Rise from the Ashes

CHAPTER SIX

Lilia- Rose

Upon waking the next day, I was annoyed. How dare he move me in the middle of the night.

How dare you, I said to Lilith, for allowing him to do so.

I felt rather than saw a shrug from her in the corner of my mind. He is our mate, and while I cannot say I completely trust him, so far, he is kind and does seem to care for us. He took us to the hospital, stayed by our side through the fear of the unknown. Has provided a nice home and bed. Though it is within his right to do so, he has not forced himself on us.

Yet. I bit out at her.

She ignored me and continued her thought. Had our mate been from our pack, we would have been forced the day we met.

You are mate-lusted. I practically scream my accusation at her. I am going to save our skin by starting breakfast, and figuring out a way to escape this place.

I'm not mate-lusted. She argued back. I want to give him a chance to prove himself, and placing our needs above his own goes a long way. Who in our shit life has done that?

I rolled my eyes at her and continued to make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was massive. It would be akin to a very fancy restaurant kitchen in which customers would be able to see the kitchen staff cook their delectable meals. This made me think that more wolves lived in this house than I originally thought. I had assumed Aden lived with his Second and that man's mate, if he had one. Now, seeing the size of this kitchen, I believed I was wrong.

Many of the pots and pans were vast to accommodate making pack meals. Not knowing how many lived in Aden's pack house, I planned to make enough for ten wolf shifters. It was also important that whatever I made could be easily and quickly replicated.

Rummaging through the three refrigerators, I found what I needed. I whipped up eggs, adding different chopped vegetables, and some sausage. They quickly became cheesy omelets. On two griddles I also prepared perfectly fluffy pancakes.

By the time Aden made it down stairs, I had nearly finished preparing a breakfast feast.

"It smells delicious in here. Do you enjoy cooking?" He kindly asked as he took a seat at the bar stool in front of the counter I was cubing strawberries at.

"N-not particularly," It was difficult, but I focused on my task and not at the handsome face studying my every move.

"Why are you making so much?" He inquired.

"I-I wasn't sure how m-many people live here."

Pleasantly, his head cocked to the side. "You don't have to cook for everyone."

A slight lift to my shoulder was the only reply he got from me. I'd not be punished for not completing duties. Until I could escape this alpha's watchful gaze, he'd find no reason to hurt me.

A sigh crested his lips. "I live here with my top three. Only one of them is mated."

"T-this is a b-big house for so few." My stutter was aggravating me to no end. Previously, when I was at the hospital, my fear was slightly subdued due to the knowledge that I could scream out and be heard if Aden tried acting untoward. Being in his home, with his most trusted, meant that anything could happen. Regardless of how I felt.

"It is to accommodate our weekly pack meal. Everyone brings a favorite dish to share. We play games, talk, and laugh late into the night. It is an affair that starts midday so even the wolves watching our lands can have a chance to come after or before their shifts." It sounded too good to be true. A pack enjoying their time together? It was nearly unheard of. "In any case, you needn't cook breakfast like this unless you want to."