Page 150 of The Hunger
A sigh escaped me as I started another sandwich. It was the fourth one. I could hear his stomach growling, though, and knew it would take a few more to make up for how much I’d fed from him once he’d showed up.
“I should have made you eat at your house.”
“No way. This is better. I could feel how much you didn’t want to be there. Which is why we really need to—”
“Talk about it. I know.” I sighed and slid the next sandwich over to him. “After today, I get that you’re going to want to live with the pack. They’re your family. Good. Bad. Annoying. Obnoxious. You can’t cut them out of your life, and I wouldn’t ever ask you to because I like most of them. I’m just really struggling with how I feel about your dad right now.
“He claimed that he was worried about your humanity, but in reality, his objection to me was because he didn’t think I was strong enough.”
“I think you’ve proven that you’re definitely strong enough,” Fenris said with a smirk.
“But I shouldn’t have had to. Knowing that you loved me and identified me as your mate should have been enough. I guess I’m angry at him because he caused you so much pain in his denial.”
Fenris nodded slowly, growing serious.
“He did. And I think he sees that now.”
“Does he? Or does he only see my strength?”
“Oh, he sees that too. But he’s not nose-blind. Everyone there could scent your anger at him. He knows he mucked up, and he’ll figure out a way to make it up to you.”
“No. He doesn’t need to make it up to me. He needs to make it up to you, Fenris.”
“And that’s how he’ll make it up to you. I’m not worried about it, Eliana. My dad and I have been at odds for a few years. He has a hard time seeing me as an individual instead of his child. You and I both know that the adults in our lives liked to exercise their control over us because they thought we were making bad choices. But, they’re just going through a phase,” he said with a smirk. “They’ll grow out of it when they see we’re smart people capable of making our mistakes and learning from them.”
He shrugged lightly.
“Your mom caught on, and you forgave her. My dad will come around, too. Now, how many more sandwiches do I need to eat before you take me upstairs and have your way with me?”
I snorted.
“My way will involve separate showers, a movie, dinner, and snuggling.”
“Sounds perfect.” He snatched his next sandwich from me and held out his hand.
Once upstairs, he left me at my door to go use Oanen’s bathroom, respecting my wishes. The hot shower was everything after the morning I’d had. Relaxed and warm, I prematurely put on my pajamas and went to the media room where I found Fenris already waiting.
Wearing only a pair of athletic shorts, Fenris lounged on the couch and ate a cracker off of a tray.
“It just showed up,” he said, catching my look. Then he made me jump by yelling, “Thank you, Mrs. Quill.”
“That’s what the intercom is for,” I said with an eye-roll.
I walked over and spoke into it. “Fenris says thank you for the snacks. He’ll be staying over.”
“I’ll send up more in an hour and make sure there’s enough for dinner,” she returned.
Fenris cocked his grin at me.
“I’m never leaving.”
“You’ll never need to.”
He opened his arms, and I went to lay on him. He tucked his nose into my hair and breathed in deeply before helping himself to another item from the tray. We stayed like that, snuggled on the couch while we watched a cheesy horror movie. Fenris was quick to point out the character's stupidity and had me laughing at his indignation.
Mrs. Quill surprised us by having the dining room set and ready with a dinner service for two. I was relieved I wouldn’t have to answer any questions or explain anything to her and Mr. Quill, yet. I just wanted to spend time with Fenris. When we finished, we went back upstairs and watched more movies until he caught me yawning.
Wrapped in his arms and in my own bed, I fell into a dream about cakes that lingered well past when I was bloated with dessert.
