A platter piled high with pasta plops down on the table between us. I shoot my gaze up to find Donatello’s annoyed one on me. “She needs to eat first.” Then he turns to face her, lowering himself to get closer. “Dinner first, then dessert.” And he walks away, leaving Cassandra’s cheeks on a raging shade of red.
I laugh. She’s adorable, but something tells me she’d be pissed off if I mentioned that. Cassandra curls her nose and kicks me under the table. “What are you laughing about?”
Ren pulls the pasta tray closer as Donatello takes the seat to my left. The wolf serves Cassandra first and then goes on to serve the rest of us. Bolognese pasta is the comfort food I usually go to. My dragon prefers to hunt and eat his food raw, but the human in me adores some carbs.
The table is in complete silence as we dig in, groans of satisfaction to the dish resounding around me. Donatello has some skill in the kitchen. He makes the simplest dishes taste amazing, and I don’t think he had the tools or the seasonings for it here. Which reminds me.
“The wine,” I blurt out around a mouthful of pasta. Cassandra sits up straighter, her eyes glinting with expectation, her cheeks full of food like a hamster. I stride into the kitchen, grab the wine, then make it back in time to poke her cheek with a forefinger. “Remember to chew.”
A round of chuckles rise around me as I pop the wine open. A glass for each one of us, minus Ren, who refuses with a subtle shake of his head, and we clink them together before sipping.
“Wow,” Cassandra moans around the wine. “This is good shit. And I’m not even a wine person.”
“Me neither,” I tell her, refilling her cup as soon as it empties. “I’m more a beer guy.”
“Don’t you say?" Donatello adds with an arched brow and sarcasm dripping from his words. I elbow him.
“Let me guess. You’re into Bloody Marys,” I tease him with a grin. Cassandra laughs, so it’s worthwhile.
Donatello rolls his eyes. “Wine. Bloody Marys are disgusting.”
Cassandra slams her hand down on the table. “What! Bloody Marys are great. You only think they’re disgusting because you didn’t have the right bartender mix it up for you.”
“What about you,bella?” Donatello asks, leaning forward on the table. “What do you drink?”
“I’m a simple girl. Gin and tonic is the drink for me.”
“Noted,” Donatello says, opening a smile. “Gin and tonic for you, orange juice for the pup.”
Ren looks up from his plate with a smile. “I know that’s supposed to be a jab, but I wouldn’t mind the juice.”
We laugh, and we drink, and we clean our plates and have seconds. The wine bottle empties, but it’s clear we’re all heavyweights with alcohol. Cassandra doesn’t sound fazed, and she’s the one with human organs.
“Listen, pup,” I shoot in Ren’s direction. “There’s something you should know for your own sake. You look like a good kid, but you’re young. The three of us are dealing with some big problems right now. You can get hurt.”
“I’ve been hurt,” he replies, his eyes turning melancholic. “I’m a lone wolf, Apollo. There’s no one in my life. And now I’ve found my mate.” He presses his lips together, shaking his head. “I won’t let her go. No matter what she’s going through.”
Lone wolves are an abomination in wolf shifter society. Some other species are okay with that — dragons are found by themselves or with small clans. Wolves? No. Wolves are pack animals. They suffer when they’re by themselves. He’s another victim of witches. Some of them are intensely focused on destroying shifters.
Cassandra reaches across the table, gripping his fingers. Ren leans closer to her like she’s the sun, and we’re all planets gravitating closer.
She licks her lips. “You have a new pack now. We’ll help you look for your sister.”
I raise my eyebrows, exchanging a glance with Donatello. His jaw clenches, and I’m sure he thinks the same I do.
Ren smiles. “Thanks, Cass.”
And I want to cut in and say we don’t have time for that. Our priority should be to keep her safe and find a way out of this mess. But this boy’s been through too much. To wake up and find your entire pack murdered is the stuff of nightmares. I’m impressed he’s only melancholic and not insane. I don’t know what I would have done.
“You have us now.” Cassandra’s voice is firm and sweet, and she grips his hand in hers. The two exchange a glance that holds a bucket of unspoken words, and I soak in that moment. On how the four of us work together, on how it is to have dinner with them. It feels strangely like family.
“What about you,bella?” Donatello breaks the silence, serving the last of the wine between our glasses. “Why are you alone?”
Cassandra’s shoulders tense, and this time she looks away. “I was raised in an orphanage. No one liked me back then. I was always the weird kid.” She shrugs, but the movement is stiff. “I don’t care. I’m better off being alone.”
I want to tell her that’s not true, that she’s better off with us, but Donatello is faster than me as he leans closer to her. “I make your words mine. You have us now.”
Her eyes snap up to meet his, and she locks her gaze with each one of us for a moment, her orbs glittering with something I can only say is hope. Fuck, this woman. She’s fierce, and she’s smart and beautiful. I see why she’s my fated mate. And I promise myself I’ll stay by her side no matter what happens. She’s been hurt, and she’s been abandoned, but I’m never letting her down.