“Don’t do it alone, though,” Dad adds. “I know you still have your schoolwork to attend to, and I don’t want to take away all your free time.”
She shrugs. “I don’t mind. I can sacrifice a bit of my free time,” she states. “But I’ll ask Nox and one of the warriors to help me.”
“Good,” my father nods his approval. “Good work, Aurelia!”
She’s clearly surprised by his praise. She shoots me a glance, and I nod at her with a smile.
I’m late for dinner, unfortunately. I hate missing meals with Annalise and the pack. But at least I can be sure there is something edible for me in the kitchen. To my surprise, Marilou is still there. “I… Good evening, Alpha.” She shifts around, her nervousness only growing.
“Did something happen?” I ask. “Did someone get hurt? Did the Luna get hurt?”
“No,” she blurts out, shaking her head furiously. I notice how she can barely look at me.
Oh, it’s because of me.
I sit down at one of the chairs in the kitchen to take away from my imposing height. “I’m searching for food,” I say evenly, deciding to take control of our talk.
“Right,” she stutters, her cheeks flushing, before taking two humongous plates out of the fridge. “Renata already went to bed, and I was still doing my homework here. Luna Annalise… she… said, you would, you would like… so Renata prepared…”
My eyes widen. “Thank goddess for my beautiful mate.” I take a look at the plate. It’s beef stew with rice, vegetables, and tons of meat. Just the way I like it. “And for a fantastic kitchen staff.”
She smiles shyly. “Are you… do you want to eat it here…Alpha?”
The last thing I want is to unsettle that poor Omega girl any further. “I’ll take it upstairs and eat with Luna Annalise,” I say calmly. “Thank you for staying here to make sure the food reached me, Marilou.” I nod at her. “I heard you plan to visit a cooking school after graduation and also want to learn about patisserie?”
She nods shyly. “If that’s… okay. Cakes and patisserie are a hobby to me.”
“Well, then I’ll look forward to further creations from you.”
She beams at my words and forgets to be scared for a moment. “You will. They also have a cocktail class. Renata said the warriors would like a bar,” she mutters more to herself, apparently forgetting that I’m a scary Alpha.
I decide not to ruin the moment and carefully retreat before she snaps out of it again. “Keep up the good work,” I say.
“Yes, Alpha!”
Balancing the two plates in my hands, I hurry upstairs, forgetting to use the elevator like I do most of the time. Before I can reach the top floor and Alpha residence, Dante and Aryanna catch up with me. It seems that Ari already filled him in on everything.
“So, we will have a human at the ceremony?” Dante asks. He sounds surprised, but happy.
“Yes, but keep it a secret,” I smirk. “I want this to be a surprise for our Luna.”
Dante smiles warmly. “She’ll be so happy.” He looks at me. “And you? You don’t mind?”
I shrug. “No,” I say honestly. I thought I would, but I don’t mind at all. I meant it when I told my father that I would have invited Dave as well. He’s one of Annie’s and Finn’s best friends after all. “I’ve been thinking recently about trying to break old patterns. Most werewolves throughout the various packs who find human mates either reject them or stay in the suburbs of the pack as outsiders. I definitely don’t want that for my pack members. Whatever species someone here mates with, they are welcomed.”
“If Ella were not a wolf, I wouldn’t have minded,” Dante confesses. “I would have loved her anyway.”
I nod. “Humans might be more vulnerable than wolves, but we always find a way to protect them if they’re someone’s mate and become a pack member.”
“Also, werewolves without a wolf are a thing,” Aryanna points out. “They are not so different from humans.” She pumps the air with her fist. “Together against prejudice!”
Dante winces a bit. “I think I’m a tad too old for that sort of victory dance, but I very much support the sentiment.”
“All right,” I nod. “Now, if you excuse me…”
“No time to look at the folders I prepared?” Dante sighs.
“I apologize, Dante,” I say. “But I have very important matters to attend to tonight. We’ll discuss your reports first thing tomorrow.”