Awkward Dinner
Tansy
I sit at the long dining room table, staring at the impressive span of wood, from one side of the room to the other. Grason added panels earlier today, extending the table until it feels more like a conference setup than a place to eat, but everyone fits with plenty of room to spare.
Cass sits at the head of the table, solid and composed.
Dad takes the chair on one side of him, and I’m on the other. My family lines up next to my dad, all four of them in a neat row. William, Daniel, Ken, then Mom. My pack fills the opposite side. Me, Warren, Beck, then Gray.
I tell myself I’m safe. I tell myself I’m surrounded by my pack, that nothing bad can happen here. I repeat it like a mantra, even though my body refuses to believe it.
Dinner starts, and the awkwardness settles in almost immediately.
I keep my fork moving and my eyes down, too overwhelmed to even look up.
This was a horrible idea.
Cass talks easily with Dad and Pop, the conversation staying firmly in safe territory.
They talk about Cass’s local businesses.
Mostly the bars. Dad listens like a pack alpha assessing another one, attentive and serious.
Pop asks smart follow-up questions, nodding along as if he has any clue what he’s talking about. He doesn’t.
He was a safety inspector before he retired.
I try to anchor myself in the normalcy humming around me. The scrape of cutlery, the low hum of voices, and Cass’s presence at the head of the table.
At the other end of the table, Beck is trying his hardest.
He leans toward Mom with a bright smile, asking questions, filling the space with chatter that’s just a little too eager. She responds with clipped politeness, short answers, her attention drifting away almost immediately after each one.
Beck doesn’t seem to notice how rude she is, or maybe he’s pretending not to.
Warren and Grason stay quiet for the most part.
They eat slowly, watching Dad with a focus that makes my shoulders tense. Grason barely speaks at all, his gaze sharpens every time Beck’s voice pitches higher. Warren’s expression is neutral, but his attention never leaves my mother for long. I can feel the judgment coming off them in waves.
I know what they’re thinking.
That I should be doing more. Making conversation. Making everything less awkward so Beck doesn’t have to keep throwing himself against my mother’s indifference.
But I don’t have it in me.
And if Warren and Grason hate me a little for that, then I’ll live with it.
I take a small bite of my steak, chewing slowly, but I can’t seem to enjoy it.
I’m too fixed on him.
You’re safe, I silently tell myself as I nudge a weird-looking carrot across my plate. Your pack is here. There’s no need to spiral.
But then awareness prickles along my skin and I look up.
Ken is looking right at me from across the table, his dark eyes fixed on my face, that vicious, little smile resting on his lips like we’re sharing a private joke. His focus crawls over my skin, and for a split second, I’m not here.
I’m thirteen again, and his hands are on my thigh, squeezing, his breath hot against my ear.
My stomach churns, and I look away.
The flash of memory is so sharp, so real, that it steals my breath. I used to get them all the time, those little jolts from the past, but now I realize that I haven't had a single one since Cass mated me.
It's like his mark killed all that fear, burying it so deep I forgot it was even there.
But now, sitting here, across from this monster, it feels like it never left.
I take a deep breath, trying to settle my heart, but instead of relief, Ken’s awful scent rips through me.
His weird lavender aroma is thick and cloying, suffocating, wiping out the comforting scents of my pack.
It's in my nose, in my throat, choking me.
My throat works and I’m suddenly worried I might gag.
Then Ken’s voice cuts through all the noise in my head.
“So.” His voice rises when there’s a lull in the conversation.
He folds his hands together, eyes still locked on my face.
“How did you find Tansy?” His gaze drags away from me to Cass.
“You didn’t mention where you found her after she was…
kidnapped.” The way he says it makes my teeth grind. Like he doesn’t really believe it.
My heart pounds and Warren shifts beside me. Just a fraction. Close enough that his arm brushes mine. He doesn’t look at me, but I’m sure he can sense something’s wrong.
“Well.” Cass wipes his mouth, then sets his napkin in his lap, before looking at Ken. “When we found her, she was pretty out of it,” he says. His voice is even, giving nothing away. “She was disoriented and scared. We got her medical help immediately.”
Dad nods once, approving.
“The doctor says she’s doing great,” Cass continues as he slowly turns to me.
“She’s thriving.” His warm hand reaches for mine across the table, curling around my fingers.
I anchor myself in the gentle look in his dark blue eyes.
“I’m proud of her,” he says, clearly and without hesitation.
