“I see,” Sarah said again. “Well, how about we head to the moon room, then?” She gave Snow a sideways glance. “Maybe we can rustle up some grub.”
As they headed for the door, Lotus told her, “If you enjoy bugs, you will like Fern’s cooking.”
Chapter 8
The moon room was a spacious cavern that reminded Sarah of the central room in the other den she had seen. It was circular in shape, with a large fire pit dug into the center of the room. The ceiling was unique in that it was formed by two large slabs of granite that rested against one another, making up only half of a roof. The other half of the room was open to the sky, and afternoon sunlight poured into the room.
According to the chatty Lotus, Greystone was their summer den. They typically traveled there in late spring, staying until mid-autumn, when they would return to their primary den, Hillside. During the summers, the wolves would spend their nights eating and socializing in the moon room. Since arriving a little over a week ago, they had spent their afternoons in the moon room, retiring to their respective rooms once night fell and the cold settled in.
As she and Lotus entered the room, Sarah’s attention was immediately drawn to Cain, who appeared to have just returned. His feet were bare, and he was adjusting a pair of faded jeans around his hips, a thin sheen of sweat blanketing his muscular chest. Clover and Meadow stood next to him, bickering noisily, though he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to them.
Turning to Cain with her hands on her hips, Meadow said, “I cleaned the last one.”
“She did not,” Clover objected. “Grace cleaned it, and she hunted it.”
Meadow rounded on Clover. “I caught the bird.”
“The bird?” Clover let out a loud snort of laughter. “You’re seriously counting the bird?”
“It was a turkey.”
Noticing Sarah, Cain pushed past the arguing females to approach her, his body glistening in the sunlight. He gave her a lopsided smile, and her pulse quickened. Was his smile ever going to stop having that effect on her?
“You are up earlier than I expected,” he said. He placed a hand on her hip and bent to press a kiss to her forehead.
A part of Sarah had expected him to treat her differently around the members of his pack, but Cain didn’t seem to have any reservations about showing his affection towards her.
“I did not wake her,” Lotus announced beside them.
“I think I had a little trouble sleeping,” Sarah told him. She almost added ‘without you’, but kept that part to herself.
“How is she?” he asked, looking down at Snow, who could not be bothered to lift her head from Sarah’s shoulder.
“She’s doing great,” Sarah replied. She nodded towards the squabbling pair. “Do they always fight like this?”
“Only most of the time,” he replied. “Are you hungry?”
At the mention of food, her stomach answered for her, rumbling loudly. Bashfully, she said, “A little.”
With a tone steeped in authority, Cain called out, “Clean and portion the meat, Meadow. You too, Clover.”
Meadow stuck her tongue out at Clover before sauntering from the room.
The teenager didn’t budge, and gave Cain a sullen look. “That’s not fair. Why do I have to help? She never does anything.”
Cain didn’t respond to her. He simply folded his arms over his chest, affecting a resolute stance. Clover muttered something under her breath and followed Meadow, dragging her feet as she went.
For the first time, Sarah noticed lines of fatigue beneath Cain’s eyes. She had a feeling that between hunting and dealing with his pack members, he hadn’t had any time to rest.
Before she could ask as much, she heard Clover’s voice from the passageway.
“It’s about time!” In a sing-song voice, the girl said, “You’re in so much trouble.”
Cain’s lip curled, and he stepped away from Sarah, heading towards the passageway as Clover reentered the room. She was skipping alongside two men, and Sarah had to do a double take when she saw them.
Given what Lotus had told her, they could only be Hale and Alder, Cain’s wayward brothers. From across the room, Sarah couldn’t make out their faces, but she could make out blonde hair and recognized that they shared Cain’s tall, muscular build.
The male on the left was swatting playfully at Clover’s head as he looked up to see Cain stalking towards him. Sarah didn’t have to be able to see the alpha’s face to tell that he was pissed, but she was still surprised when Cain pulled back his fist and punched his brother square in the jaw.
In a thunderous voice, Cain commanded, “Outside. Both of you. Now.”