Page 16 of Unforgivable

Lyri

I sneak towards the kitchen, very, very quietly. Last night was Rhet's night to spend with me. He doesn't ever come into my room until late. He walks in, brushes a kiss over my forehead, then goes to the cot and falls asleep in a matter of minutes. In the morning, he's awake before the sun rises. I don't know if he's busy or avoiding me, but I'll worry more about that later.

My hips are weak. Incredibly sore, but not painful. I just can't stay in that bed anymore. Thjis and Ezra take me outside whenever they can, and sometimes I have enough energy to sit in the living room and watch t.v. with them, but most of my time is still spent in that room staring out the window or at the ceiling.

I just want to see if I can start to get around on my own. I figure that the house is safe. Less hazardous than trying to walk in the snow and ice outside.

I make it to the kitchen without any mishaps or getting caught. Feeling triumphant, I take out the bowls to make pancakes. I've never done it before, but how hard can it be?

---

"Screw you, pancakes. I hope you burn in hell."

"I think they're already burning, love," Ezra's voice startles me into jumping, which hurts.

"Ez!" I shout, clutching the counter.

Rhet is the first to me, arms wrapping around my waist to support my weight. The relief of not standing on my legs is profound.

Rhet's chest is trembling. Highly suspicious choking sounds reach my ears.

"It's not funny," I pout.

Rhet trails one finger down my cheek to my lips. I meet his eyes, shining with mirth. He pops the digit in his mouth and sucks off the batter. "Too much sugar, pretty," he tells me before his lips land on mine.

I freeze, that fear welling up. I have so little experience with casual kissing. I have no experience kissing. So I'm pretty much up shit creek without a paddle here. This is a nice kiss, though, if I were to be objective about it. Rhet feels solid against me, which is a sensation that my body and mind can't decide how we feel about. My wolf is wary, watching the male from her den. She doesn't trust any males. Her instincts have made her nearly rogue, without an alpha or a mate that she can depend on.

"What on earth are you thinking about?" Rhet murmurs against my lips.

"Kissing," I reply.

He pulls back, laughing softly. I feel shy suddenly. I can't tell him that I'm pretty innocent sexually. He might change his mind and send me away before I've healed.

A clatter behind makes me turn to see Ezra scrubbing the counters while Thjis washes out the big pan.

"I'll clean, guys," I hurry to say.

"Nope. You'll sit and rest. After breakfast we'll go outside," Rhet says firmly. He maneuvers me over to my chair and places me on the cushion. I squirm, watching guiltily as the males clean my mess and cook the meal I was trying to prepare. My pancakes go into a slop bucket. Burned chunks mix with the congealed batter. It's gross.

"You had the stove turned up too high," Thjis says begrudgingly. "Pancakes need to be cooked slowly over low heat."

"Oh," I say, but he interrupts me.

"Didn't your mom teach you to cook?" he says with a slight sneer.

"Thjis-" Rhet warns, but it's too late.

"I was busy learning and training," I snap. "Don't talk about my mother!" My wolf snaps her teeth at him. My mother can't cook. Neither can Dad. We had a lot of cereal and frozen meals growing up. But they're my parents.

"You're a female-"

"Shut up, Thjis!" Ezra shouts. His glare could scorch metal. "No one wants to hear your bullshit!"

"Fuck you!" Thjis snarls before slamming out of the kitchen in a fury. I hear the telltale howl a moment later as I glimpse a dark brown wolf disappearing into the trees.

My wolf settles down when he leaves, but my hands are trembling in my lap.

"He's adjusting," Rhet says blithely.

---