AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Humanity First.” She wrinkled her nose. Picking up her glass, she took a sip in hopes it would wipe the bad taste from her mouth. “Every time you think they’ve been snuffed out, they pop back up.”
“As long as hate exists, hate groups will too.” He shrugged, voice casual, as if he wasn’t talking about a group responsible for murdering his father, and millions of others across the globe over time. “Let’s discuss something else, otherwise I’ll be craving something raw and bloody instead of the lasagna Lizette prepared for you.”
Pleasure shivered through her at the name of the cheerful old cook who had sat at the table with her for hours on end, listening while she practiced her terrible French and gave mock opening arguments—back when she’d still be planning to be an attorney, one who’d advocate for abused children of all races.
Back in that other life.
She had only barely started pre-law, but the intellect that had been her saving grace and her ticket out of hell—she’d once hoped—had made it possible for her to finish high school at a startlingly young age, and made many of the needed college courses child’s play.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she said, “Well, if you’re hungry for fresh kill, go hunt. I’ll eat all the lasagna myself.”
That said, she served herself a large helping and took a big chunk of bread.
“If you’re going to eat at that rate, I might have to.” But he had a smile on his face.
It unnerved her, because she knew what caused it. Therian males got pleasure from watching their mates eat. He would have taken even more pleasure if he’d hunted the meat for the meal, prepared it or served himself—even more if he’d done all three. And she knew from experience that Niko could cook. He’d learned at his father’s knee. Lasagna wasn’t his specialty, or it hadn’t been, but she wouldn’t put it past him to learn if he got it in his head.
Unwilling to let her mind wander along that train of thought, she asked, “Will Lizette be there tonight?”
“Yes.” He cut a bite off, then, eyes on her, he slid the forkful into his mouth. “She was actually rather friendly with your father. She’s taking his death hard.”
Mouth pursing in a frown, Zee cut into her own serving of lasagna and took a bite, turning over that piece of information. “I can’t imagine anybody less likely for Lizette to choose as a friend.”
“I said friendly, not friends. There is a difference.” He glanced away, jaw working before looking back at her. “One of the children Samuel saved was her grandson. She won’t forget that. Ever.”
His words made a knot rise in her throat.
There had been a time when she’d admired her father, thought him to be a hero. But then she’d grown up... at the tender age of seven, perhaps eight. She couldn’t even pick a defining incident. There were too many. The strong, stubborn man who would stand before their alpha when others all but crawled had been a force of nature.
But he’d never held her when she cried. As she’d grown older, he’d began to chastise her for the tears, finally punishing her. Tears are a sign of weakness in the pack, Zennia. You mustn’t ever let anybody see you weep.
She no longer had the blinders of young childhood adoration on, but while she knew just how flawed her father had been, at his core, he’d wanted to get away from a dangerous alpha who was a threat to his family, but he hadn’t wanted to abandon the larger family that was pack. He’d also done everything he could to make sure no signs of weakness were seen in his children, because in their old pack, those viewed as weak didn’t fare well.
In the end, he’d likely felt the ends justified the means.
So what if he’d ended up with some screwed-up offspring who no longer spoke and didn’t even trust each other? They’d survived, right?
“Zee.”
Niko’s voice, soft and questioning, pulled her from the past and she looked up to see him studying her. “Where did you go?”
“I didn’t go anywhere.”
Leaning back in his seat, he eyed her for a moment before speaking. “You’ve always done that. When we first started seeing each other, you’d do it quite often. At first, I assumed you were homesick... remember when I mentioned taking you back to Greylock for a visit?”
“Yes.” Zee grabbed her wine and drained it. She wouldn’t get drunk, even if she emptied the bottle. Her metabolism wasn’t as amped up as a typical Therian’s but it was fast enough that regular alcohol wouldn’t affect her.
But her mouth had suddenly dried out. A forgotten fear had suddenly surfaced—Niko asking about her life with her home pack. She’d long since separated from Greylock, but the scars left on her from childhood...
“I should have asked you about this before,” he said, intensity pulsing in his voice. “Should have pushed you to talk about it.”
She’d been staring into the empty bowl of her wineglass but now, she lifted her lashes to look at him. “You think you can force me to talk about it if I don’t want to?”
“I think you need to.” He rose and came around to crouch by her chair.
Zee didn’t look at him.
But she should have known he wouldn’t let that stop him. One moment she was staring at the meal she’d barely touched. Then the chair was pulled out from the table and swung around and she was facing Niko, the vivid blue of his eyes alight.
