Page 81 of Married into the Mob
“I did.” I broke off two bits, and handed one to him. “Bread is life, and these recipes have been handed down in shifter families for generations.”
“This is so good.”
My heart, which had been guarded in the event of a food disaster, resumed its regular, monotonous beating.
I slathered butter on more of the bread, and we fed each other.
“You have to make this again. Maybe we should move into the woods.” My mate licked his lips, and I kissed him, lapping at the rest of the butter.
“And now for some meat and vegetables.” I grabbed a kebab from the grill and pulled off the lamb, feeding it to my mate. “Wolves are meat-eaters, as you are aware, and eating meat is a significant part of shifter culture. We bond when sharing it with our loved ones and the pack.”
The juice from the tender lamb dribbled over Odell’s chin, and he licked it off.
“And the vegetables?”
Bah!My wolf wasn’t a fan.
“That’s a custom from our human side. Growing our own food is a time-honored trait.” It made sense environmentally and health wise, but also in the dark times in centuries past, we had to feed our communities.
“How did you manage this? Did you take a class or watch videos?”
I explained how Uncle Arnie had given up his time to instruct me. There were a lot of disasters and a few successes. “It was fun. I enjoyed learning a new skill.”
“Well, you’ll be putting the skills to use when the baby comes, though I suspect for the first few weeks, we might be eating takeout.”
I waggled both hands in the air. “Or I can batch cook and freeze everything.”
Odell peered under the blanket. “Where is Hunter and what have you done with him?”
“Ha ha ha. It’s a new me, one who can cook, though my repertoire is small.”
We ate more bread and kebab, and when Odell had finished, I brought out the berries I’d picked and the honeycomb.
“This is a nod to our past when our kind lived in the forest.”
My mate pulled off a piece of honeycomb and popped it in his mouth, allowing it to melt on his tongue.
“I’m swooning.”
I didn’t quite understand the meaning but his face was orgasmic, so it had to be good.
“Sit.” He patted the seat beside him, and we shared the blanket. The sun was setting, reminding me of our wedding day, though I hoped the puking part wouldn’t be repeated.
“Thank you so much, babe. This is magical, and I hope we can do it again some day.”
“There’s one more surprise.” I unrolled a map of the stars and pointed out the constellations. “This is something we can share with our baby when they’re older. It shows the heavens on the night we were in this same spot when my wolf told us you were pregnant.”
Odell burst into tears, and I dabbed at them with his cloak. The night had been so perfect. Had I screwed up somehow?
“Thank you. I can’t think of a better gift for our family. We can put it in the nursery.”
With one arm around him and the other on his big belly, we sat in silence, enjoying the warmth from the fire pit.
“Fire must be significant to shifters, as it was to all ancient cultures.”
“Of course. A brutal taskmaster when it gets out of control, but when contained, it creates warmth, safety, and makes food edible.”
“I hope our little one is as comfortable in the forest as you are, even if they aren’t a shifter.”
