“You’re our guest—” Lovel started to wave her away.
“Please.I have been catered to in some way for most of my life, and I’d like to feel needed.”
Both the women stared at her, their gazes bright with curiosity.
Amira nodded.“In the cabinet beside the sink are glasses.Will you get the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator and fill it for us?And an extra one for Faolan.”
“I can do that.”Morlie followed the instructions and did her part to get the meal on the table.
Soon, the bowl, a platter of orange slices, and a plate of peanut butter cookies smelled so good that Morlie’s mouth watered as the two women worked in tandem to place everything on the table.
“I am going to run this sandwich and drink to Faolan.Please don’t wait for me.”Amira rushed through an archway where Morlie could see in the middle of the room sat a strange table covered in fuzzy green fabric at the top with multi-colored balls dispersed on it.
“Take a seat anywhere,” Lovel stood by the table and waited for her to claim a spot.
Morlie sat in the seat that placed her back to the window.She knew she'd chosen right when she felt the soft breeze on her neck and smelled the earthy scent from the woods.Lovel sat across from her and left a seat between them.
By the time they had served the food on all the plates, Amira returned and sat between Morlie and Lovel.
“I hope you like fresh kale and roasted rabbit, Morlie.”Amira smiled and picked up an orange slice from the plate Lovel had prepared for her.
“Rabbit.Ah.”Morlie nodded as she brought a forkful of the meat, kale, and tomatoes to her nose.There was a sweet, metallic scent she picked up from the rabbit.Her stomach began to growl, reminding her it had been hours since she had last eaten.Digging in, she enjoyed the savory and fresh taste of the salad.
“I guess she likes it,” Lovel teased, popping two pieces of the toasted, crunchy bread into her mouth.
Morlie’s cheeks heated as she realized she’d consumed more than half her salad without breathing.“Oh, gracious.Please forgive my manners.”
Amira laughed.“Evidently, you have never eaten at a table full of male Lupine.”She held her hands up.“Keep any limbs out of the way you don’t want eaten.”
Morlie laughed, recalling her dinners in the great hall with the Drahk; it was similar.“Well, before I forget my manners, thank you both.”
“Once you settle in, you can have us over for a meal,” Amira picked up her drink.
“Promise.”Morlie agreed.
The three of them ate for a moment in companionable silence.
Morlie set her fork down after finishing a second plate, which she didn’t need much encouragement to fill.She had a lot of questions, most of them she wanted to bring up with Chanin, but there were some she hoped Amira and Lovel could shed some light on.“So, besides Minsi, was the entire pack shocked that I’m Chanin’s mate?”
Lovel continued to eat her second serving of salad.
Amira glanced at Morlie with a shadow of sadness in her light green eyes.“I am sorry for what Minsi did to you.The attack was uncalled for.”
“I didn’t expect it, but I’ll deal with it,” Morlie brought her glass to her mouth and sipped the tart, honey-sweet drink.
“She’s always been a bitch and has had way too much power in the territory.”Lovel shoved her plate away.“Because everyone thought Chanin would claim her one day, they let her get away with it.”Lovel let out a growl.
Amira reached over and placed a hand on Lovel’s arm.“I once watched a video in the archive center before coming of a woman named Isabel Allende, a Chilean-American writer who stated in her talk on modern feminism before the catastrophes, ‘What I fear most is power with impunity.I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.’I think that is a fitting description of Minsi.”
Morlie could agree with what she had seen so far of Minsi.“Is it because Chanin declared his intentions toward her...before he found out about me?”
A large part of her didn’t want to know the answer.She didn’t want to hear that Chanin had a love for someone else.Even though the mark drew them, she still didn’t know how she would take it if he wanted another.
Hell, no.Morlie’s inner voice screamed.
Her gaze rested on the two women, and again, she wondered how it all worked for the three of them.But didn’t ask.
“Not in the year I have been here.”Amira glanced at Lovel.
