Forged in Fire (Forgotten Series, #2)

Chapter Two

Michael looked confused as he lay at the bottom of the stairs. He was on his back, his legs in the air as the confusion rolled off of his frame. I let out a sigh before walking over. I looked down at him and shook my head. He whined at me as I crouched down by his head. "You're an idiot. How many times are you going to fall down the stairs before you realize that you can't go that fast?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he simply grinned, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth. I thumped his side with my hand before standing up. "Come on, let's get to the kitchen and set the table." I walked away and before long I could hear them following me.

I pushed open the swinging doors to the kitchen and looked around. The smell of pasta and tomato sauce was heavy in the air and my stomach rumbled. I ignored it as I moved towards the furthest end of the kitchen where there was an eating nook. I pulled out the table while Ezekiel and Michael stalked around the kitchen, looking for scraps to eat.

"You bloody wilds!" The voice was screeching and I smirked. Carrie, or Gamgam as I called her, the pack cook, hated it when I brought Ezekiel and Michael into the kitchen. Well she said she hated it but the old female was always the first one to give them a bone or table scraps.

"Carrie, Alpha Thorn is coming down for dinner. Would you like to join us?" I deliberately used her name as I shuffled the chairs around, trying to count the amount of plates we needed when I heard a shout and a small yelp. "Michael, stay out of the food." I could hear him whine as he came closer before lying underneath the table. He was almost too big so the display was amusing. I could guarantee Gamgam had smacked him on the nose with her wooden spoon.

"Do you honestly think I would allow you all to eat in my kitchen and not join you? You are a foolish whelp. It's my kitchen, my domain. I eat wherever I want." At her snappish voice I smiled and set out a plate for her. Gamgam was one of the oldest pack members we had and one of the ones you didn't want to make angry. Some pack members had wanted her to quit in the kitchen after my father died because they didn't think it was fitting for me to be served by the pack I was too weak to run.

She threw a fit.

Her screaming could be heard through the entire house as she reprimanded them for thinking ill of their new Alpha and how she had made breakfast for my grandparents and everyone else in the pack and there was no way she would give up her kitchen for some petty power struggle. The sound of her wooden spoon cracking against heads was nearly as loud as her yelling. I had been surprised when her trusty spoon was still in one piece after her tirade but she made her point, she stayed in the pack house making food for the pack in her kitchen.

"Get your scrawny ass over here and help an old female!" At her screechy kitchen boss voice I smiled but turned away from the table and made my way over to the stove where she was pointing at the large pot of boiling spaghetti. "Strain it and put it in the bowl." She smacked my shoulder lightly with the spoon before bustling over to where she had the sauce simmering. I did as she asked and set the pot in the sink before picking up the large strainer and shaking it slightly, forcing more water to drain out. I dumped it into the bowl and glanced at the grey haired chef.

"Okay, now bring it over here and dump it in. After that get me the cheese from the cooler and the butter. The good butter not that cheap plastic shit you people stock in here." Her face was pinched with disgust and a small smile tugged at my mouth but I did as she asked. I liked how Gamgam treated me no different than anyone else. She respected me as her Alpha but when I was in her territory I was just like everyone else, which translated into a nuisance or a lackey.

I looked around with a frown before relaxing when I saw Ezekiel was sitting by the table, knowing to get out of Carrie's way as she cooked. I pulled open the door to the cooler and looked at the shelves. "Which cheese?" I looked over my shoulder and she scowled at me darkly.