Page 25 of Dual Nature

Pressing a soft kiss to my lips, he tugged a drawer open and pulled out a brush and blow dryer. "I'll be back with some clothes."

Is this what life with mates is going to be like?

seventeen

Hair dry, I left the bathroom and found women's clothing sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed. I couldn't stop myself from sniffing them to make sure I wasn't going to put on another woman's clothes, but they smelled brand new. My wolf relaxed and chuffed in approval, knowing that they were new and hadn’t touched another woman’s skin before. I, on the other hand, was frowning as I checked the sizes. They would definitely fit well; even the bra was the right size. Slipping on the dark-washed jeans and the warm, soft knitted sweater in a blue color that almost matched my eyes, I felt back to normal. Not bothering with the socks that were left for me, I padded down the stairs on silent feet, pausing before heading down the second set to the main floor.

"How did she seem when she woke up?" Lane asked, voice full of concern.

The sound of a cup hitting the counter quickly followed. "She's fine, alright. I know you wanted to be all noble about the situation, but it's done. Finley is our mate, and I for one am thanking whatever gods might be listening to end up with a woman like her," Zander snarled.

A growl that I somehow knew was coming from Lane echoed up the stairs. "Don't presume to know what I'm thinking, Zander."

"Your assassin skills might typically serve you well, but don't forget you now have scent to contend with," Elias said from directly behind me.

I spun on my heel, lashing out at him with a kick, but he deftly moved out of the way. He apprised me with those haunted hazel eyes for a moment before his lips seemed to fight a smile. "Never thought I'd see the day where an omega would attack another wolf, let alone a beta."

"I guess my training is too strong for my new nature to remove it entirely," I offered, not understanding it myself. I didn’t mind his inspection, but my wolf was now awake and utterly concerned that Elias was going to be upset with her.

"That type of conditioning must have started very young, makes me wonder what other surprises you hold. Come let us set your mates at ease now that they know you're close," Elias suggested, letting his hand gently run across my lower back as he brushed past me.

Catching on to what he said, I paused to listen, noticing that the talking had stopped. When I looked down the stairs, there they were, looking up at me questioningly.

"You planning on coming the rest of the way down, or lurking?" Zander inquired, letting me know I hadn't been quite as successful at hiding myself as I thought.

I followed Elias into a kitchen that was just as impressive as the rest of the house. Everything was modern, sleek, and top of the line, making it very clear that the owner of this house had plenty of money to spend. The island was covered in plates, bowls full of fresh fruit, and platters of piping hot food, making my mouth water. Lane came up and rested a hand between my shoulders, guiding me over to the plates before handing me one, indicating that I should help myself. My wolf who’d just started to relax and curl in the back of my mind shot up, extremely unsettled at being asked to go before anyone else had gotten their food.

"I can't go first," I murmured, not wanting to broadcast it because the whole thing made no sense to my human brain. My wolf was adamant about it though. I could not take from others of higher rank.

Thankfully, Lane caught on right away and took the plate from me. "Anything you don't like or can't eat?"

I shook my head and dropped my eyes to my hands, pissed that I couldn’t shake these omega instincts even while in my human body. A hand grasped mine, squeezing it gently, and the stark color difference and the whiff of warm chocolate told me it was Noah.

"Come on. Let's get you a spot at the table, hmm?" Noah suggested as he led me through the kitchen to the large round table and pulled out a chair. "Are you a coffee drinker?"

"Yes, I certainly am," I answered, smiling up at him.

He brought a mug, the coffee carafe, milk, and sugar over to the table for me to help myself. Surprisingly, he didn't linger while I doctored up my morning brew. Without him right next to me, my wolf relaxed enough to do this simple task ourselves. Knowing it had been given to us seemed to make all the difference. Knowing that they weren't interested in it, that they were actually providing it to me, gave me the freedom to take what was left for myself without fear of upsetting them. Forgoing the cream, I scooped way more than an appropriate amount of sugar into my cup. This was my one and only vice; I loved sugary sweet things but rarely let myself indulge. With my training and job, I normally needed to be at peak health and performance, but something told me I didn't need to worry about that quite so much now.

"Bit of a sweet tooth there, sweetheart," Lane teased as he set a plate down and kissed the top of my head. "Good to know."

The plate was overflowing with food, so much that I wasn't sure anyone could eat this amount, but all the others had even more on their plates when they sat down. The alphas dug in first, then the betas, while I watched, slack-jawed, all of them going to town on their meals.

"Still can't eat?" Mason asked, pausing with half a waffle hanging off his fork.

Much to my own surprise, laughter slipped out when I went to answer him, causing everyone else to pause. "Do you guys have any idea how ridiculous you all look? No one should be able to eat a full waffle in two bites, and I'm pretty sure that is a serving spoon, Zander."

Zander looked down at the utensil in question and shrugged. "I hate cold eggs."

For some reason that struck me as hilarious, and I broke out into a full belly laugh. The guys just looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Oh god, I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard," I wheezed, wiping at my eyes. "If I didn't know you were wolves, I would have guessed I was around bears storing up for the winter."

Colt cracked a smile and shook his head. "Can't say that we spend much time with people outside our pack or anyone who isn't used to the amount shifters eat. If you think this is a lot, then I can't picture what you'd think about actual bear shifters. They cook a whole pig to eat themselves—never get tricked into an eating contest with them. You'll lose."

"Ha, if you think that’s impressive, you've never seen a whale shifter eat before," Zander countered.

"No one has seen a whale shifter eat! They’re the most reclusive bunch I've ever heard of," Lane shot back, stuffing potatoes into his mouth.