them. She said it was for her sanity, but looking back, it was a kind thing to do for a bunch of feral children. We all picked our preferred colors and my room remained decked out in pine green with the gold pillows I’d sewn myself.
I’d forgotten a lot of skills when I spent years as the Brothers of Zophiel’s guard dog. I still grappled with that easy role. Easy to fulfill and easy to be. Just like I slipped into becoming Evie’s best friend or Ward’s buddy. Simpler than what awaited me at home.
While I was lost in memory, Fallon stood on a chair, touching the books rimming the top of the wall, all the way around the room. “This is quite a collection of books.”
I couldn’t help it. I put a hand on her thigh to steady her and fought against the sensation of collapse when I was only sinking my fingers into her soft flesh. “Thanks.”Hopefully, it didn’t come out as distracted as it was.
