I’m still standing with my forehead against the glass, appreciating the beautiful view, when a door snicks shut behind me. The scent of savory meat draws my gaze to Aren.
He sets a tray down on the small table near the unlit stone fireplace. It’s too early and warm for a fire, so he doesn’t light it.
There’s a large plate with steak, baked potatoes loaded with butter, crumbled bacon, and chives, along with fried chicken. Two glasses of water accompany the meal.
“Sorry I was gone so long. It took longer than I expected to fry the chicken.”
“No one needed to fry me chicken.” Though my empty belly appreciates it.
“I have on good authority that my mate’s favorite food is fried chicken, and I aim to please. Come here.” He holds a hand toward me.
I walk over to him, moving to sit opposite him, but he pulls me into his lap.
“More caveman behavior?”
“Yes.” He touches his lips to mine. “And I am not the least bit sorry about it.” He cuts into the steak and forks a piece of it, offering it to me.
It’s not the first time he’s done this. Before, I didn’t have my memories, and I didn’t understand the significance of his insisting I eat first. Now I do.
I recall running around the dining room in my childhood home, a spacious room with heavy wooden tables and long, scratched benches. Meal times were always lively, filled with laughter and people moving between tables.
My dad would eat first, then my mom, and the rest of the pack.
Hierarchy is important to shifters. Even as a child, I was aware of those silent, unspoken rules. As a baby, I’d seen how the world worked, even if I didn’t have a clear idea about why yet.
He holds the fork to my mouth.
“The Alpha always eats first,” I tell him.
“Open,” he gently orders me.
Stomach grumbling, I open my mouth and let him feed me.
“Instead of apologizing to you like I should have,” Aren forks more food and offers it to me once I’ve chewed and swallowed. “I tried to show you that I was sorry.”
“Like wanting to bring me a dead deer?”
Amusement filters across his gaze. “The dead deer my wolf thought would impress you.”
“So why feed me now?”
He cuts more steak and offers me a bite. I take the fork from him and feed him instead.
Amber eyes flare with heat. “I want to show you that I can provide for you. That if there’s anything you need, I can give it to you.”
“You realize that saying three words would have been easier than hunting down a deer, killing it, dragging it back, and giving it to me like you’d intended?”
He shakes his head. “I’m used to being right, to people coming to me to apologize. Actions have always meant more to me than what people say. Part of that is because of who I am. Part of it is seeing the way Dania’s mate made so many promises,said all the right things, then fucked off and abandoned her and Leo to struggle. I lost faith in words, and so did she when she took him at his word, and Leo nearly died.”
I hadn’t realized Dania and Leo had such a sad past.
“You should have told me…” My voice trails off when I realize why he wouldn’t. “We’re going to have to work at this, aren’t we?”
“This partner thing?” He grins at me. “I had in mind I’d toss you over my shoulder, throw you into my bed, and convince you to love me.”
I laugh. “AndIthought the partner I’d wind up with would know exactly how to talk to me.”
We have our own ways of thinking, of doing, and of looking at the world.
