The Women Between

Chapter 10: Angry Breakfast

Thomas sat in a small brown with his arms crossed over his chest eagerly awaiting his mate. He ignores the others in the light brown paneled room where they eat breakfast and lunch. His impatience is wearing his nerves thin and hurting his eyes as they remain focused on the brown door. The two men are flicking glances his way, which adds to the irritation that wants to settle into him. He knows that he cannot let that happen after the talk this morning. He wants his mate to be calm and relax around him instead of feeling hurt.

Cassandra has not had anything suitable to eat in two days, but today, she is going to have something more than soup. He had one of the omegas cook up a variety of meals for her, hoping something would appeal to her appetite. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, and even toast with butter on the side waiting for her. He even made sure that he refrained from picking up a plate to pile everything on it. Instead, he let it sit on the white bar after he grabbed his food, but he could not start without her there. He wants to serve her and to see what she thinks of their small kitchen that is now hers, too.

It is not as grand as the one the omegas use for the pack, but he can see Cassandra cooking them supper one night. She would go to the white fridge next to the door wearing a cute little dress and heels that showed that gorgeous figure of hers. The white containers where the ingredients are will be opened and wait for her small delicate hands to dive into them and scoop them out. It will be a mess with whatever she has concocted to make while something is cooking on the white stove in the other corner. It will all be laid on the bar for them to grab as Gregory or him pops the wine and pours it out for each other. The candles will be lit, too, making it romantic as they feed her, and she feeds them.

A sigh slipped from him, hoping that fantasy would come true. Right now, he is at the small brown table with Matt and the Head Gamma at another table waiting for breakfast to begin. Zeal, his wolf, is even demanding to start without Gregory and Cassandra present, but he chastises him for that. It is their mate, who just woke from being marked and needs nourishment to regain her strength. He, also, wants to show her that he does care for her more than just to have her as a mate.

Then, her smell hit him before the door opened. It jerked him to his feet and towards the bar with an eager smile on his face. His heart thumped in his chest, drawing sweat to prick his skin as his nerves danced under his skin. His stomach is knotted with a need to please her, to make sure that she likes him the way he does her. He feels like a teenager, again, only more polished than the one he was back then.

It used to be that women would practically strip themselves naked and lie on their backs letting him have his way with them. Even now, it is almost the same except he has tampered down with the smooth talk that made them giggle. He found them less appealing and more disgusting, until he found his mate. Now, he sees no one but her.

He grabbed a plate, turning his head in time to see her walk in dressed casually like she would any other day. She still looked hot to him with that shirt almost hugging her slender frame. It is like she is teasing him by hiding her body. He wanted to rip it off, remembering how soft she looked while lying naked next to him that morning.

His manhood hardened at the memory, making him want to curse himself for dragging it to his mind. Her hair is down looking silky smooth with waves in it that he wants to touch. The light from the windows against the walls makes it look almost golden. His hand even twitched to touch it to know if it would feel good on his skin as it had in the last two days. His eyes flicked at her face, noticing a blush was there that he wanted to be from him, but the other two men were staring at her. That sent a growl from him to them with a sharp reprimanding look that spoke his mind.

“I am sorry if you were all waiting for me,” Cassandra said softly.

It was like a butterfly’s wings kissing his ears with her melodic voice. He wanted to hear her speak more, but not like when she had woken up. He wants her laughter and her banter towards him. He wanted that smile he had seen on her face when they had marked her. It made him wish he could have kissed her longer, but their wolves were dangerously close to the surface and ready to change should she refuse them.

“Good morning, Beautiful,” Gregory called from the door before anyone could say anything. “And a Luna is never late. We will wait forever for her.”

Damn bastard, he thought angrily, as he wished that his brother did not have impeccable timing to usurp his moment. He wants her attention, too, especially after seeing how she soothed Gregory’s fear during the marking. He wanted to give her that line to make her blush and smile just like she is now, but her gaze went towards his brother, not him. That irked his nerves.

He wonders what happened to all his playboy moves that he possessed when stalking his prey for the night. Cassandra is not his prey, but his mate and he should be able to string two words together to make her blush.

Why is he suddenly at a loss?