“She’s been through a lot, even if some people choose not to believe it.
” His eyes slide back to Ken, narrowing ever so slightly, like he’s challenging the alpha.
Something inside me breaks open, and relief hits so hard it almost hurts.
I’ve never had someone defend me before…
“That’s not really an answer,” Mom says loudly, cutting straight through the tender moment. “Where did you find her? Hiding in the woods? Offering herself up on some street corner?”
Another flash of memory, Ken’s voice whispering filth in my ear, his hands pinning me down.
I flinch, my fork clattering against my plate.
“Mom!” I gasp, shocked she’d say something so gross.
Ken tilts his head, watching me as if this is interesting. Like he’s waiting to see what I’ll do.
“I’m sorry, Tansy,” Mom says, clearly not sorry in the least. “But you made it pretty clear you didn’t want an alpha from Danvers. I can only assume you abandoned me at that damn shop and went out looking for your own.”
My fingers go numb. The room tilts and I have to lock my knees under the table. “How could you say that?” I whisper.
“Renee.” Dad leans forward, giving her a pointed look from the other side of the table.
“I’m sorry, William,” Mom’s voice pitches higher. “But how can I not—”
Dad holds up his hand, a silent command to be quiet. And she surprisingly obeys.
“Cassian.” Dad shifts in his chair, clearing his throat. “My omega has a point,” he says politely. “I don’t think it’s fair to skip over the most important part of this story. I can’t leave this house without absolute certainty that you weren’t the one who snatched her.”
“She wasn’t snatched,” Mom grumbles, and Grason lets out a sharp growl that he tries to play off as a cough.
Ken smiles, then glances briefly at Cass. Like he’s checking to see what my pack alpha will do.
Cass waits for Gray to collect himself, taking a drink of water, before he turns back to my dad. “With respect, William, I won’t be discussing that,” he says simply. “Tansy went through something traumatic, and I’m not going to ask her to relive it at the dinner table.”
My chest tightens at the word traumatic.
While the black market was horrible, it was nothing compared to what Ken did to me. What he’s continuing to do to me, even right now.
Mom opens her mouth, clearly ready to fight, but Cass continues, not giving her a chance.
“All you need to know is that your daughter is safe, happy, and healthy.” His eyes meet mine, sparkling with so much affection.
“She’s our responsibility now, and we take that very seriously.
So, no,” he gives my mother a pointed look, “we won’t be discussing what happened to her. ”
Cass’s hand tightens around mine as relief washes over me. My whole body hums with it, warmth spreading through my chest and down my arms.
I don’t have to explain.
I don’t have to defend myself.
My pack is doing it for me.
And for a moment, the memory of Ken’s hands fades. Just a little.
“I just think it’s strange,” Mom glares at Cass, unimpressed. “All this secrecy.”
Dad gives a small nod, but the look on his face says he doesn’t want to push things too far. “Tansy does look well, Renee,” he says, glancing at me. “Healthier than I’ve seen her in a long time.”
My shoulders loosen a fraction, the tight knot in my chest easing as my breath finally slows. I’m not dumb enough to fully relax, but I can at least breathe…for now.
“What about that cane?” Mom leans forward slightly, eyes sharp as glass. “Is your injury a secret, too?” she asks. “Was that related to Tansy somehow? Or were you already crippled when you found my daughter?”
My stomach drops so hard I feel it in my throat.
Cass goes very still.
The change is subtle, but I feel it immediately. The air around him tightens, like something heavy locked into place.
He doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t snap back.
He simply lifts his eyes to my mother, slow and deliberate, the restraint in his gaze carrying more weight than anger ever could.
When he finally speaks, his tone is level and controlled, but there’s something dangerous under it, like a warning carefully wrapped in courtesy.
“I’m sorry, but can you repeat yourself? ”
Mom’s gaze cuts to me, pointed and accusing. “I mean, if she was involved in something dangerous, it wouldn’t surprise me. Headstrong omegas, like Tansy, have a way of putting themselves in rough situations, but I also don’t want my daughter to be stuck with a crippled alpha that took advantage—”
“Enough!” I yell, slamming my fork onto my plate. “You have to stop, Mom! Just stop!”
My hands are shaking, and I don’t remember standing up, but I must have. My heart is racing like I’m thirteen again, like I’m being called a liar and a disgrace, forced to apologize to Ken for the things I said he did.
“Calm down, Tansy,” Dad says cooly. “Sit down before you hurt yourself.”