Page 17 of Hellcat

Ian hesitated. Some among the pride knew that story; they'd been there when it had happened, years ago, in the royal pride. He hadn't really spelled it out and no one discussed it.

"My dad was an enforcer in our original pride. Busy life, for a single parent, but he could have gotten help; in a pride, you need some assistance, you ask for it. Instead, he made my cousin and I keep house for him, clean, cook, laundry. It wasn't a big deal. Then he was hurt in a raid and lost a leg. From that point, he stayed home. We still had to do everything, but he also abused us verbally at every opportunity. It wasn't a good time. Learning to cook with my nonna was actually fun, but most of my memories in the kitchen have to do with someone telling me what a piece of shit I am, and so on."

The table was silent for a beat. Then Daunted chuckled. "Way to ruin the mood, dude. But I get it now." On that note, Daunte got up. "Come on, then. Everyone's done. Let's get going."

Ian tilted his head.

"You, stupid dude, aren't locking yourself in the kitchen by yourself anymore. Consider me your sous-chef, or whatever. You're stuck with me."

Ian grunted. "I don't need your help."

"‘Course you don't. You got it anyway."

The beta had made his mind up. Begrudgingly, Ian returned to the kitchen with him and gave him the most menial tasks as he finalized the entrees.

To his surprise, he didn't exactly hate it.

Chapter 12

All right, so, wealthy or not, the shifters were good fun. None of them excluded her from the conversation that flowed in every direction.

After the incredibly delicious starter came a main that could have been plated up in a five-star restaurant.

Ian let Daunte carry one plate in each hand.

"What is it?" Clari asked, wide-eyed and practically salivating.

"Pork belly, scallops, applesauce, apple crisp, with a side of pomme parmentier, ma'am."

"Marry me," Jas said.

"No, me," Rain pipped in.

The giant hunk next to her grunted.

"What am I, chopped liver?"

"Think about it. We can all live together happily ever after."

"Isn't that what we're doing anyway?" Ian asked, laughing.

He placed the first plate in front of Tania, and she really wished he hadn't, because that meant she had to wait longer to dig in. The applesauce had elegant little light green dots, and the thin apple crisp rested on top of the scallops.

"Would it be rude to take a picture?" she asked.

Ace snorted. "Look around."

Ace herself, and three other members of the pride had their phones out. She grinned, reaching for hers and loading it online right away. Her friends in LA were going to think she was eating at some posh restaurant.

"All right, dig in."

She didn’t need to be told twice. Tania took one mouthful and moaned in delight. Holy shit, that was good. Good didn't cut it. She doubted anything as delicious had ever crossed her lips. To her relief, no one was trying to make small talk while demolishing the plates before them. The portions were generous, but even the kids asked if there was any extra once they were done.

Ian sighed. "All right, everyone can have a half portion on top, but that's it. Ava, Coveney, Theo and Ari need to eat when they get back, too."

"Yeah, but do they need to eat this, really?" Rye questioned. "I mean, we can make them sandwiches."

"Some alpha you are. I promised I'd save them food."

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