“What would my Tigress want?” Thomas asked, making her giggle. He wanted to cheer and pat himself on the back for gaining that much from her. His smile widened with the way she looked at him bashfully, showing that the hurt from earlier was gone. It relieved him that she was willing to put away her hurt feelings for a while. “I had the omegas prepare a little bit extra for you to choose from.”

Her eyes scanned the bar like she was looking for something before her smile turned into a frown.

“Ahh! No muffins.”

“Next time, there will be some,” Thomas proclaimed loudly, which made Felicity jump in place. She had slipped to the corner to wait for Cassandra to finish her meal. “Sorry.”

“I’ll take some bacon and toast then,” she said while giggling at his exuberance. “Orange juice, too.”

“It does not sound so healthy,” Gregory scoffed, giving her a frown. He came up behind her with a good morning kiss on the cheek. Thomas was going to give her one once he got her meal, but of course, his brother beat him to it. “Add some eggs for her, Thomas. She needs to replenish what she has lost.”

“I will be fine,” Cassandra said with a bite in her tone.

“Nonsense,” he huffed as she rolled her eyes. He marched over from the end of the counter and added the eggs to what his brother put on the plate. He noticed that his brother was not moving an inch to do it and looked between them worriedly. “You’ll eat well. I do not want to see a crumb left on that plate.”

“And I guess you’re my father instead of my mate,” she muttered under her breath as she went to the table.

Eyes flickered towards her with that comment. She blushed hard when she realized that everyone heard what she had said. Thomas could see that she had forgotten about the werewolf’s hearing being a lot better than others. He tightened his smile at the thought of her calling them Daddy, when they are mating with her legs wrapped around his waist. He can even hear her moans of pleasure between her begging him to please her, but right now, she is feeling angst.

He did not know how to help her through this portion of the mating, where the alpha male wants to ensure his mate. Gregory is more like that than him, while he gives her so much room before clamping down on it. This, however, looks to be a battle of wills that is about to start between the two.

“You should know an alpha mate would not let his female starve or eat small portions,” Matt jibbed in before this became an R-rated fight.

“I know,” Cassandra drawled, showing that she was disgruntled about being caught muttering her thoughts. “I just momentarily forgot.”

“You can call me, Daddy,” Gregory whispered in her ear with a hint of laughter, “when we are in the privacy of our bedroom.”

“Tame your wolf, Your Majesty,” Cassandra scoffed, giving him a push with her arm.

Thomas noticed that she was turning redder than he had ever seen anyone when they blush. He wanted to chuckle even as he flicked his eyes towards his brother, who seemed to have taken the spotlight. It did not make sense to him, since he is the playboy that got all the women. Somehow, Gregory had gotten almost all of their mates’ attention, causing a flare of jealousy to spur in him.

“It is Gregory,” he drawled, showing his disapproval.

“And I am Thomas,” he interjected, wanting the attention, too. He made sure his voice was gentle to Gregory’s harsh tone, so she did not feel too badly hurt on her first day awake. “We are no longer ‘Your Majesty’ anything. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do,” she huffed, again, showing her irritation. “You just did not tell me, who I can say it in front of and who I cannot. I have read up on mates, and it would have been prudent for you to tell me instead of snapping at me.”

“Sorry,” Gregory said immediately, looking sheepish for acting like she did not know anything. “My wolf is the one who disapproves of you calling us by our titles. He sometimes likes to come out through my voice.”

“Then, tell him that I am new to this and need time,” Cassandra responded sharply as she got up and went to the fridge.

“If you need something,” Thomas called after her with his eyes focused on her rear, “all you have to do is call for an omega.”

“I can do it myself,” Cassandra said, getting more agitated, which was perplexing him. She seemed to be going back and forth with her emotions using this moment to calm herself. She grabbed the syrup from the fridge and returned to her seat, continuing to speak her mind. “You should give the omegas a break now and again.”

“We do,” Gregory snapped, showing that she offended him with his face hardened. She stopped drizzling syrup on her eggs and bacon to look at him with hardened eyes and a tight frown. He would so love to kiss it away, but right now, his brother was starting to look like he was getting angry. “Like tonight, no one is going to be working during the Luna Ceremony.”

