Page 71 of Mating at Midnight: Book 1

“Indeed it is, so don’t be trying to tap out early,” I tease.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Mr. Wolf. You will probably tap out before I do,” she pokes.

Raising my eyebrow, I ask, “Is that so? That sounds like a challenge to me. And I never back down from a challenge.”

“And neither do I.”

Humming, I declare, “I’m really going to enjoy this. It’s a win-win either way you look at it.”

“Exactly,” Nyah agrees.

“Naughty, girl,” I laugh, continuing down the path.

After cleaning up again, Nyah and I returned to the campsite. Once she had the shed unlocked, we went inside to retrieve the items we were going to need. I was impressed to see how organized the structure was. Everything was neatly placed and labeled. Nyah’s grandmother had everything you needed there down to cooking oil and fish fry batter. I marveled at the antique tools that were still in pristine condition hanging on the back wall. A true collector of these items would pay good money to get their hands on them.

Nyah took out the stuff for cooking the fish while I grabbed the tent, sleeping bags, and two lawn chairs. Nyah also went to one of the large plastic containers and found a pair of basketball shorts for me and an oversized t-shirt for her to put on.

I had it in my mind to cook for my mate, when she bumped my hip, and shook her head from side to side, pointing to the tent and other stuff. I got put on set up duty.

“You get the tent and everything else together and I’m going to fry the fish like my grandmother used to.”

Pulling her into my arms, I said, “Okay, but I wanted to cook for you.”

Nyah laid her palms on my bare chest.

“And I appreciate that, but this is my first time cooking for you. I helped the Elders and other ladies earlier, but it wasn’t the same. I want to do this for my Alpha, so let me, okay?”

If that’s what my Queen wanted to do, then I wasn’t going to argue with her about it. Kissing her forehead, I told her, “I’ll get to work on the tent and holler at me if you need me to help you with anything.”

Nyah grinned. “I will.”

She tried to push out of my embrace, but I held her tighter, then took my fill of her luscious lips before finally letting her go. Before walking away, I chuckled as Nyah brought her fingertips to her lips.

Chapter 39

Nyah

The sound of different birds chirping around me acts like Nature’s alarm clock waking me up. Blinking the dryness away from my eyes, they finally adjust to the beautiful cloudless blue sky above me. I laugh on the inside remembering how Braxton struggled to set up the tent. I offered to help, explaining that I had done it numerous times before, but just like a man, he declined every time. The instructions were inside the bag, but he chose not to look at them. He’d rather look at the picture and go from there not realizing looking over the instructions would have cut down his time and frustration by ninety percent. But hey, I literally had bigger fish to fry, than deal with his macho-man attitude. While he cussed and damned the tent, I went on with my task.

After making a circle of rocks, I built a pyramid of wood, then lit it. As the fire began to burn hot, I placed my grandmother’s cooking stand over it, then hooked her medium sized cooking pot on it. I poured the cooking oil inside, then went to clean the fish again as the grease grew hot. I then mixed together seasonings with the cornmeal and flour mixture like my grandmother taught me. A few times, I had to push Braxton away as he tried to see what I was putting together. Other than Kenia, I’m the one grandmother entrusted with her tantalizing combination. Daddy has his own that he has shared with the Elder’s and the rest of the Pack and it’s mouthwatering, but it doesn’t compare to grandmothers. I think she only shared it with Kenia and I to keep it as a close recipe with the family.

By the time I was done frying the fish, the tent Braxton put together had one back side lower than the other and the middle sagging.

I tried my best not to laugh as he explained his creation.

“I know you want to laugh, Nyah, and I don’t blame you,” he said. “I should have read the instructions but what can I say? Normally, I have my people do this for me but doing it by myself has taught me I need to be more hands-on with my projects or at least be there when they’re started.”

“You’ll get no arguments from me,” I told him.

“Thank you, love,” he returned, giving me Eskimo kisses. “Are you done with the fish? It smells amazing.”

“I am,” I replied. “I just need to go and get one more thing to amplify the taste of the fish. Can you wait a few more minutes while I do that?”

“Sure, but I can help you,” Braxton offered.

Smitten with his offer, I had to decline. “Thank you, but where I need to go is one of those things my grandmother only showed Kenia and I in private. I’m sure daddy knows about it too. I would never keep anything from you, but until her spirit tells me it’s okay to show you, I have to respect her wishes.”

Braxton didn’t put up any argument as he nodded. “Do what you need to do, love. I’ll be here when you get back.”

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