Chasing Tail [Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ x Sʜɪꜰᴛᴇʀs Rᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ]

Part 20

Cody POV

"You deal with the scum," Ash mutters under his breath as he and I proceed quickly down the stairs. He knows that with our heightened shifter senses, I'll hear him no matter what volume he speaks at. "I'll distract the rest of the humans."

We head outside. The humans are gathered in lawn chairs by the lake, sipping coffee. I can smell the remnants of alcohol on them from last night. At least a few of them are clearly massively hungover.

Y/N's friend Lexi looks up at our arrival, frowning in the sunlight. "There you are. Where were you guys all night?"

I ignore the question, searching for the bastard in the group—Kyle. I spot him nursing a cup of coffee, and my blood starts boiling immediately. Just the sight of the worm who tried to hurt my mate, sitting here alive and well, makes my claws slide out. My wolf roars inside me. He's out for blood. A low growl escapes my chest.

"Who wants breakfast?" Ash asks loudly. A couple of the humans wince at the noise. I can hear in his cold voice that Ash is feeling his panther's fury as well. He's keeping it together better than me, though.

Everyone gets up and starts shuffling to the door. Ash steps aside and herds the humans toward the kitchen. Kyle walks up last.

I stick out my arm and stop him from going inside. "Not you."

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Y/N POV

You rush downstairs, hoping to catch Ash and Cody before they can do anything drastic. But when you get to the main floor of the house, you're surprised to find people gathered in the large kitchen area.

The living room, dining area, and kitchen are all connected through an open floor plan. Your friends are sitting on the couch, around the dining table, and on stools around a big island in the kitchen's center.

Your jaw just about drops when you see Ash. He stands at the stove, sleeves rolled up, wearing a simple white apron tied around his waist. He looks...hot. Really hot.

When he sees you, he shoots you a casual smile that makes your heart flutter. He gestures to an empty stool at the counter, closest to where he's cooking.

Struck silent, you sit where he indicates and watch open-mouthed as he whips up the fanciest breakfast you've ever seen. With fruit, fresh bread, perfectly cooked eggs, and some crispy, greasy bacon to soothe the hungover people's growling stomachs. There's even fluffy pancakes with butter and maple syrup.

He serves you first, then lets everyone else come into the kitchen to get themselves a portion, too.

You look wide-eyed from him to the beautiful complete breakfast now plated in front of you.

"Eat," Ash says, handing you a fork.

"I didn't know you could cook."

He smirks. "I have a lot of talents. Many of which you have yet to discover." His tone is dripping with dirty implications.

You cough and start shoveling food into your mouth to cover your embarrassment. But as soon as the flavor hits your tongue, you slow down to savor every bite. You close your eyes and moan in delight.

"Oh my god, Ash, this is amazing."

When you open your eyes, you find him studying you intently. His eyes drop to your lips. The world disappears for a moment as you forget everyone but him.

Ash uses his own fork to spear a strawberry and bring it to your lips. You bite down, and he smiles, looking smug. As if feeding you means he's won some kind of victory. And maybe he has. You shake your head, wondering if you'll ever make sense of all these shifter customs you don't know about yet.