“Which we need to explain to her,” Thomas interjected in an attempt to keep them from arguing further. “Tonight, we introduce you as our mate and Luna of the Eclipse Pack in North Dakota. You will be presented with us on either side of you. A short speech will be given by me, since I am smoother than my brother. And if you want, you can give a speech, too. We show that you are marked by us…”

“Which was supposed to be done at the ceremony,” the brown haired man sitting by Matt pointed out with laughter in his voice. His brown eyes looked at them amused by the way she had gotten under Gregory’s skin. His sloped nose twitched at his suppressed laughter while holding his muscular, broad frame tightly. “These two were too eager, I heard, to wait for the ceremony to mark you.”

“Yes,” Cassandra drawled, giving him a glance before turning back to eat.

“We will have dinner,” Thomas continued, feeling his nerves starting to pick up as he flitted his eyes between the gamma and her curiously.

“It is order out,” Gregory jibbed in, so she would not think that the omegas were slaving away.

“Yes,” he agreed, giving a nod and feeling slightly perplexed by her curt response to their gamma. “We make sure that selected events are an order out only so the others can enjoy it. Then, you get to enjoy the Council and the high ranks of the pack at our table.”

“Is there anything else, Brother?” Gregory asked as he took a bite out of his pancakes.

He shook his head, saying, “No. Unless Cassandra is confused about it.”

“No, but I would like to go shopping for an appropriate dress,” she responded quickly. He watched her hand tighten on her fork as she struggled to ask them for something that made her feel uncomfortable. Probably money, he told himself, which makes this interesting how she is quickly depending on them. “It seems that the clothes the omegas bought would please one or the other of you. Some are my style, and some are not. I know that, that, that I have to… must change my…”

“Are you trying to say that you need money to get clothes more agreeable for you?” Gregory asked, trying to sound innocent.

Thomas heard the slight tease in his voice that he could see affected Cassandra. Her eyes softened and her mouth parted, showing that he was slightly enthralling her with just a hint of it. She did not get angry, nor did she get irritated by it, but looked at him for a moment weighing her answer. He wishes to do that to his mate, too, which makes him wonder if she is solely for his brother and not him.

“Yyes,” she stammered as her blush came back on her face. “I am… I am not trying to seem like a money grubber or a, a…”

“You are not!” Thomas snapped, grabbing her hand, feeling his heart thundering in his ears. He made her look at him as he took it into his mouth and laid a kiss on it. The look on her face was the same she had done to his brother. It pleased him to see that he affected her, too, giving him hope that this was not a one-sided deal. “You are our mate. You will have what you need and if it is a dress for tonight’s ceremony, then so be it. I will get an omega to go with you, and the Head Gamma will be your safety.”

“Your Majesties,” Matt called, interrupting their moment. “One or both of you will need to be with her.”

“Why?” Cassandra asked incredulously, scrunching her nose at that.

It hurt both brothers to see her looking like it was a problem for them to be with her while she was shopping. Then, they felt her guilt in the next second, telling them that she had not meant to sound that way. He wanted to go so that way he could nudge her in the right direction for the clothes that she should wear. He wanted to see her in nothing, but Gregory would want her in business attire to look like the queen. She may be averse to dressing in those kinds of clothes, but he can swindle her into some of them.

“Heat,” Matt answered simply.

“s**t,” Cassandra cursed, looking upset by that.

“Watch your language,” Gregory growled at her.

“I’m only in the presence of you two,” she snapped angrily as she waved her fork around, pointing to each one, “the beta and the gamma. It is not anyone other than Felicity is going to hear me, unless she runs off to tell someone that I said shit.”

“I don’t like you cursing,” he huffed.

That is where his brother and he differ. He does not care if she uses profanity while he does. It is not about attraction as much as it is about when she does it that makes his blood hot.

“Ugh!” Cassandra groaned in frustration with an eye roll. “I’ll try to refrain in front of you. Is that better, Your Highness?”

“Yes, and it’s Gregory,” he snapped, taking her sarcasm seriously.

