Family dinner

When Lara returned to normal, she realised that her plan to have dinner with her cubs was ruined. She would have an intruder eating with them!

A handsome, charming, dangerous intruder.

She set the table for four, placing the plates on each side of the table. She would usually sit at one end, her cubs next to her. Like that, she could be nearby and help both if they needed it.

Yet, with a fourth person, that balance was disrupted.

Jaden solved it on his own, though. He moved his and his sister's plates next to their mother's, leaving Nate alone on the other end.

It wasn't a big table, to begin with. Even if it looked like a table for six, having six people around it would have been difficult.

Nate didn't say a word and just sat at his place, observing how Jaden moved the chairs.

Then, the little boy waited for his mother to tell him to go fetch his sister.

Scarlet returned to the kitchen with a deep frown and sulking lips, but she didn't try attacking Nate again. Jaden also told her a couple of words, so she was calmer.

She sat at her place and glared in silence for the whole time, too upset to say a word.

Lara cut the chicken into pieces, and she leaned the legs on the cub's plate. She didn't ask Nate which part he liked because she feared the symmetry would have been broken. She couldn't give a leg to a cub and something else to the other!

Having twins could be difficult sometimes.

She cut the rest and left it in the middle of the table. For herself, she chose the wings as always.

Her cubs would end up cracking the bones if they reached for the wings, and there wasn't much meat there. She preferred not to hear the sounds of the first time she gave them chicken.

Also, she realised a single chicken wasn't enough for four people. Especially if three of them were... Wolves? That's what Nate said in the bathroom.

Jaden and Scarlet would be hungry when the dinner was over.

She didn't touch the wings on her plate and ate the potatoes, waiting to see if Nate had a big appetite that day.

Too bad he was as hungry as her cubs. There was some similarity in how he focused on the food, just like the cubs.

All three of them ate in silence, not saying a word.

Moreover, it all lasted a few minutes only. Rather than eating, they devoured what was on their plates.

Once finished, all three of them turned to Lara and looked at her with happy yet imploring eyes.

As expected, a single chicken wasn't enough.

She sighed, nibbling on the salad and making the cubs eat it as well. Then, only they had obediently had some vegetables, Lara placed her wings on their plate and saw how they started crunching the bones and devouring everything around them.

They were growing up, and they needed even more meat than before to fill themselves.

Nate was hungry as well, but he was also an adult. He could wait and finish eating once home. So, he tried his best not to look as desperate as the pups. He failed, but he didn't know about it.

He observed the dynamics of the family of three, and he understood how things would go most of the time. Lara didn't even try the meat that time, and it must have happened other times as well.

He couldn't fathom how someone would give up their food so readily, as he would never do that. Maybe just to give it to Lara. But he had already eaten everything.

He was too hasty. Next time, he decided, he wouldn't devour everything in a few bites. Even if it was as delicious as to make him forget the whole world.

The shabby apartment with old, overused furniture made him realise that Lara didn't have as much money as needed. Yet, she managed to feed the pups and give them clothes.

That had to change. There was no point in overworking herself when Nate was there to give her anything she might have wanted. Even for the children, as they were his as well.

When the dinner was over, he didn't get up to leave. It was too early, and he wasn't done with staring at his mate. Nor with teaching his pups how to treat their mother!

He couldn't leave like that.

He reached out to Scarlet and stroked her head, messing her hair. It had been rather natural to do so. His first intention was just to pat her head and make her react, but it ended up more tender than expected.

The little girl closed her eyes at the sudden caress, but she growled and caught his hand in hers. She bit him, trying to make him feel pain.

Yet, it didn't work. She moved to another place on his wrist but, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cut his skin. That made her growl louder and release her claws, but no effects were visible on Nate's skin.

He chuckled, finding her behaviour unexpectedly cute. She was just a puppy trying to sound threatening and failing.

Lara at first got up to stop them, but she then realised that no one was in danger. Not Nate with his uncuttable skin. Not Scarlet, who was making him laugh in awe.

She sat back, observing that show with wide eyes. She was sure Scarlet wasn't holding back. Her little girl wasn't capable of that yet. And she had no intention in the world to dose her strength with Nate. She hated him!

The only explanation was that Nate's skin was harder, more difficult to hurt.

Her wounds burnt even more at that realisation. In the end, it was Lara's fault for being weak. If her cubs were surrounded by other wolves, they wouldn't need to hold back at all.