Chapter 98
Chapter Ninety-Eight
~Rhen~
"Thane, let me help, at least; I'm not that bad at cooking," I hear Harlow tell Thane as I walk into the foyer.
Raidon gives me a look, hearing them. They aren't arguing, and they are in the same room together without being at each other's throats.
Walking into the hall, I hear Thane huff. He has this pained look on his face.
"Harlow, please let me do it. You can watch."
Oh, god, please say yes, I think to myself. That woman could burn water.
"My cooking isn't that terrible, and you…"
Thane raises an eyebrow at her. I stifle my laugh as I watch them quietly. Raidon and I had raced here the moment we felt her pain, but seeing them now, Thane is taking care of her, and they seem to be getting along.
"You ate the spaghetti I made," she huffs. He grabs her hips, setting her on the countertop.
"A+ for effort, but you can't cook to save your life. I can't stand eating your cooking anymore. I don't think my stomach can take it. But if you insist, I will suffer in silence until it kills me," he laughs.
"Well, it wouldn't be suffering in silence now that you told me," she says, shoving him away.
Raidon comes up behind me, and they finally realize we are watching them. Harlow's face lights up.
"Tell him, Rhen, my cooking isn't as horrid as he is making it out to be. You liked it, right?"
I look between her and Thane, not wanting to hurt her feelings, before nudging Raidon to answer for me.
"Yeah, I like it; I don't know what he is talking about," Raidon says.
"Right, Rhen?" Raidon smiles at me, waiting for my answer as Harlow's eyes narrow, looking at me expectantly.
"Well, is it that bad?" she asks, wanting the majority ruling to say she can cook, but I want to live and not die from food poisoning.
"Well, you'll never be a chef, but it's edible," I tell her. She purses her lips, and Thane rubs his hands up her thighs.
"See?" he says.
Hearing the door, I look back to see Leon wander in. He stops in his tracks as he spots Harlow and Thane in the kitchen, Thane standing between her legs. I can feel his shock through the bond, but it is also clearly splashed across his face as Leon stares at them openly.
'Stop staring, don't ruin it,' Raidon growls through the mind-link.
I step into the kitchen, and Thane moves aside as I lean down and peck her lips. "Let Thane cook," I tell her. She sighs and reluctantly nods her head. I can see she doesn't completely trust him but is giving him the benefit of the doubt.
"Fine," she says, hopping off the counter when Leon wraps his arms around her. He tugs her against him, whispering something in her ear that makes her arousal scent the air before he rushes her off to make her shower with him.
"Leon!" Raidon scolds, feeling his hunger.
"I'm fine," he tells Raidon. Leon has not fed on her once since she came home. He refuses and has been drinking from blood bags, which is beginning to get on all our nerves because it causes his scent to change for a few hours afterward.
"Go with them. He doesn't feel right," Thane nods to Raidon, who saunters off after them. Thane grabs some pots and pans out from the cabinet.
"Leon had to bail Talon out again," I tell Thane, who nods his head.
"I figured as much by his mood."
I wait for Thane to blow up. He is sick of the trouble Talon causes Leon. We all are, but he is family. However, Thane’s usual tyrant mood at such matters doesn't come as expected.
Instead, he starts getting ingredients out.
"What are you making?" I ask him, stepping behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist. I drop my chin on his shoulder. I have missed this, missed my mate, but he had to learn she is our mate too, and we won't accept how he treated her if he isn't willing to learn from his mistakes.
We all groveled, begged, and earned her forgiveness over the past few days, but what he did is inexcusable, just as it is inexcusable that we let it go on for so long.
"Lasagna."
I nod and kiss the side of his neck as he pulls the meat from the packet. I press him against the counter. His hands hit the countertop.
"Rhen, I'm cooking," he snaps at me, and I chuckle at his grumpy ass. Some things never change with him. I nudge my hips against him, and he smacks my thigh.
"I have nipple clamps upstairs with your name on them," he warns me, but I grip his hips, spinning him around. He growls at me until I press my lips against his. His growl turns to a purr, and he grips the back of my neck, deepening the kiss, biting my lip, and making me moan.
"Don't tease me. Don't ruin my good mood," he growls at me, letting me go.
"Maybe I am not teasing," I tell him.
"You should, be because I need to cook. Now go harass the others and get out of my kitchen," he snaps at me, reaching for the kitchen towel. I chuckle, turning away from him when he flicks it, making me jump at the sting of the towel snapping against my ass.
"I'm going, I'm going," I tell him, walking off.
Finally, things are getting to some form of normal.
Walking upstairs, I move toward the main bathroom, where I can hear their voices.
Pushing the door open, I find Harlow watching them shower as she sits on the vanity wrapped in a towel, her hair dampened and droplets of water running down her shoulders.