Snickers sounded from Matt and the gamma, with Thomas smirking at the way his brother was acting towards her. He wanted to say that he was being overly cautious with their mate to the point of smothering her, but he is normally like that. His heart is on his sleeve when he does things for anyone. He has had to endure belittling from him about his appearance. His brother wants him to be taken seriously. It does not make him feel good to look like his brother. He needed his own boundaries in his life no different than Gregory does in his life.

“What do you know of heat for a wolf mate?” Thomas asked curiously.

“It is terrifying,” Cassandra stated quickly, with her arms wrapped around her waist. He gave her back a brief rub, seeing that she knew about it in some way. Her distant looking eyes stated enough that she may have even seen it at one point. “If I get in heat, then there is the pain from not receiving any pleasure from your mate, and I need to have s*x…”

“Mate,” Gregory corrected quickly between bites.

“Mate,” she gritted out as her head turned to glare at him. She took a deep breath in then out before continuing. “And the resulting end is a child that I know I am not ready for yet, but regardless, it will happen every so often. That is determined by the woman’s body. I want to wait a while before conceiving another life that I will be responsible for.”

“WE,” Gregory corrected, again.

“What part of I need time to…” Cassandra began, and then shook her head. “Never mind. You’re an ass.”

That made them all look at her with wide eyes, while he was enjoying the show that was about to begin. He could feel the worry coming from the other two men, but she was correct. His brother is an ass. However, no one dared to say it to his face. He could not help glancing at his brother, seeing the look of shock on his face before it snarled up to show his displeasure. She did not even flinch once at the menacing look he gave her. Thomas wanted to laugh more if she were not so sexy, right now.

Her eyes held a flameless fire in them that looked to scorch the earth. Her brows were furrowed, adding to the tightness of her face that took on a hardened edge while her mouth was in a firm line. The glare she gave him seemed to be able to bore holes into anyone's mind, except there was a bit of emptiness at the center of that fire. He could see her kicking someone’s butt with that look alone while maintaining her composure. It is the one that gives nothing and everything away at the same time, and he is helplessly looking at her with lust in his gaze.

“What did you say?” Gregory asked her slowly with his voice holding every bit of that anger.

“I called you an ass,” she huffed, crossing her arms with her eyes flaring her anger. “If you look up ass in the dictionary it has a picture of a mule of some sort along with your picture. You keep correcting me and telling me what I need when I thought we agreed this morning that you both don’t have my best interest at heart. If you did, then you would not have marked me until I was ready.”

The deafening silence almost made him almost cringe for his mate. She had crossed a line with both men by mentioning it. He is disheartened by her unwillingness to let go of what happened and move forward with their mating. They are willing to make amends for hurting her and want to start fresh. He knew that they had f****d up on a scale that would have cost them their mate, but he did not need to be reminded of it.

“I have a meeting to attend,” Gregory snapped as he stood up from his seat leaving his meal half eaten. “Make sure she is dressed and ready for the ceremony tonight, Thomas. I will be back later.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes as he nodded to his brother before he walked away. He wanted to walk away, too, but he stayed for her. She is hurt by what they have done to her, which means that one of them needs to be the cooler head. It did not seem like his cool and collected brother would be that person, as they had thought he would be. He will be the one to make them both see reason or at least cool their tempers.

“If you are finished,” Thomas said softly, breaking the silence, “I will introduce you to the Head Gamma and Beta of our pack. The Head Delta is busy with reports and could not make it.”

“Alright,” Cassandra said softly, picking up her plate and walking to the kitchen. “I hope you are not offended by the truth, too.”

“I am,” he answered softly, “but I am not as angry as he is. We both know that we f****d up. We agreed to make it up to you, somehow.”

“I know,” she said, sighing heavily and showing some remorse about what she had said. “It is why I have not rejected you and nor am I, until I see where this goes.” He breathed out feeling relieved by that. He had not realized until now that he was worried about her doing that. It made him wonder if Gregory felt the same way. “I want to try, but if your brother thinks he can tell me what to do… He is going to find that I will not take it lying down.”

“I can see that,” Thomas chuckled. “Let’s get you introduced, your tour done, and then, to the mall and some other stores for shopping. I plan on making you feel like a million dollars today.”