KESTER.
I pulled back a little more, hands still on her waist. “What were you going with them?”
She tilted her head. “Them?”
“The guards.”
Her mouth opened, then curved into a smile again. “Oh! The food. I was giving them the packs you bought last night/
My brow furrowed. “Why?”
pher
“Because there’s no way I could eat all of that on my own. Not even in two days. It would go bad and be a waste.”
My jaw clenched slightly. I looked down at her like she had just spoken a foreign language. “I bought it for you, Kasmine. Only you.”
“And appreciate that. Really.” She placed a hand over my chest. “But I don’t need that much, Kester. It’s okay to share when you have plenty.”
I stared at her, completely still.
She gave a small laugh, eyes shining with something that looked dangerously close to affection. “You look like I just told you the
moon was square.”
I was still stuck on the word ‘share.‘ That shit had never sat well with me. Never had a reason to even think about it.
“I don’t like sharing, and I’ve never had to share,” I said in a low and rough voice. “Especially not when it comes to you. Or things
that are yours. Things I gave to you.”
“I know,” she said gently, “but think about it this way–if someone gave you more than you could ever need, and someone else had nothing, would you just hoard it all? Let it rot?”
I blinked at her, chewing on that thought like it was something bitter and foreign.
Her hand on my chest moved, fingertips brushing against my shirt as she spoke again. “Kester, it doesn’t take anything away from me to let them have a little. And it makes them happy.”
I looked away. “Yeah, well… I don’t do that. I don’t do friendly. I don’t do sharing is caring speeches. That’s not how I’m wired.”
“I know,” she said. “That’s why I want you to go give the rest of the food to them.”
I snapped my head back to her. “Wait. What?”
She nodded, crossing her arms. “You heard me. The packs are on the table. Go on.”
“You’ve lost your damn mind.”
Her smile was sweet. No, I’ve just decided to use my influence wisely. You’re going to be nice today.”
“I let you share them,” I growled, gesturing toward the door. “I have already compromised. Congrats on that. That’s huge for me, you don’t even understand.”
“Exactly. You have agreed to let me share it. But you haven’t done anything. That’s not the same, Kester.”
God.
I stared at her like she’d grown two heads, “It’s not the same?‘
“No,” she said, her tone matter–of–fact, almost like she was explaining basic math to a stubborn child. “One is tolerance. The other is participation. One keeps your walls up. The other takes them down.
My arms dropped to my sides. “You want me to go out there and… hand out meat pies and food and drinks like a damn scout leader?”
“Exactly.”
I barked a short, dry laugh. “Woman, I rule over grown wolves who’ve skinned enemies alive. They’d die of shock if I handed them a
snack.”
She shrugged. “Then let them die. At least they’ll die well–fed.”
There was silence.
“You can do it,” she said with a soft grin. “Say something like ‘Thanks for guarding the house, guys. Here’s lunch. That’s all.”
I looked at the bags, eyeing them like they were live explosives. “This is beneath me.”
“It’s growth.”
I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. “Fine. But I swear to Selene, if one of them makes a comment about my soft side-”
“I’ll kiss it better.”
I smirked, “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re resistant to growth,” she said softly. “Which is why this matters. I’m not asking you to braid their hair or gossip about feelings. Just… hand them food. That’s it.”
I sighed through clenched teeth, stepping away from her before I caved too fast. My pride clawed at my throat. But her words… they planted themselves in my chest like seeds I didn’t want but couldn’t spit out.
“Fine,” I muttered, walking to the dining room like I was marching to a battlefield.
She followed, arms still crossed, but her eyes were warm and encouraging. That made it worse.
I grabbed the damn food containers off the table. My hands felt stupid and heavy. How the hell did she make this look easy?
I turned and caught her leaning against the doorway, watching me like she already knew how this would go. “You better not laugh.”
“I won’t,” she promised, her lips twitching.
“I mean it, baby.”
“I know, Kes,” she whispered. “But I’m really proud of you.”
That hit me harder than I expected. It lodged itself under my ribs and sat there–warm, annoying, humbling.
2/4
Chapter 310
She’s the only one who had ever told me she was proud of me. She had always said it to me since she came into my family, and it meant a lot to me.
I stepped outside, the sunlight itting me like a spotlight. The guards had gone back to their various posts, but they looked like they weren’t sure if the coast was clear after my earlier fury.
Their eyes widened the moment they saw me.
I approached slowly, trying not to look like I was carrying bricks instead of food.
One of them–Tal, the youngest–stood to attention like I was about to chew him out. “Alpha-?”
I shoved a container toward him without making eye contact. “Here, Eat. Or whatever.”
He blinked like he couldn’t believe it. “Uh… thank you, sir?“.
“Don’t make it weird,” I muttered, shoving another container into the next guy’s hands.
He murmured, “We… We appreciate this…”
I snapped. “It’s food, not a fucking medal.”
By the third guard, I was certain my face was on fire. But I didn’t stop.
The fourth actually stepped back, eyes wide. “Alpha?”
“Take the damn food,” I snapped.
Behind me, I heard the door creak softly, and I knew Kasmine was peeking.
By the time I handed the last one over, the men were exchanging stunned glances, like they were trying to decode a divine omen.
I turned around without another word, stalked back into the house, and slammed the door behind me.
Kasmine was grinning.
I glared at her. “Happy?”
She didn’t say anything. Just stepped forward, wrapped her arms around my waist, and pressed a kiss to my chest.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “Because you just took your first step.”
“Into humiliation.”
“Into humanity.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t fight the way my arms came around her. I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips–just for a second–before I buried it again.
Goddamn woman was teaching me things I didn’t even know I needed to learn.
And I was letting her.
Author’s Note: Thank you all for your birthday wishes. I really appreciate them. I love you all. Here are the extra chapters.
3/4
