Page 13 of Claimed for Eternity

“If they don’t, I’ll hunt for you. I don’t think Clarence controls hunting here. I think it’s elven land now and by birthright I can hunt here.”

“How many legs does a pot roast have? Or a burger?” he teased, and I nibbled his earlobe until he rubbed his ass against me again. Yep. Tired or not, we were going one more time before we got clean and figured out what to eat.

***

“Look at us,” Xenos said as he flopped onto the bed naked in all his glory. I never got enough of watching him lounge around naked, confident, and sated. “We’re like a pair of horny teenagers.”

“I’ve been called worse,” I said, grabbing the room service menu from the dresser. “Looks like they do have burgers. They have a few elven dishes, but they’re used to catering to tourists too.”

“I want three burgers, the biggest fry order they’ll give me, and two milkshakes. One chocolate and one strawberry. Oh! And a steak! Definitely a steak!” Xenos said, when I stretched out next to him on the bed so he could see the menu too. “I’m just glad they have it in a written language besides elven. They have pictures, though. Probably helps people to order.”

Xenos offered to rock-paper-claw for who had to put pants on to answer the door but I declined and got dressed. It was the least I could do while he was pregnant if he wasn’t going tolet me take down a whole prey animal for him to eat. A tall red headed elf named Larnie rolled in the food service cart. At first glance, the cart looked to be made of the same marble as the shower but it was made from crushed seashell.

“Eating from the bones of long-gone animals,” Xenos blinked when Larnie was gone.

“Do I need to empty the cart and roll it out in the corridor?” I asked. “I don’t think any of the spirits of these animals are hanging around or speak a language you know, but just to be on the safe side?”

“In most cases, spirits all speak the same language. Sometimes not, but in most cases and no, the cart can stay. I was making a joke,” Xenos said, flashing me a sheepish smile.

“Sorry,” I plopped down on the bed next to him and started unloading all his plates until he was nearly surrounded by the food he ordered. “I’m---”

“You take my needs seriously and I appreciate that. It was a bad joke,” he shrugged. “So you don’t need to apologize.”

We fell into silence as we dug into the room service food. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as tasty as any of the baked goods we ordered via drone from BAKE. Still, Xenos devoured it as if it were the best thing he ever tasted.

“He needs more meat. Hopefully no one shows up to ask how they tasted. I’m going to have to start eating spirits if they keep doing crap like that. He has to eat. He’s a bear and he’s carrying our pup,”my wolf rambled on in my thoughts.

The furry guy was right, but I lived with Xenos long enough to know that meat wasn’t the only source of protein available to omnivores. Hell, I’d help more than one shifter design custom vegan or vegetarian diets when that’s what they wanted to do.

“I am getting enough to eat, alpha,” Xenos said between bites. “Seriously, I’m always eating. I think it was all the travel and romping that has me starving. The baby probably too. Youknow me, I like food. You don’t have to worry so much. My blood work was good, right?”

“It was but it’s my job to worry. Especially his job,” I said, pointing to my chest where I liked to think my wolf lived. “He’s made for the wild. In the wild, you’re always thinking about where your next meal is coming from and who might try to steal it. Sometimes you make the thief your next meal instead to stretch out what you have.”

Xenos laughed and shook his head. He’d opt for the berries every time given the chance and I didn’t begrudge him that. I thanked his father for it. We contrasted like night and day there. I grew up in a world where it was eat or be eaten. You had to devour the world while it tried to devour you and everyone you cared about. He grew up mostly with his father and brother after his carrier passed away in childbirth. He grew up slightly sheltered but with enough hope, optimism, and soft spots for the both of us.

“You have soft spots too, alpha,” he chuckled. “More than you realize.”

“I do. You, the kids, most carriers. A few friends,” I shrugged. “Soft spots are the things and people you’re willing to die for.”

“Hey!” he shook his finger at me. “No dying. Ever. I need you here. The kids would eat me if you weren’t around.”

“No, they wouldn’t. They’d… I don’t know what they’d do. Grief is strange but you’d figure it out. Not that I have plans to die anytime soon.”

“Do you think I should’ve warned Mori about Dern?” Xenos asked.

“About which part?” I tossed the question back to him.

“I’m not worried about Dern’s attitude. Mori can hold his own. So can Orthoni. I meant the dying.”

“I think Mori will take one look at Dern and know the truth. He’s your son and he has a good nose. I don’t know why Dern wants to talk to Mori. Maybe you’re right about Mori and Teddy but maybe there’s something else. If you weren’t my mate and I hadn’t spent years living with you and staying in contact with other people who see, I’d be worried. I am a bit worried. Dern shot Teddy and you know how I feel about guns. More than that, you know how Mori feels about guns. He wasn’t even out of your womb yet when Colton was shot but he swears he remembers it and I sort of believe his furry tail.”

“I do believe him,” Xenos nodded. “I think he was always going to have his magical abilities. I think he was always going to be like me but he’s him too.”

“He knows how to pick up the phone and call if he needs our help,” I reminded him. “And if Teddy Moonscale suddenly shows up on the Nightshade link we know you were right about that.”

“Would you be mad if we took a nap before we went exploring, alpha?” Xenos yawned after he clean every plate he ordered from room service.

“I expected that,” I chuckled and cleared away the plates before pushing the seashell cart back into the corridor.

---