“No, please let me,” Maeve said. “You’ve opened your home to us and the least I can do is cook.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. It’s what I do. Take care of whoever needs it,” Alison said.
“Please,” Maeve said.
Alison nodded. “Okay, if you really want to. But you don’t have to.”
“I want to. Let me change real quick and I’ll be right down. Griffin, come up here and wash your face and comb your hair.”
“Oh, Mom.”
“Now!” Maeve said firmly.
“Do what your mom says,” Niko encouraged.
“Alright,” he grumbled as he stomped back up the stairs.
Maeve watched as her son came back up toward her, but shot a warning glare at Niko the entire time. The last thing she needed was a night-clubbing, barroom loving, commitment phobic male fixated on her. Having a mate was one thing, having a mate she’d have to baby sit and corral like she did her son, after she had to convince him to mate her, was another thing entirely. And if necessary, she had no problem at all telling him exactly that.
“I’ll put the coffee on,” Alison said.
“Sounds good,” Niko said brightly, following her toward the kitchen. He paused beside Feral as they hung back a bit near the entrance to the kitchen, and looked at him critically. “Couple of things… first, she’s not like most girls. Don’t take advantage of her or I’ll be tracking your ass down at Alliance. Second, youdidn’t have to yank that door open and let me bust my ass on the stairs. It wasn’t the respectful thing to do.”
“But beating on Alison’s door while everybody was asleep was the respectful thing to do,” Feral said.
“I was in the middle of a crisis. I wasn’t thinking straight,” Niko snapped.
“Here’s something to think about when you’re straight-minded again. Alison is my mate. I will claim her when she’s ready. But I don’t have to wait until it’s official to kick your fucking ass enough to make you think twice about making her or anybody else in this house uncomfortable. You understand?”
Niko’s lips curved into a slow smile as he took a step closer to Feral.
“Hey! That’s enough. You do not behave that way in my house. Go outside until the two of you are finished trying to intimidate each other,” Alison said.
“Just making my place known, hon,” Feral said without looking toward the sound of her voice where she was busy scooping coffee into her coffee maker. “Nobody’s going to make you uncomfortable in your own home.”
“Thank you, Feral,” Alison said. “I appreciate that. But as of yet, you don’t really have a place here. We just met.”
“Hah!” Niko shouted, walking away from him and into the kitchen. “I was just making sure some fancy-schmancy male from the Variant didn’t come in here and make you feel all swept off your feet then drive off into the sunset leaving you to your own devices,” Niko said. He stopped and thought about his words. “Not that you have devices. I mean, you might, I don’t particularly know, but those weren’t the devices I meant.”
“Can you please stop, Niko?” Alison asked.
“Yeah. That’s probably a good idea,” Niko said.
“Alison, I told you what I feel,” Feral reminded her.
Alison smiled at him, but looked away, unsure that he’d still want her like he said he did now that the sun was rising.
Niko looked over at Feral who’d walked further into the kitchen and stopped near him while speaking with Alison. “So, you’re claiming her, just like that. No palpitations, no oh fuck, what the hell am I thinking, or anything like that?” Niko asked.
“None of that. Just, yeah. This is right. This is good. Home.”
“See? I just don’t understand that. I get all nervous and shit. I am not cut out for it.”
“Because you don’t want to be,” Feral said.
“You think that’s it? I don’t think that’s it. No, that can’t be it,” Niko said.
Chapter 17
