Page 49 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

He shrugs, and I swear what little I can see of his face between his choppy dark hair and his mask turns the slightest shade of red.

F-E-E-L… B-A-D, he signs.

"Feel bad?" I repeat. "For animals?"

He nods.

My fucking heart. "That's so sweet…"

He hesitates before signing more. A-N-D… G-R-E-W… U-P… E-A-T-I-N-G… L-O-T… O-F-… M-E-A-T. He stops and rubs at the back of his head awkwardly.

I blink at him, tilting my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Thane steps behind Wraith and out of his line of sight to shake his head frantically at me, making a sharp slashing motion across his throat.

The message is clear.

Don't ask.

My skin prickles with unease at the implication that it might have had something to do with his horrible upbringing. I know he was kept in a fucking basement and treated like a monster. It wouldn't be a stretch to think he was fed like one, too.

"Okay," I say, swallowing the lump in my throat and closing the fridge. "Veggie omelets it is. You guys allergic to anything?"

Both alphas shake their heads.

"Great. Wanna help?"

Wraith moves immediately, eager in a way that tugs at my heart. Thane follows with considerably less enthusiasm.

"I should warn you," Thane says, leaning against the counter. "I'm shit at cooking."

"How shit?"

"I once set a microwave on fire."

"That's... impressive, actually. How did you manage that?"

"Left a fork in a bowl of ramen. Didn't read the instructions." He grimaces. "Whiskey didn't let me hear the end of that one for months."

Wraith huffs that growling laugh of his, signing something that makes Thane scowl.

"He says I'm banned from the stove," Thane mutters. "Which is bullshit. It was one time."

Wraith holds up three fingers.

Thane sighs dramatically. "Okay, three times. But who's counting?"

Wraith points to himself.

I bite back a laugh and start pulling ingredients from the fridge. "Fine. Thane, you're on egg duty. Just crack them into this bowl and whisk. Think you can handle that?"

"I'm not that hopeless."

"Uh-huh." I hand him the whisk. "Wraith, can you chop vegetables?"

He nods, already reaching for the cutting board. He starts slicing up the peppers and mushrooms. Not… well, but it'll do. I turn to find Thane staring at the bowl like it personally offended him. He's whisked so aggressively that egg is splattered across the counter, the walls, and somehow his bare chest.

"How?" I demand. "How did you get egg on the ceiling?"