was curled up in the sun room reading one of her favored romance novels.
Hobbling to the fridge, she pulled open the freezer and rummaged through, pulling out a few pounds of venison burger. Delano hadn’t agreed to allow her to cook, but she could at least make the effort of putting together something that most of the pack would enjoy.
A couple jars of vodka sauce from the cupboard and two boxes of spaghetti noodles later and she was ready to rock. As she limped to the cabinet that held the largest stockpot, she couldn’t help but notice the difference in not being hounded incessantly. Typically, her day was a whirlwind of settling arguments, assigning duties, and then covering most of those assignments herself. Smiling to herself, she had to admit that it felt a little nice to stay at the compound and do the more matronly tasks without it feeling like she was covering for someone or in a rush to get it done.
Pouring herself a tall glass of iced tea, she took a healthy swallow as she eyed the full fridge. Someone had done the grocery shopping and from the looks of it, they’d stuck to her list. That’s a first!
She pulled out two heads of romaine and two tomatoes, unable to stop the smile that split her face. Delano had done in a few weeks what she’d been unable to do in years. He’d whipped her pack into shape. It was nice. Aside from the slip in dish duty, which had been her responsibility, all the other chores were being performed on a regular basis without her having to beg for them to be done.
Hugging the heads of romaine to her chest, she balanced the two tomatoes in one hand and snagged her glass of tea before she made for the sink. Her foot hit a few drops of water that had drained from the romaine and it slid out from beneath her, forcing her to tighten her frame and tense her muscles to catch her balance. Her glass hit the floor as the action sent white-hot pain shooting through her. Closing her eyes to steel herself against the pain, she hissed in a sharp breath.
“ELEANOR!”
Shit! Why did Delano seem to have the worst timing? Sucking in a breath, she forced herself to blink up at him as she feigned nonchalance. “S-slippery floor,” she offered through gritted teeth, but she couldn’t hide the wince when she lifted her leg to take a step.
“Didn’t I say to take it easy? What in the hell are you doing?” He was already to her, unloading her arms and placing the items on the kitchen island. Her eyes rounded when he quickly spun back to her and lifted her off her feet. “Did you not hear my decree,” he growled. “I said you’re off rotation and I meant it!”
She shook her head with a shrug, “I wanted to help. I just slipped is all.”
“Is all?” His voice was angry. “You could’ve been seriously hurt.”
“I’m a shifter,” she challenged.
“And shifters don’t get hurt?” he snapped, stopping to scowl down at her. “How do you think you wound up like this in the first place?”
Alpha or not, she wasn’t about to let him throw that in her face. “I wound up in this place by defending my territory.” She gritted the last word through clenched teeth. “We’re shifters, Delano. We’re going to get hurt doing what we do because of what we are.”
He was still scowling down at her. “What in the hell kind of philosophy is that?”
“It’s not a philosophy!” she challenged, her voice unintentionally rising. “It’s a fact.”
“Yes,” he bit out, his expression darkening. “And apparently it’s a painful one.” He looked pointedly at her thigh.
Eleanor jerked her head away to frown at the sink. “I don’t know why you’re so pissed! I was just trying to cook dinner. I slipped. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” he boomed. “You need to learn to take better care of yourself,” he snarled, inching his face closer to hers when she whipped her head around to
Hobbling to the fridge, she pulled open the freezer and rummaged through, pulling out a few pounds of venison burger. Delano hadn’t agreed to allow her to cook, but she could at least make the effort of putting together something that most of the pack would enjoy.
A couple jars of vodka sauce from the cupboard and two boxes of spaghetti noodles later and she was ready to rock. As she limped to the cabinet that held the largest stockpot, she couldn’t help but notice the difference in not being hounded incessantly. Typically, her day was a whirlwind of settling arguments, assigning duties, and then covering most of those assignments herself. Smiling to herself, she had to admit that it felt a little nice to stay at the compound and do the more matronly tasks without it feeling like she was covering for someone or in a rush to get it done.
Pouring herself a tall glass of iced tea, she took a healthy swallow as she eyed the full fridge. Someone had done the grocery shopping and from the looks of it, they’d stuck to her list. That’s a first!
She pulled out two heads of romaine and two tomatoes, unable to stop the smile that split her face. Delano had done in a few weeks what she’d been unable to do in years. He’d whipped her pack into shape. It was nice. Aside from the slip in dish duty, which had been her responsibility, all the other chores were being performed on a regular basis without her having to beg for them to be done.
Hugging the heads of romaine to her chest, she balanced the two tomatoes in one hand and snagged her glass of tea before she made for the sink. Her foot hit a few drops of water that had drained from the romaine and it slid out from beneath her, forcing her to tighten her frame and tense her muscles to catch her balance. Her glass hit the floor as the action sent white-hot pain shooting through her. Closing her eyes to steel herself against the pain, she hissed in a sharp breath.
“ELEANOR!”
Shit! Why did Delano seem to have the worst timing? Sucking in a breath, she forced herself to blink up at him as she feigned nonchalance. “S-slippery floor,” she offered through gritted teeth, but she couldn’t hide the wince when she lifted her leg to take a step.
“Didn’t I say to take it easy? What in the hell are you doing?” He was already to her, unloading her arms and placing the items on the kitchen island. Her eyes rounded when he quickly spun back to her and lifted her off her feet. “Did you not hear my decree,” he growled. “I said you’re off rotation and I meant it!”
She shook her head with a shrug, “I wanted to help. I just slipped is all.”
“Is all?” His voice was angry. “You could’ve been seriously hurt.”
“I’m a shifter,” she challenged.
“And shifters don’t get hurt?” he snapped, stopping to scowl down at her. “How do you think you wound up like this in the first place?”
Alpha or not, she wasn’t about to let him throw that in her face. “I wound up in this place by defending my territory.” She gritted the last word through clenched teeth. “We’re shifters, Delano. We’re going to get hurt doing what we do because of what we are.”
He was still scowling down at her. “What in the hell kind of philosophy is that?”
“It’s not a philosophy!” she challenged, her voice unintentionally rising. “It’s a fact.”
“Yes,” he bit out, his expression darkening. “And apparently it’s a painful one.” He looked pointedly at her thigh.
Eleanor jerked her head away to frown at the sink. “I don’t know why you’re so pissed! I was just trying to cook dinner. I slipped. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” he boomed. “You need to learn to take better care of yourself,” he snarled, inching his face closer to hers when she whipped her head around to
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