"Something smells delicious!" Nelly announced as she swept into the room, her eyes instantly drawn to the spread on the counter. She took Adelita from Mark's arms, cradling the child against her hip as the baby's head lolled in sleep.
"I'm surprised as well," May admitted, unable to hide her astonishment as she took in the variety of dishes. The aroma filled every corner of the room. "Mr. Kade made all these."
Nelly's lips curved into a smirk. "Kade, feeling useless?" she teased.
Kade just smiled faintly. "Well, I will make the table."
"No!" May blurted, her protest sharper than intended. She stepped forward quickly, softening her tone. "You already made dinner. I will do the rest. Thank you, Mr. Kade."
She reached for the spatula in his hand. Their fingers brushed just a heartbeat too long. The brief contact was a lightning strike, scorching in its simplicity.
May's breath caught. She tilted her head up without thinking, and her gaze collided with his. His eyes were dark. Her stomach fluttered, traitorous.
Her fiancé was in the room, for God's sake.
The air seemed to thicken between them, until—
"May?" Mark's voice cut in, sharp with curiosity.
She spun around, far too quickly to look casual. "Yes."
From her peripheral vision, she could see the way Kade's jaw tensed.
Nelly, ever the mischief-maker, turned her attention to Mark. "Mark, would you like to join us for dinner?" She delivered the invitation while staring directly at Kade.
The wolf in Kade bristled. "No… it's late already!" The words came out clipped, almost bitten off.
Nelly's smile widened, all teeth. "Well, Mark lives two blocks down. I'm sure he can go home whenever he wants."
Kade's fingers flexed against the counter. May could feel the storm brewing in him without even looking—his presence was a pressure in the room.
Mark stepped closer to May, brushing her elbow as if staking his own subtle claim. Kade's gaze dropped to that touch and lingered there before flicking up to meet Mark's eyes.
"I'll be delighted to stay for dinner." Mark said. There was a flicker of triumph in his eyes—a subtle, satisfied gleam as if accepting Nelly's offer was some small victory in an invisible war.
"You can stay all night if you want…But you cannot share a room with May, at least not yet." She chuckled, then closed the distance to Kade. When she reached him, she tapped his chest three times, her nails clicking faintly against the fabric of his shirt. Her eyes glittered with wicked amusement, her gaze darting between him and Mark in a way that said she knew exactly what she was doing.
Kade's lips curved. He bent his head, close enough that his breath stirred a strand of her hair. "You're evil."
"I know, darling, I know." She cooed at Adelita, then pivoted away.
Kade's hand tightened around the napkin he'd been holding until the fabric twisted under the strain. He dropped it onto the table with a flick that was just shy of violent, the sound of it hitting wood sharp in the quiet. Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode out of the kitchen. Why in the fucking hell had he thought making dinner would be a good idea?
It was like feeding the enemy and setting the table for your own humiliation.
Dinner itself was… a minefield. On the surface, it looked pleasant—platters of steaming food, the clink of cutlery—but beneath the table, tension writhed. Nelly filled the space with stories about her day, while the rest of them clung to their roles.
Kade ate in silence, his gaze occasionally lifting to May. He noted the way her laughter softened when directed at Mark, but her eyes didn't quite meet his for long. Every time Mark's hand brushed hers—passing the salt, cutting her bread—Kade's wolf bristled, his pulse ticking higher.
Finally, he broke.
"How was the house hunting?"
Mark answered before May could. "It was adventurous. Most of the houses we loved were way beyond our budget. The realtor will get back to us with something more reasonable."
"Oh… you should have told me." Nelly's eyes sparkled. "I have been saving a certain percentage of May's wages secretly since she moved in with me. I'm sorry, love, but I knew this day would come."
Mark's fork froze halfway to his mouth, his brows lifting in mild surprise. May, on the other hand, went still for an entirely different reason. Her lips parted slightly, her gaze locking on Nelly with gratitude so potent it almost ached.
"You can take that and make up for whatever you need for the house," Nelly continued, as if she'd just offered them a spare loaf of bread instead of shoving a significant chunk of savings into their future.
May's throat tightened. She knew—oh, she knew—if she lingered on the topic she'd embarrass herself with tears right there at the dinner table. So instead she gave a small, almost shy smile, lowered her gaze to her plate, and muttered a quiet "Thank you."
Nelly inclined her head, a subtle nod of acknowledgment.
Kade's fork scraped faintly against his plate, drawing a few glances. His eyes had narrowed, not at Nelly's generosity, but at the way it bound May and Mark's future together with neat, financial strings.
"You picked a wedding date?" he asked. His gaze snapped to Nelly. He was this close to imagining his hands around her throat.
May answered. "No date yet, but we are thinking next month."
Kade's chest rose, as if containing the beast inside required conscious effort. A month. Four short weeks until she was legally tethered to a man who wasn't her mate. The thought was acid in his gut.
"Oh! A wedding!" Nelly clasped her hands together. "Oh… this is going to be fun! Kade, don't you think so?" She reached out and touched his arm—light, playful, but with a wicked current beneath it.
His eyes dropped to her fingers, then back up to her face with all the warmth of a glacier. "Yeah, real interesting."