18~ SEEING HER SMILE

KNIGHT POV

I sat in the back seat of my car as we drove back to the pack house, while Brian was beside me, feeling the fury emitting from me.

The meeting had been a disaster, I had gone there hoping to find solutions, to secure stronger alliances and better resources to protect my pack.

Instead, I learned that some of the very Alphas I once called allies had been working with the same bastards who were letting rogues slip through our borders.

My claws dug into my palms, my beast inside me snarling with every passing second.

(You should have let me know what happens when they betray us.)

No, my wolf growled back, (We can’t lose control. Not now. We need a plan, not a bloodbath.)

My beast laughed darkly. (A plan? You sound as weak as he does. They will take everything from us if we keep sitting in meetings while our pack bleeds.)

“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath, ignoring Brian’s glance in my direction.

He didn’t dare say anything, but I could feel his concern. He had seen me like this right before I tore through an enemy pack without mercy.

“Alpha,” Brian finally called carefully,

“We still have options. There are packs with strong borders, better technology, and stronger warriors. We could reach out to them and ask for a partnership. It might buy us time.”

“Or make us look desperate,” I snarled.

“Desperate isn’t the same as reckless,” Brian replied. “You have kept us alive this long by being smart. Don’t lose that now.” I turned to glare at him, and he avoided my stare.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the packhouse, and I didn’t wait for Brian to open the door. I shoved it open myself, stepping out into the night air.

The scent of home hit me immediately with pine, smoke, and the faint trace of Sage that always lingered near the house. It should have calmed me. Instead, it only reminded me of the pressure sitting on my chest.

I needed to protect this place and everyone under my roof. I needed to do it before another more bloody bastard turned up at the border.

My wolf stirred again, speaking quietly this time. (Demand resources. Demand warriors. If they refuse, we will take what we need by force if we have to.)

I exhaled and my wolf was right. I couldn’t keep reacting. Brian came around the car and stood next to me.

“Alpha,” he said, “what’s the plan?”I stared at the packhouse.

I got down and I pushed the packhouse doors open, my boots hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

My head was still full of the meeting, the betrayals, the piles of petitions from Alphas who wanted me stripped of my territory.

The thought of them made my blood boil. My beast prowled restlessly under my skin, begging for release, wanting to tear through the halls and remind everyone why they feared me.

Then the smell hit me, it wasn’t the usual kitchen scent. This was richer, spiced in a way that caught me off guard and made my hunger roar to life.

My wolf perked up immediately. (That food would be worth eating,) He said smugly.

I followed the trail and saw the cook standing stiffly outside the kitchen door, looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

“What is going on here?” I growled.

He swallowed hard. “Alpha… Your guest and your sister are inside. Cooking.”

I stared at him. “Cooking?”

“Yes, Alpha…”

The words made my claws itch. “How could you let them cook! She is supposed to be resting!” I fired and I was about to storm in when Brian’s hand closed on my arm.

“Alpha,” he called, “don’t go in there ready to snap. Maybe she has a reason for doing this. You should find out before scaring her half to death.”

I gritted my teeth. He wasn’t wrong. I hated that he wasn’t wrong. I shoved the door open and stepped inside.

The scene stopped me cold. Tracy was standing near the counter, her hands white with flour, giggling as she tried and failed to roll dough properly.

Sage stood by the stove, stirring a pot, her hair loosely tied back, strands falling around her face. She was smiling. Actually smiling.

“This isn’t fair!” Tracy laughed, holding up a piece of dough that had fallen apart in her hands. “How do you make this look so easy?”

“Maybe I have been doing it for years,” Sage said, laughing softly. Her voice was lighter than I had ever heard it. “You are supposed to knead it like this, not squash it like you are trying to kill it.”

“I am trying!” Tracy groaned, her flour-covered hands flying up in mock despair.

“You are not hopeless,” Sage said, reaching over to fix the dough. “You just need to stop being afraid of getting messy. Cooking is supposed to be fun.”

“It is fun,” Tracy said, grinning, “but if this comes out tasting terrible, I am blaming you.”

“You are not going to blame me,” Sage said with a smirk. “Then we will try again tomorrow, after all I was messaged at first when I started.”

“Tomorrow?” Tracy gasped. “You want me to survive this again?”

Sage laughed, and the sound did something strange to me.

I stood there, frozen in the doorway, watching them. I should have been furious. I should have ordered them both out immediately. But my wolf had gone quiet, watching them with rapt attention.

(She’s happy,) He murmured. (Our mate is happy.)

For the first time since she came here, she looked alive, like she wasn’t just surviving but actually living.

I leaned against the doorway, saying nothing, just watching as Sage guided Tracy’s hands on the dough, correcting her gently.

They laughed when Tracy accidentally flung flour across the counter, both of them coughing through the white cloud.

I felt something strange tug at me, soft and irritating at the same time. I hadn’t seen my sister laugh like that in years and my mate had never looked more at ease.

Before I knew it, a small smile had pulled at the corner of my mouth. My wolf was practically wagging his tail.

(You like seeing her like this,) He teased.

“Shut up,” I muttered back at him.

I didn’t move until Sage finally turned, catching me standing there. Her smile faltered, surprise flashing in her eyes. Tracy noticed me a second later and her grin widened.

“Well, look who decided to come back,” she said, brushing her hands on her apron. “You are just in time to taste our masterpiece.”