Page 58 of Understanding Fate

Between Elaine coming home at all hours of the night with random men, foster homes where I couldn’t trust the other kids or the adults, and then as an adult who has been kidnapped and nearly trafficked, relaxing is not in my wheelhouse.

Maybe it can be.

Maybe in a world where I’m Awakened, where Cain is by my side, and where I have a wolf to help protect myself from the scum in this world.

Cain’s arms squeeze tightly around me, and I feel his lips on the back of my shoulder.

“Morning, Firefly,” he says, his voice gravel-filled.

“Pretty sure it’s more like afternoon,” I say, squinting at the curtains, which only allow a few rays to break through the gap at the center, but by the shadows, the sun is pretty high up.

“Then I guess you don’t want breakfast,” he says, but his playful tone reveals his intention.

“I didn’t say that. Coffee would be amazing. Eggs and bacon would be great, too,” I say, rolling myself to face him. “That is if you're offering,” I finish and press my lips to his, holding the moment a bit longer than usual.

I could get used to this.

“Keep this up, and I might just have you for breakfast,” he says, nipping at my ear before untangling himself from me.

“If there were already coffee, that would certainly sound appealing,” I say, snuggling into the spot he vacated and basking in his scent.

The sound of his chuckling echoes off the hallway as he walks out to the main living area and into the kitchen. Pans clanging on the stove and water running lull me back to asnooze-filled sleep until the sizzling of bacon hits my ears along with its mouthwatering aroma.

Rolling over, I walk myself into the bathroom, taking a few minutes to use the restroom and freshen up with the tooth and hair brush we bought yesterday. When I feel a bit more human, I saunter out to join him, pausing only to grab his t-shirt from the day before.

Walking over to the small table outside the open kitchen reminds me of the last time we had breakfast together in my apartment. It’s like that moment is frozen in my memory as the ‘us’ before. Before Hudson took me. Before Deacon tried to Awaken me. Before I found out the truth, everyone had been hiding from me.

While I know we will never be those people again, part of me wants the normalcy we had in those moments as I made pancakes from a box and talked about plans for the day.

Could we have that again?

“Scrambled, alright?” he says over his shoulder as the steam wafts up in front of him.

“Perfect,” I say, scanning the counter for the coffee maker I’d seen yesterday and seeing it already sitting with a full pot.

Nectar of the Gods.

I make a bee-line for it, pulling down two mugs from the cupboard above and filling them both. I grab milk and a few heaping spoonfuls of sugar to add to mine, and I leave Cain’s black, just the disgusting way he likes it.

Walking back to the table with both mugs in my hands, I see him placing the eggs onto plates with bacon and buttered toast, and my heart melts at how very domestic it all feels.

“Hear anything from Dante today?” I ask as he sets a plate in front of me.

“No, he hasn’t reached out. He won’t unless he has to. It’s not safe if they know where we are, so I’ve been keeping myshields up, so I would only feel his request; not his message. But none have come through. I’m hoping no news is good news,” he says before taking a bite.

“Are the LLC going to punish them for me leaving?” I ask, not sure how Cain taking me away yesterday left things. He had mentioned that the LLC had officially ruled 3-2 that I should be returned to the Reno Pack, and my DNA puts them as my “home pack” despite me never knowing anything about them.

“That's what they are working through right now. The LLC doesn’t take kindly to insubordination, and me taking you instead of allowing you to be handed over will certainly ruffle some feathers. We just have to hope Dante can negotiate a trade with Marlo,” he says, his jaw clenching as his wheels turn.

“And if he can’t?” I say, scooping a bite of eggs into my mouth.

“Then we will be at war with Reno. They’ll attack, and they’ll have the LLC’s backing,” Cain says, leveling his eyes on me with concern. “Dante will do whatever he can to avoid that.”

“How?”

“Well, the last night there, we discussed some options with our attorney, Noah Daniels. He plans to appeal the decision on the grounds of bias,” he says, shoveling his last bite of eggs into his mouth before continuing. “We hope that will give us a better chance at a fairer group to plead our case to. We need people who understand that your situation is unique, and because of that, allowing you to be with your Mate rather than your home pack is the correct choice.”

“Will it be hard to convince them?”

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