Page 80 of Mercy & Her Devils

Kai clenches his jaw but he doesn’t deny it. “Antonio, no more early morning rock parties or—”

“You’ll turn into a grumpy bear…?” Antonio starts passing out the plates onto the table.

I can’t help it. I giggle.

Kai’s lips quirk. “Funny is it, lass?”

I remember Prince Artio.

I giggle again.

Now, Kai quirks his brow. “Aye, gang up against the poor Alpha. It’s better than shaking in fear. How did you sleep?”

I smile.

I didn’t think that an Alpha would make it easy for me to smile at them, after my broken bond. But he’s speaking to me in the same way that Thomas would do.

It’s a shock.

“Better than I have in a long time,” I admit. “Thanks for the nest. I hope that it was okay that we slept in the bed. I wasn’t sure. There were so many snuggly pillows on it, which I adored. But I know that may have been a mistake.”

Kai’s brow scrunches in confusion. “Why wouldn’t it be okay…?” Then his hand balls into a fist. “Antonio told me about you two, while he was working his mission. And if I ever see that ex-Alpha of yours, you’ll see more than a grumpy bear.” He takes a deep breath to steady himself. “You have permission to sleep in beds, use anything you like to make a nest, and ask me for what you need. If you don’t have something that’ll help, then I’ll order it. You can eat the food in the kitchen whenever you’re hungry and rest when you like. None of this kneeling nonsense. No one touches you without permission and everything happens with your consent.”

He appears to be checking things off that go directly against the Institute’s conditioning.

Lark exchanges a wide eyed glance with me.

My chest is tight.

Does Kai mean it? Is this a trick?

It feels like a dream to be part of a pack like this.

In fact, what he’s offering is everything that I dreamed about when I was a kid.

“You’ve short circuited their Traditional minds now,” Antonio scolds.

Kai looks chastened. “I’m doing my best, lad. I want to make them understand that I’ll meet their needs. They’re the center of my world now. But it’s not like I expected to suddenly have the two most beautiful Omegas I’ve ever seen or scented suddenly in my pack.”

I flush both at the most beautiful and in my pack.

He said it so easily, and I’m not sure he realizes either that he did or how obsessed he already sounds.

He’s all in, and having that level of intensity focused on me, is as overwhelming as stepping out under the open sky.

“Come on, sit down before it gets cold,” Antonio calls. “Kai is an amazing cook.”

Kai offers me his arm like a true gentleman and walks me to the table.

I take a deep breath of the delicious scents, both sweet and savory, which are wafting from the spread.

My eyes widen.

What have we done to deserve this reward?

Fletcher would only allow me treats like this sparingly. Yet this type of lavish breakfast is simply being gifted to Lark and me.

The food is overflowing on exquisite porcelain plates that are decorated with stags like the ones on Kai’s tie.

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