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I had never been a good cook, but there were certain things I could cook—omelets, for one. Simple pasta in a butter sauce. Grilled cheese. Macaroni and cheese. And usually they tasted okay. Edible.
A sigh escaped my lips and that pain above my heart came back. I rubbed at it with the heel of my hand.
Oh, Raika, my love, you were better than me at everything, especially cooking. You made delicious food for my siblings and took care of them like no other.
I shook my head. No, no time to succumb to the pain and sink in that hole again. At least not yet.
I finished eating, took my plate to the sink of the small kitchen, and wiped the counter. Tyren brought his plate and Minsi’s over and put them in the dishwasher.
The houses in the DuMoir village were small, but comfortable, and even though they dated back to the 1800s from the outside, they had electricity, plumbing, and all the appliances needed for modern life.
Our house was one of the biggest, because it had three bedrooms, but we shared two bathrooms, and there was only one main area with the family room, dining room, and kitchen. Some of the houses were one-room studios.
A knock came from the front door and Tyren opened it. Rue stood at the entrance, her face sporting a soft smile.
“Good morning,” she said. She looked at Minsi, who was still seated at the table, now with a book in her hands. “Who is ready for school?”
Minsi’s eyes widened and she looked at me.
“You are, right?” I walked to her. She turned to me as her body started locking down. If I didn’t avert this in two seconds, she would have another panic attack. I pulled a chair back and sat beside her, but angled my body to face hers. “Hey, pretty girl. You like school, especially when it’s Rue teaching, because …” I cupped my mouth and whispered, “She lets you read a lot. Right?” Minsi blinked and the tension deescalated by a millimeter. “How about you go with Rue? After class, she’ll take you to the library and let you pick any book you want. Then you can bring it home and tell me about it.”
Her eyes widened, but this time it wasn’t with fear, but eagerness. She glanced at Rue, who chuckled. “We can go to the library in DuMoir Castle with Aurora. Would you like that?”
Minsi nodded.
Rue extended her hand. “Then come or we’ll be late for class.”
Minsi shot to her feet. I stood, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before she slipped away from me. With small steps, she made her way to Rue. I met Rue’s eyes above her head.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
She nodded at me. “I’ll take good care of her.”
I knew she would.
Minsi waved at me then disappeared with Rue. My heart squeezed. I didn’t know what to do with Minsi, and I felt so freaking lost. For now, the Silverblood witches had made a potion we could give her when the panic attacks began, but I hated it because I felt like we were numbing her.
I didn’t want this for her.
I didn’t want this for anyone.
A moment later, Tyren showed up back in the living room wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers. “I’m off for training,” he said as he walked to the door.
“Sure. Hm, Tyren …”
He halted by the door and looked at me. “What?”
I stared at him. I didn’t even know what to say to him. I felt like everything was falling apart, but everything had already fallen apart, and I had no idea how to fix it.
“Nothing,” I told him. “Have a good training.”
He nodded at me before walking away. Out he went, with Hugh and the other male wolf shifters to train with Killian and Dom. I had promised to join them and oversee training myself.
As much as I wanted to believe we would have peace now that I could practically retire, hanging on to the memories I had of Raika, I wasn’t that naive. The world wasn’t black and white, and I was sure there was more to come.
What, I had no idea. But before we were caught by surprise, I wanted everyone in this damn pack to be trained. Even the females. Lucille had wanted to practice with the males before. She got it. She and the others were probably headed to the training grounds right now.
I walked out into backyard and looked at the small garden behind our house. The sun was already halfway up in the sky and its warmth felt nice against my skin. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up, soaking it in. If only life was this simple.
