Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 24

Thankfully, my headache had faded somewhat by the time we got back to the pack house. It hadn't relented that much though, and my shields were still up since my senses felt rather battered and sensitive. Will didn't say anything, but he must have figured out that the headache hadn't abated. I noticed that he stayed very close to my side as we filled our plates.

We went to go sit with Samantha and John. I put my plate down, but before I could sit, Will pulled me onto his lap before pulling my plate in front of me. He gently rested his chin on top of my head as he declared, "This is a much better arrangement in my mind."

I blushed slightly, which caused John to chuckle as he glanced at Samantha. "You guys may claim that I was bad," John said, "but you have to admit that I never did that."

Samantha grinned at us. "True. If I didn't have my own mate, I would find these two almost intolerable while trying to eat."

Will's voice was amused as he replied, "It isn't as if we were kissing. You are getting all worked up over nothing."

I shook my head and took a bite of my waffle. Thankfully, they stopped talking in favor of eating. I savored my food, still enjoying the things that I simply had never gotten to enjoy while being a rogue. One perk of being on Will's lap was that he was unable to stare at my face for most of the meal. He often glanced down, but I was short enough that all he saw was the top of my head. It was somewhat amusing that his plan had backfired on him.

I looked up at him and grinned innocently at his slightly frustrated expression. Impishly, I inquired, "Is something wrong?"

He made a face. "I apparently didn't think my plan through. I always enjoyed watching you eat since you look as if each bite is the best thing you ever tasted. I can't see your expression, and it is driving me crazy."

I laughed at the predicament that he put himself in. He seemed fascinated by my smiling face so close to his. He tilted his head and held a slice of strawberry up to my lips. I opened my mouth, and he popped it in. I chewed and closed my eyes as I enjoyed the sweet fruit.

I could feel his gaze on my upturned face even without my senses. I opened my eyes in amusement to see him staring intently at my face. I blushed slightly as he grinned. He held up a bite-sized piece of waffle. I humored him and let him feed me that as well.

Before too long, Will glanced down at the table. "Your plate is empty." His voice sounded surprised. I glanced down and saw that he was correct. He had fed me most of my breakfast by hand.

John started snickering, "I was wondering how much time was going to pass before you looked away from her."

Samantha swatted John's arm. "Let them enjoy themselves in peace. It was kind of amusing to see the big, bad Enforcer acting like that. Although, if they start kissing during meals with that kind of intensity, I am out of here."

I ducked my head as I felt a blush heat up my cheeks and neck. I had forgotten about our audience. I normally relied on my senses to alert me when others focused their attention on me, and my shields had prevented me from being reminded of their presence.

Samantha grinned at my reaction. "Ah, look at her blush. Leave it to Will to get an innocent one." She shook her head. "On a more serious note, I hear the cooks are hoping for more mushrooms. The one cook, Sylvia, is hoping for more truffles since there is a market in a week, and they will fetch an excellent price."

My blush faded as I felt Will tense up slightly. I said, "The mushrooms are easy enough to gather in human form. I would need to be in wolf form to scent the truffles. If I am going to be spending that much time in wolf form, I would like someone else with me, just in case a large predator shows up."

A low rumble echoed from Will's chest, and I rubbed his arm in reassurance. Will's eyes went unfocused for a few minutes before he looked down at me. "I just spoke with a couple of people who can accompany you," he said. "The one lady wants to be more familiar with the closer sections of forest since she usually scouts along the border, and the other one pulled a muscle in her leg. It will probably be mostly healed by this afternoon, but in the meantime, she can't do much in training or go scouting. Both are willing to help you pick mushrooms."

I replied, "That works for me. They can pick mushrooms while I check the area to see if I can stumble across another truffle. You should finish your breakfast though, you seemed to have forgotten it in your distraction."

He smiled at my change of topic and picked up his fork to eat a mouthful of omelette. He inspected my expression while eating before saying, "Please stay near them and don't go climbing any trees. I don't think my nerves could take another stunt like you pulled yesterday."

I looked over at Samantha as I commented, "I guess this means that I had better wait before telling him about the time when I lived in the mountains and climbed up the cliffs on a daily basis."

She laughed as Will grumbled, "I am so glad that there are no cliffs nearby..."

He made short work of his heaping plate of food.