Chapter 256: Emergency meeting

Deciding not to disturb her, Erick quietly grabbed his briefcase and placed it inside his study before going to his bedroom to freshen up.

Few minutes later, he went down to find Amber arranging the dishes on the dining table. She looked up, surprised to see her mate, looking fresh out from a shower.

"When did you arrive home?" she asked, surprised as she placed the dishes.

Erick looked down and cocked an eyebrow. "You seem like you've been cooking a storm," he commented, not answering her question.

Amber also looked down at the table and let out a light laugh. On the table, there was her chicken dumpling soup, fried cabbages with potatoes and a huge bowl of steamed rice. She scratched her cheek awkwardly and said, "I'm feeling a bit down so I thought that cooking these would help keep my mind off."

He frowned as he studied her face closely. "What happened?" he asked in concern. "Did something happen at work?"

She quickly shook her head, waving away his concerns. "Nothing, nothing," she said airly. She then began to sit down and invited him, "Come and let's eat, okay?"

Just as he was about to sit, Luka came rushing in and nudged Erick away from the table and he jumped up onto the dining chair and sat down. He sat there quietly as if he was waiting to be served some food.

Erick just rolled his eyes while Amber burst out into laughter. Erick then pulled Luka off the chair while Amber quickly grabbed Luka's bowl and started to fill in with food.

She then called out Luka's name, telling him to follow her as she led the way to where he usually has his meals.

When she returned to the kitchen, Erick hadn't grabbed his food yet as he was waiting for her. Amber raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw this.

She washed her hands and then wiped them with a kitchen towel before sitting down at the kitchen table. "How come you haven't started eating yet?" she asked.

"I was waiting for you," he said as he reached out for her bowl and started to serve her her food.

The couple sat across each other and the atmosphere surrounding them was sweet and happy as they enjoyed the meal Amber cooked.

Apparently, because Amber had said that she was a bit down earlier, Erick thought to comfort her by giving her more food. So, although she had eaten a lot that night, Erick kept feeding her more and more. And surprisingly, she ate more than him.

He was about to serve her another bowl of rice when she adamantly rejected him as she rubbed her stomach, showing how full she was.

Erick frowned as he looked at the dishes on the table. There were still many foods and he doesn't really like leftovers. He poured all the soup into a large bowl that was slightly smaller than a huge mixing bowl and dumped all the rice inside it. He then pulled the fried cabbages and potatoes closer to him and continued to eat until the bowl and plate were licked clean.

Amber smiled. There was nothing more pleasing than seeing people enjoying your cooking. She burst into laughter when Erick showed her her weird shaped dumpling. Although it was slightly chewy due to the double wrapping, the meat inside was tender and juicy that he finished them all. He did not care how it looked, as long as it was edible.

Soon after, the two of them enjoyed a relaxing evening after dinner, sitting in front of the television, watching their favourite show; of course, a cooking show.

Amber was watching it seriously, nodding along the way as she listened to the chef's tips and advice on the television. If she had a notepad with her, she'd probably write them all down. She looked up at the man, sitting next to her, who had his arm around her shoulders in an embrace.

She laughed lightly when she looked closely at him. She could have sworn that she saw a drool at the corner of his lips. "Are you still hungry?" she teased.

Startled, he quickly wiped his drool and shook his head. "Not really," he lied.

Amber just rolled her eyes, a smile still on her lips.

She was about to tease him more when he suddenly froze up. She frowned as she leaned closer to him.

She was surprised to see that his eyes seemed a bit hazy. Did he receive a mindlink?

She turned back around and continued to watch the show, not wanting to disturb him.

The show was about to end when Erick returned back to reality. He lifted his arm from her shoulders and abruptly stood up, making Amber confused.

"Did something happen?" she asked in concern.

He nodded, heading straight towards the coat rack. Amber quickly switched off the television and rushed after him. "What happened?" she asked.

She watched as Erick quickly put on his jacket. He let out a sigh and turned to her. "Some guys from the Cesaro pack got killed when they were trying to keep a lookout at Harding's fortress," he said grimly.

Amber gasped. The last time Erick went to the packhouse to meet with the other packs, he had told Amber everything, including the vision that they saw and the fact that Harding's fortress was exactly the same place where Dane and his family used to live.

"So, there's an emergency meeting at the packhouse," he quickly said as he opened the front door.

She swiftly followed him and asked, "Can I join? I won't be joining, I'll just wait for you there."

He stopped and turned around. He cupped her face with both of his hands, leaning his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, baby," he said softly. He dropped a soft kiss on her forehead and continued, "I'll be back really quick. It might be dangerous, especially since it's already late at night."

"But it's just at the packhouse," she argued.

"I'm worried that you might get bored waiting and it's cold outside," he argued back. He walked over to the sofa and grabbed her shawl, which was lying on top of the sofa. He brought it over to Amber and began to cover her with the shawl. "Just stay here and keep warm. I promised that I'll be back soon, don't worry. As you said, it's just at the packhouse."

Amber pouted but nodded.

Erick then laughed softly. "Besides, what would you do there? Jeayan and Makena won't be there anyway so you really might be bored."

"But at least, you'll be there."

"Yes, but I will be busy at the meeting so don't fret much, okay?" he said softly, tapping her lovingly on the tip of her nose.

Amber nodded again.

Erick dropped another kiss, this time, on her lips. "Don't wait for me. Just go to bed if you're tired."