Page 37 of Pack Down Bad

Rhys

Breakfast is a specialty of mine, so I’m a little disappointed that the others beat me to the kitchen this morning. Knox and Percy are both okay in the kitchen, but their meals pale in comparison to mine. I don’t want Belle to think she has to get used to their lackluster meals.

She does seem to have brought the group’s average up a level, though, because the breakfast they fixed is admittedly edible. Pretty good, even.

The eggs are too fluffy and lack the appropriate salt levels, but for three enthusiastic amateurs?

Not bad. Not bad at all.

“Mmm,” I exaggerate my yummy noises to help boost their egos.

I don’t want to hurt any feelings about their cooking skills being inferior to my own. The best way to encourage them to keep working on their skills is to stay positive.

Knox and Percy have enough experience to know they fall short in the kitchen, so they don’t need my approval as much. But Belle? She keeps sneaking peeks to see my reaction to her cooking. She wants to impress us, and that knowledge lodges a warm and fuzzy feeling deep in my chest.

I want her to feel proud. Needed.

After all, I’m responsible for any self-consciousness they might feel about their skills. I’m excellent at cooking–just like I am at, well, everything I do. I’ve raised the bar so high that my cooking skills are practically untouchable. I’m honored that Belle and my pack would make any attempt anyway, knowing they would fall so short.

I am the culinary sun, bright and devastatingly magnificent, and they’ve dared to fly toward me on wings made of mediocrity.

“You did a great job with the waffles, Belle,” Percy says, following my lead on overdoing the praise.

I nod along with as much sincerity as I can feign. Percy is a better actor than me. There’s not a flicker of revulsion on his face as he takes another bite of his waffle, even though the batter is a little bland. If I didn’t know how much he prefers my cooking, I would think he’s truly enjoying his breakfast this morning. I’m sure in his mind, he’s pretending that his plate is filled with goodies crafted by my expert hands.

When I get some alone time with Belle again, I’ll try to give her a lesson on spices. These waffles would be better if she added half a cup of cinnamon.

As much as I hate to settle for lesser meals, we’ll have to figure out a new cooking schedule now that we have Belle. I don’t want my omega to feel as if she’s not contributing to our pack and household, and she does seem to enjoy cooking. Depriving Knox and Percy of my delicious meals regularly will be tough at first, but we’ll get used to making do to make Belle happy.

Her happiness is the top priority for our pack now, as far as I’m concerned. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure we keep it that way.

I choke down my food as quickly as I can without looking suspicious. As I’m taking my last bite, I glance up and catch Belle quietly pushing her scrambled eggs around her plate. My chest tightens.

At first, I think she’s finally noticed the difference in quality and that her plate isn’t as satisfying as yesterday’s breakfast. Her face grows pink, and I’m gutted by the possibility of her feeling embarrassed. She did do her best, I can tell. My poor snow bunny. Not everyone can wield a spatula like a wand.

This is all my fault. I’ve upset her by presenting her with five-star meals during her first days with us, and now she thinks she can’t live up to the standard I set.

But as I continue to watch her, desperately trying to summon up the right words to reassure her about her cooking, I start to think I could be wrong in my initial assumption...

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Knox grunts out, signaling the end of his morning time with us. He picks up his cleared plate, then pauses to lay a kiss on Belle’s head, lingering when she leans in to his touch. Reluctantly, he pulls himself away after a moment to rinse his cleared plate in the sink before abandoning us to head off to his workshop for the day.

His scent clings to her even after he disappears. Seems like they must have shared a moment before I woke up. And by moment, I mean that it’s obvious they banged each other’s brains out.

I’m proud of them.

Percy stands and plants his hands on the table, leaning over to smile teasingly at Belle. For a second, I’m horrified that he’s about to get too honest about this morning’s breakfast.

Instead, he says, “I better get going, too. There’s a mess on my desk waiting to be cleaned up.”

Belle chokes on the tiny bite of eggs she just put in her mouth, obviously understanding the innuendo in his words.

I can read between the lines, too. Knox and Belle must have gotten down to business in the library this morning, which Percy seems to be taking all in good fun. If I weren’t so secure in our dynamic as a pack, I might pause to feel jealous about all that I missed out on this morning by waking up late.

Percy chuckles as he goes to clean his plate before heading down the hall to his office. Belle’s gaze follows him, a yearning deep in her eyes as she watches him like her heart is tied to him by a string.

Looks like I have some catching up to do.

And then understanding dawns on me: the blush, the dazed look in her eyes, and the way she’s barely touched her food... those things aren’t about the breakfast at all.

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