The Wolf Within (Book 1 of Wolf Within Series)

Smells Delicious

** Lia's POV **

I closely followed Dakota to the door and walked out to one of the small tables sitting against the railing. The wrap around porch for my room had a small table with two chairs on each long section of. The tables were perfect for one person with a meal, or two people with coffee or drinks: but not big enough for two people with a copious amount of food.

As Dakota set down her last dish she stated, "Houston, I think we have a problem."

I chuckled at her phrasing and nodded to the right, "There is another table like this around the corner. If you take these plates for me, I can get it."

"That's alright." She said simply as she turned and made her way around the corner, "I can get."

In her absence I couldn't help but wonder what happened with Strega Tali, and what Strega Tali had told her just before we got there. Yet, before I could fall down the rabbit whole of possibilities, Dakota returned, table in hand. After a few moments of strategic placement and replacement the two small tables were put together and the chairs placed side by side at the table. Clearly she wanted us to sit together and enjoy the view as they were both facing the railing instead of each other.

Dakota then turned to me and reached for the plates, "I'll take it from here Chief." She winked as she took the dishes from me and set them on the table. My goddess, was the night air always this warm? We both took our seats and were practically shoulder to shoulder. As I reached to remove the cover from one of the plates, I saw Dakota turn to me out of the corner of my eye. "Wait, don't you say some kind of werewolf grace or something?" She asked.

"Um, what?" I had no clue what she was referring to. "I mean, we can be graceful at times, especially when fighting or hunting together, or dancing. Some of us can also be quite elegant when it comes to social occasions... but we normally don't talk about it."

Suddenly Dakota burst into laughter. "Oh my gosh," she said between laughs, "not what I meant." She took a few moments to calm herself and catch her breath before continuing. "I meant do you say any kind of prayer before eating? My grandma used to always make my parents and I say 'Grace' before we ate. It was a short prayer thanking God... well, her God... for the food. I was just wondering if you say something similar to the Moon Goddess."

"Oh, not really." I began as I pondered how to best describe what we do instead. "I guess the thanks is more addressed during the actual harvesting of the food. For us it is more important to give any form of thanks at that moment. And, like I've said, we are normally thanking the animal for its sacrifice. Though, we do a small ritual before we harvest any of our crops. That is more geared toward the Goddess. Regardless, it seems a shame to let this delicious food get cold!" I stated as I reached out to begin satiating my hunger.

Dakota followed suit and in moments our previous conversation faded into the gentle clanking of silverware and the occasional contented sigh. Of course, when faced with two perfectly cooked T-bone steaks, sides of creamed corn and cheesy bacon mashed potatoes, and some freshly baked buttermilk biscuits, what choice did we really have?

As the food gradually vanished from our plates, bite by bite, I caught Dakota staring out at the night sky as she exhaled another sigh of content, though the content did not seem to be solely food related. "Like the view?" I asked before I took in another mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Her eyes remained on the scene before her as she answered, "Yes. It's beautiful. I guess, without a camera, I'll just have to commit it to memory."

"You know... that's just one more reason for you to stay." I replied with a sly smirk while I moved to take in the view. The evening stars were strewn so wildly about the sky they looked almost like a galaxy floating before us. The waning moon was almost halfway gone by now, yet it stood so resolutely amongst the stars.