Page 30 of Been There Dragon That
He was disappointed. Part of him had been hoping she would want to leave and go back to his place, but he was also pleased that the alpha’s wife liked Rylee. And that his mate had felt comfortable enough to ask Naomi for help.
She wouldn’t need to again. He would fill that role moving forward. “I expect you to tell me exactly what happened to you and what’s got you so scared when we get back to my cabin after dinner.”
Rylee’s breath hitched a little, but instead of arguing, she nodded her head.
He’d take the win. He’d heard Naomi vouch for him when they’d been in the bedroom. Maybe Rylee would stop fighting the match so hard and let Fate have her way.
Let him have his way, too.
* * *
Wrath ledRylee to an empty chair at the dining table and then sat down next to her. Saul and his mate, Lorelei, were to Rylee’s left.
Saul took Rylee’s plate and put a biscuit on it and passed it along the table.
Each male at the table added something from the center to the plate until it was filled with at least a taste of everything.
Roasted potatoes, some green stalks Wrath considered unfit food, creamy cheese noodles, seared flanken ribs from a moose Kann had brought in this morning after a hunt. There was also a rice and corn dish, but Wrath preferred to mostly eat the meat with an occasional biscuit.
None of the men had food on their plate yet, as per usual. If there was a female that hadn’t been served yet, men didn’t eat.
Wrath took the plate from Kann, who sat directly across from him. He set the plate in front of Rylee, and she gave him a confused look before picking up her fork.
“It’s a thing with them,” Penny said from across the table, grinning up from her plate. “They like to feed us.” She winked at Wrath and then looked back at his mate.
“I’m sorry?” His mate ate a bite of the rice and then looked back at Penny.
“I’m Penny. The men here, they always make sure we eat first. It’s very chivalrous of them. A girl gets spoiled around here quickly.” She waved her hand down the table. “You were the last one. They were waiting on you.”
Rylee turned to look at Wrath and then quickly checked the rest of the table, verifying what Penny had shared.
Wrath put some ribs on his plate. “The ribs look good, Kann. Thank you.”
Rylee took a bite of one of the rib strips on her plate and then paused. “What is this?”
“Moose. Kann got it earlier today.” Penny smacked her lips. “So good.”
Kann sat up a little straighter and pushed out his chest, pleased that his mate was happy with the food he’d provided for the tribe dinner this week.
“So funny,” Rylee said, her voice light. “I saw a moose when I was driving into town. And even stranger, I could’ve sworn I saw a lion chasing it. I actually had to pull over and google whether or not lions lived in Alaska.” She ate another bite of her ribs. “They don’t, according to google. So, I guess I was really tired, especially since it looked like an African lion, not a mountain lion. Crazy, right?”
Penny’s mouth opened wide and then snapped shut. She turned to her mate and narrowed her gaze to a glare that made Wrath feel sorry for the poor lion male.
“Did I say something wrong?” Rylee eyeballed Penny’s scathing glare at her mate.
“Nope. Not you. This is all on Kann.”
Wrath ignored the rest of the conversations at the table and waited, watching Rylee sort through what had been shared so far. How many pieces had she put together so far? Was she even putting it together? She was suspicious. She’d heard his dragon growl, purr, and seen his eyes light at least a little. She had questions.
So did he.
“He saw the lion too?” Rylee said, her voice even softer, almost like she couldn’t believe that maybe she’d seen what she thought after all.
Wrath shook his head, hoping either Penny or Kann would notice. He wasn’t ready to have this conversation with Rylee. He needed more time with her before he had more between them.
“You know, old man Codger’s Chow Chow has been mistaken for a lion on more than one occasion.” Kann slipped his arm around Penny’s shoulder and squeezed. He met Wrath’s gaze and tipped his chin.
“A dog.” Rylee said it like she was trying to make it fit.
