Page 67 of Cursed
She takes her seat and reaches for the syrup. “My brother, Tomas, and I would sit at the kitchen counter, while Dad flipped pancakes at the stove.”
Nori smiles and passes Ryland the syrup. “While he was cooking, he would always tell us the story of how he invented the pancake. But the story would be different every time he told it. We knew he was making it up, of course, but every time, we would applaud and tell him how amazing he was for inventing such a delicious food.”
She laughs softly and takes a bite of her syrupy pancake. Her eyes widen as she quickly chews and swallows. Shewhips her head to Ryland, “Holy shit! Is this fresh maple syrup?”
Ryland cocks his head, puzzled by her reaction. “Yes. We have a grove of sugar maple trees south of the castle. We distribute the sap across our Packlands. We always have a barrel or two here. On Fridays, the chef here will make the syrup. It needs a day to cool, which is why pancakes are served on Saturdays.”
“Well, it’s fantastic! We would occasionally have fresh syrup, but it’s been years.” A wide grin spreads over her face. “I think Saturday just became my new favorite day of the week.”
Ryland chuckles, and Bade tells him, “See. She’s happy here. She’s not even considering leaving. What’s holding her back?”
“Just give her some time. I’ll ask her about letting her wolf meet you, and see how she handles that,” Ryland replies.
He watches her finish the large pancake, then dip her bacon into the syrup. “Nori?”
She leans back in her chair and looks at him. “Yes, Ryland?”
He leans forward on the table and says, “Bade would very much like to meet Aylin.”
Nori flinches and drops the bacon on the table when her claws extend. “Whoa! Aylin! Back off.” When the sharp claws retract, Nori blows out a breath and turns her head back toRyland, giving him a nervous laugh. “We can count that as a ‘yes’ from Aylin. Later tonight? Somewhere secluded?”
Ryland visibly relaxes. “Yes, we can head up past the north pasture and let them out. I’ll tell Zayne to clear the area of Guards before we leave. So it will just be you and me.”
chapter forty
Adele shows up after breakfast with the tailor and one of her seamstresses. Nori’s eyes widen at the sheer volume of clothing the three women are hauling into Ryland’s rooms. “Wow, Adele! Those are beautiful, but this is too much.”
“No, Nori; this is exactly enough,” Adele says, pushing in a rack of clothes. She looks at her brother and tells him, “Nori needs a couple of drawers and some closet space for all of these lovely outfits and shoes.”
Ryland watches in stunned silence. He hadn’t given much thought about what it would mean to have Nori living in his space. His rooms have been a place of isolatingsolitude for so long. Watching Adele roll in the racks of dresses and colorful, feminine fabrics, something utterly unfamiliar settles in his chest. Happiness. For the first time in years, he is well and truly happy.
He turns to Nori, so grateful she’s here with him, and smiles. “Take as much space as she needs. Nori has a few things in that second dresser drawer over there, but you’re welcome to rearrange things however you see fit.”
“Come on, ladies,” Adele says cheerily. “Let’s load these into the closet.”
Nori’s emotions briefly overload Ryland’s senses—happy, surprised, nervous, and something like sad, but not quite. Moving to stand directly in front of her, he places a hand on either side of her head, tilting her face up to look at him. He gently kisses both cheeks, her nose, and finally, her mouth until he feels her calm and happy.
“This is a lot,” she whispers.
Adele yells from the closet, “I heard that! It’s way less than I have, Nori. Now get your ass in here and try on some of these beautiful new clothes! We need to make sure they fit.”
Ryland laughs. “I have some work to do. I am going to leave you women to do...whatever it is you are going to do.” He kisses Nori more thoroughly this time and smiles down at her. “You have fun trying on your new clothes. I’ll be back by dinner time.”
“OK, Ryland, I’ll see you when you get back.” Nori grins up at him, amazed at the effect he has on her. She is totally relaxed and excited to see what’s in the closet.
As soon as he leaves, Adele opens the bottle of champagne she brought. Nori is a bit leery but agrees to have one glass. Having never tasted alcohol, she’s surprised by the bubbles, but she enjoys the warmth rolling through her chest as she takes her first couple of sips.
Nori puts on a fashion show while the other three women sit on the sofa, analyzing the fit of the new clothes and drinking their champagne.
She tries on a few dresses and casual outfits, admiring the soft fabrics. She hasn’t had proper clothes in years, much less clothes that actually fit her.
Adele and the seamstresses are delighted with the way the clothes look on Nori. The colors Amara chose really complement Nori’s coloring. Amara gets up at one point to check the lines of a pair of pants that Nori has on. Nori waits patiently while the tailor tugs on the fabric and slides her fingers into the waistband.
Satisfied, Amara nods and sits back down on the sofa. “Those will definitely work for now.”
Nori returns to the closet to change into one more outfit but quickly walks back out with a pair of stilettos hanging from her fingers. She scoffs at Adele and says, “Thank you, but no way.”
Adele frowns. “It was worth a shot. Hand them over.” Breelynn takes the shoes, and Adele says, “You’ll have to learn to wear them eventually, but for now, stick to the new tennis shoes, flats, and boots.”
