Page 44 of Outcast
"We'll be right back, Kira," I called as we passed through the doors.
As expected, all heads swiveled towards us, and I crossed my arms over my chest, staring them down menacingly. Seth easily picked up on what I had in mind, mimicking my pose and calling out, "Listen up. From here on out, feed yourselves and do your own damn chores. Kira is not beneath any of us, and we won't tolerate anyone treating her that way."
Adding onto it, I announced, "When she walks through these doors, keep your eyes on your fucking plates or on the person across from you. She isn't some science experiment for you to ogle or gape at."
A busty brunette with tanned skin slid out of her chair and sidled up to Seth, dramatically swinging her hips in the process. A fake pout pulled down her lips as she fluttered her lashes at him, which I thought she meant to appear demure, but honestly, she just looked constipated.
Her finger snaked out to touch his forearm, but before she could make contact, Seth's hand flew out to grab her finger and twist it. The snap of her bone echoed through the room just before she howled in pain, snatching back her hand to cradle it to her chest.
Dark eyes glittered dangerously back at us now, her expression changing to reflect her true attitude. "You'll regret that, Seth."
He barked out a singular laugh before answering, "Fuck off, Tamara."
She scowled before flicking her mousy brown hair over her shoulder and turned to retreat back to her chair.
"I hope that clears up where we stand and how we'll react to your disrespect moving forward."
A corner of my mouth tugged up in response to the blatant aggression bleeding into Seth’s otherwise polite words.
Right on time, Kira pushed through the door, her cherry blossom scent hitting my nose within seconds. She mumbled around the food in her mouth, "Geez, what's going on here?"
Seth and I grinned maniacally as all heads snapped to look anywhere other than at us or Kira.
Mission accomplished.
"Oh, nothing. Just scoping out a table for us to eat at in peace," I answered with ease, steering her towards the table nearest us with her plate of food in hand. Taking note of the black leggings clinging to her ass now, I realized she must have grabbed them from the clothing pile out back from the previous night. Resourceful woman.
She called out to Seth, "I made plates for you guys in the kitchen." He nodded and disappeared to grab them.
Settling onto the benches at the wooden table, I positioned her with her back to the room while I sat across from her, able to keep my eye on everyone else. Without a second of hesitation, she dug into the eggs, bacon, and sausage piled high on her plate.
Crunching happily on a piece of bacon, she did an odd little dance in her seat and moved her head around as if to a beat she was singing in her head.
Cocking my head to the side in confusion with my brows scrunched, I hesitantly asked, "What're you doing?"
Her shoulders moved up and down, continuing her dance as she reached for a sausage link this time, "I'm enjoying my food, duh."
Note to self: Food makes Kira happy dance. Feed her often.
Seth walked back out with two plates in his hands, both piled with the same food, and passed one over to me as he sat down next to Kira while asking, "How did you manage to cook all this so fast?"
Chuckling lightly, she swallowed her mouthful of food before answering. "I only had to make the eggs just now. When you're responsible for feeding a pack of wolves, you learn to prepare meat in bulk and just reheat any leftovers for the next day."
The reminder of her status in the pack to this point made me halt the fork full of eggs I had raised to my lips. Setting it back down on the plate, I asked in honest confusion, "How could you invite Jameson to dinner tonight after everything he’s done and how he’s treated you? He's reveled in making your life hell for how long?"
Leveling me with an exasperated gaze, she folded her hands in her lap. "You seem to have no complaints about Seth being with us, even though he never helped my situation growing up."
My eyes darted to Seth, who flinched and let his shoulders sag forward as he mumbled towards his plate, "I will regret that for the rest of my life, Kira."
How could she not see the difference between him and Jameson?
"I know that, Kira. The difference is that he hasn't rejected your mate bond, and he never actively tried to hurt you in the past, plus he regrets not stepping in." I growled the last part as rage coursed through me at the memories.
“Milo, I appreciate your concern for my well being, but I don't need you to make the decision on who can be in my life for me." She resumed shoving eggs into her mouth like that was the end of it.
Picking up my fork, I muttered, "I guess I'm just supposed to welcome a bully into our family with open arms."
A loud clang sounded as she slammed her fork down onto her plate and glared at me.
