Page 24 of Knot That Delicate

I shook my head. “Nope, see, that’s the fancy cookware that Asher uses, that I have been banned from using because, apparently, I use too high heat and I use the wrong utensils to stir things. And, apparently, I’m an all-around monster, so I’m only allowed to use this pan,” I said, holding up my designated pan that Asher got me for this exact reason.

She laughed. “Sounds like you’re a heathen,” she teased.

“Yeah, but I'm the best kind of heathen, I assure you.” I opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. “How many eggs do you want?”

“Oh, one is plenty,” she said, shaking her head.

I paused, raising my eyebrows as I gave her a disbelieving look. “You’ll have three,” I said firmly. There’s no way in hell one egg was enough for her. Sure, I was making some fancy toast to go with it, but that wasn't enough protein to hold her over.

I paused as I turned back to the frying pan, moving so I was looking over at her again. “Actually, do you only want one egg because they make you feel nauseated? Because some people don’t like eggs. Or is it just your appetite?”

“I usually just have one,” she said. “I’m used to small portions.”

I cocked my head to the side. It made sense that she was used to small portions. She was tiny, after all. “Yes, well, the person who gave you those small portions was starving you. You need more protein. I can do several eggs, if you don’t mind that, or I am happy to do one egg and maybe make you a protein shake? I know for a fact Dylan’s got some fancy flavours of protein shakes here. I’m pretty sure he has a birthday cake one, a caramel one, and a strawberry one. He likes his protein shakes to be ridiculously sweet.” I laughed.

Juniper bit her plump bottom lip, making my mind wander to places it shouldn’t. “They all sound so good,” she said, grimacing. “How can I decide?”

I thought for a moment. “How about I make two eggs and a small protein shake?” I suggested, framing it as a question, even though I would have been very happy for her to have that much food.

“What if I can’t finish it all?”

I shrugged. “Then it’s no big deal. I’m happy to eat leftovers. I would much rather you try to eat and not finish than not have enough to eat.”

Juniper hesitated, then nodded. “Okay, two eggs and a caramel protein shake, please,” she said with a small grin.

I smirked and went rummaging through another cupboard next to the burner, looking for the protein powder that Dylan kept stashed there. It didn’t take long to find the caramel flavour. As the eggs bubbled away on the skillet, I quickly whisked together the shake, setting a glass in front of her full of the delicious golden mixture. She smiled and took a small, delicate sip as I turned back to the burner to make sure the eggs didn’t get too crispy for their own good. This wasnotthe time for me to be burning eggs.

“This is really good,” she exclaimed after a sip. “It reminds me of milkshakes, though it’s not a milkshake without a straw.”

“Well, you’re in luck, then,” I said, walking over to the cutlery drawer and pulling out a glass straw. I had no idea why we had these—none of us used them—but clearly, they were a good idea, because as I placed a straw in her glass, she gave me a breathtaking smile that made my chest stutter. She thanked me as she stirred her drink with the straw, a smile on her face. I wanted to stay there, looking at her, reveling in her beauty, but I had to get back to the eggs. I couldn’t be feeding our omega guest burnt eggs, even if they were potentially a step up from what she had been eating for the last five years.

By the time I plated the eggs and toast, she’d already finished the protein shake. I raised an eyebrow, impressed, and smiled. “Looks like that went down really well.”

She nodded eagerly. “It was delicious, actually. I feel really good. Maybe I understand why people like protein shakes now. I always thought they were kind of pointless—like, why have aprotein shake when you can just have a milkshake? But, actually, that was pretty tasty.”

I chuckled lightly. I wasn’t going to get into a debate about the benefits of protein shakes. “Milkshakes are definitely better,” I agreed solemnly.

She smiled as I placed the plate in front of her, grabbing the fork and eagerly digging in. Seeing her eat the food I’d made her scratched a primal itch inside me. My alpha loved feeding her; it hummed in happiness at the action. I hadn’t felt this at peace in a long time. Maybe I would just have to keep feeding her—it seemed to bring me the kind of happiness I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

Juniper was starting to understand why people liked protein shakes, and I was beginning to understand some of the fringe benefits of having an omega around that wasn’t a member of our family.

Imust have walked around the cabin six times before going into the kitchen, where Asher was looking through the cupboards, and sitting on one of the barstools with a sigh.

"What's up?" Asher asked, poking his head out from the cupboard to look at me.

I rested my head on the palms of my hands, humming lightly as I tried to figure out what I was going to say. I didn’t want to come across as ungrateful, butoh my word.

"I’m bored. I don't know how you guys handle it, honestly. I've been here two days, and I feel like I'm going out of my mind." I should have been more grateful for the peace, the ability to rest, to sleep as much as I wanted, to recover… only, my body was wired, I needed more. I needed to move, to roam.

Asher threw his head back with a laugh. "We all have hobbies to keep us entertained here, sweet girl. Are you not very good at sitting still?"

I pouted. "I’ve been sitting still for literal years, Asher. I want to move. I want to do things. I just want to be out and about," I said grumpily, crossing my arms, wincing at the bruising that still lingered there. I was lucky I only bruised it. Being snarky with these alphas came so easily to me.

"Once the winter is over, you can explore all you want," Asher said. "You’ll be going home or to a haven. You can go to different Havens, you can explore plenty of new places."

"But I want thatnow," I whined pathetically.

Asher shook his head with a laugh. "Do you know how to bake?"

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