The Taint of Wolves

Unexpected.

Chapter Sixteen : Unexpected.

The very next day, I got a call from the old, kind woman from the town-hall. She did need help. It wouldn't be a glamorous job, or something that would bring in a lot of money, she warned. It was two or three nights a week, some weekends. Cleaning. Tending to the meetings. Making food in the little cold kitchen.

I asked her when I could start.

The Monday after the incident, Easton stepped into the kitchen with a soft, but clearly smile. He filled the doorway, brimming with nervous, yet excited energy. My attention flickered over him, to the drying hair that curled at his ears. The red flush of his cheeks. The rolled-up sleeve, exposing veiny forearms.

"You're excited about something." I had slept well last night, so there was a softer bite to my voice. Nothing had chased me. Drowned me. Strapped me down. I had slept and woken up to sunlight and a room where the walls told a story.

Like every morning, he made a coffee that I was sure would rot his teeth. The routine was familiar. Safe in some ways. It was interchangeable who woke first, but I was always the first into the kitchen. Lux would follow us sometimes a half-an hour later, but Muffin would arrive, begging for food and then promptly ignoring us.

It was nice.

I picked at the scraps of last night's dinner—a roast that I had devoured, much to the surprise of Lux, Blav, Merri, and Easton. The two turkeys had been massive—enough that two Lycan males couldn't finish it. But they had never met my hunger. Even now, I picked at the bare meat left on the carcass.

He slid into his favourite chair at the kitchen table. In the morning light, his eyes were liquid gold. "I was thinking, why don't we hire you a tutor?"

I thought about it. "A tutor?"

He nodded. "You want to finish school. I thought maybe, the school environment might be too busy, so we don't we hire a tutor for you. Someone to help you with your maths, and writing and anything else you want. Someone who could teach you all the things we teach young Lycans."

I thought about the freedom that could bring me, and smiled at him. "I would like that."

Across the table, his breathing hitched. "Then I'll get one for you."

I titled my head at the hitch in his breathing, turning my attention to the kitchen. Not a threat in sight. Was his coffee actually giving him a heart-attack? Did I give him CPR? Aspirin? I knew how to yank a heart out from behind the breastbone, but not how to keep it beating.

I looked back to him again, finding him smiling still. There was something warm about it. I shifted, listening to the steady and heavy thud of his heartbeat.

There was a knock on the door. I flinched at the sudden noise, planting myself back against the counter. Easton didn't react, his voice slow and calm. "That should be Blav."

Heat suffused my cheeks, and my attention shot away from him. "I'll get that."

His brows pinched, and I realized he was keeping himself relaxed. He thumbed his newspaper open casually. "He has some files for me."

"You better make him and Merri some breakfast." As I passed the table, I paused. I leaned over, peering down at the colourful spread of the paper. I was close enough to feel the heat of his body, close enough to see the curve of his lashes and the intricate details of his scars. "Anything interesting?"