Standing right there in the kitchen, in front of the cooker, was none other than the Alpha. He was shirtless, his broad back facing her as he whistled softly while turning sothing that sizzled richly in the pan. The apron strings were tied securely at the small of his narrow waist, and he wore gray jogger pants that hung low on his hips, low enough to reveal the waistband of his briefs with the na "Kade" boldly printed across it.
Really, he wore his own brand of briefs? Viola thought in disbelief, her brows lifting slightly.
His back was tanned and powerfully toned, and the ominous snake tattoo she had always glimpsed on his chest extended all the way around to cover half of his back and trail down his sculpted, corded left arm, where veins bulged faintly beneath his bronze, sweat-sheened skin.
Viola’s throat went dry imdiately and she gulped down her saliva. Was it even legal for a man to look this perfect, this eye-catching, that not even she could force herself to look away?
Gorgeous, tantalizingly charming.
He was so captivating that Viola knew she was ntally drooling over his perfection. She had never seen a man look this good without even trying.
His whistling gradually stopped, and his deep, husky voice, tinged with that distinct accent she always noticed among the pack mbers but most strongly in him, drifted toward her.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
His words snapped her back to her senses. She blinked as she watched him turn to face her with a small smile. He held the sizzling pan in one hand and a spatula in the other, and sohow the dostic sight only enhanced his attractiveness rather than diminish it. She had never actually been around a man who cooked before; none of the n in Moonwillow believed it was their duty to cook, especially not an Alpha.
But this one cooks.
"Good morning, Alpha," Viola replied politely.
She imdiately noticed his smile fall, his sexy lips pressing into a thin line. She knew exactly why, she had addressed him formally again. But could anyone bla her? She still couldn’t bring herself being informal with him.
Before he could comnt on it, she deliberately shifted her gaze away from him and toward the kitchen counter, where an impressive spread of breakfast dishes had been prepared and carefully arranged.
There were pancakes stacked neatly, golden waffles, crisp toast, fluffy olets, sizzling steaks, and several other varieties of breakfast als laid out like a feast. Had he truly made all of this? Viola wondered in astonishnt, unable to believe it.
As if reading her thoughts, Sebastian spoke again.
"I couldn’t figure out which one would be the perfect breakfast or which one you might like, so I made everything."
He watched as her eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised that he had prepared such an array. Was it really that unbelievable? To him, cooking was nothing extraordinary. In fact, it had once been his hobby when his parents were still alive. He used to compete with Matt, and his mother would judge who cooked the better dish.
Once upon a ti in Silver, when his parents were ruling, they did not depend on ogas to cook their als but instead prepared the food themselves. Even his father cooked.
When Viola remained silent, Sebastian’s gaze took in her disheveled morning appearance, from her frizzy hair to her bare face, before his eyes drifted downward to her feet, where he noticed what she was wearing.
He nearly laughed at the sight of his oversized slippers swallowing her small feet, but he bit back the sound so as not to offend her. Were his feet truly that large, or were hers simply that small? Whatever the case, he found it unexpectedly adorable that she was wearing sothing of his. That had to an so progress, at least. She would not borrow his things if she still completely hated him.
"Alpha, she’s not in the room—"
The female voice cut off abruptly when its owner’s eyes landed on Viola.
Viola’s gaze instantly shifted toward the speaker as well. She saw a young woman who looked to be around her age, dressed in the uniform she had noticed the working ogas wore yesterday. However, this particular oga was strikingly beautiful, with a stylish hairstyle that seed far too elaborate for simple household duties. She wore full makeup and delicate jewelry that subtly caught the light.
Viola could not help thinking that she looked far too refined and attractive to be rely an oga working in the main quarter. Then again, she expected nothing less from the Silver Pack, where even the weakest ogas were treated with so dignity, unlike in Moonwillow.
"She’s here already. She ca down herself," Sebastian remarked calmly to the oga he had sent to wake Viola and help her freshen up for breakfast, but it seed they missed each other as there were many ways to reach his bedroom in the house.
The oga turned her brown eyes toward Viola, a strange look briefly crossing her face before she shifted her gaze back to the Alpha with a gentle smile, one that did not go unnoticed by Viola.
The Alpha’s own gaze softened ever so slightly when he looked at the young woman.
"I can see that," the girl replied lightly. "Perhaps I should take her to freshen up, then?"
Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm."
Then he turned back to Viola. "Go with Angela. By the ti you co back down, I will be done here."
However, Viola did not move. She simply stared at him with blank, unreadable eyes that made Sebastian’s chest tighten faintly with concern.
What was wrong? Didn’t she want to freshen up? he wondered as he began to walk toward her.
But the mont he stepped closer, she stepped back, creating distance between them. His eyes dimd in quiet displeasure.
Had he done sothing to offend her? Why did it seem like she’d always step away from him whenever he ca near? Did she still hate him that much?
Had they not been sowhat fine yesterday, fine enough that she had allowed him to rest his weight against her shoulder like a pillow? Not to ntion, she was even wearing his slippers now. He had thought they might at least have reached so fragile truce, perhaps even stepped tentatively into sothing resembling a cautious friendship.
"Is sothing wrong?" Sebastian asked, unable to fully understand her. She was so different from the won he was used to, won whose moods he could read effortlessly with a single glance. Most won would he high over the moon for the set of jewelry he got for her but she hadn’t even worn it.
Viola shook her head lightly. "Nothing. I will go and freshen up."
With that, she turned away from him and followed the oga, Angela, out of the kitchen.
She did not understand why she had found it unsettling to see how familiar and relaxed he seed with Angela. Viola had not missed the way the girl had looked at her for a brief mont, a dark, possessive glint flashing in her eyes before it disappeared. It had been subtle, almost hidden, but unmistakably there in her eyes.
It was almost as if Angela had been displeased that Viola had stepped into territory she silently claid as her own.
Viola recognized that look all too well because she had worn it herself many tis in the past. Whenever random won tried to linger around Evan, she had fixed them with that very sa stare, wanting to scare them off without uttering a single word.
Now, as she walked behind Angela, watching her straight back and the confident sway of her steps, Viola noticed how the oga’s dress was cut just a little too short, revealing long, fair legs accentuated by heels. Her hairstyle, a neatly styled bun, looked far too fashionable and deliberate for a simple household worker.
Viola did not need anyone to tell her that Angela was the type who harbored big dreams, dreams of catching the Alpha’s attention and rising far above her current position.
Viola did not necessarily have a problem with ambition. After all, she herself had used the Alpha as a stepping stone to rise above her own miserable circumstances. The difference, however, was that she did not appreciate the familiar possessive look Angela had directed at her. Moreover, considering that she would soon be marrying the Alpha, Angela should not be carrying herself with such territorial air around him.
Angela, on the other hand, was furious, though she concealed it well. How dare this nobody appear from nowhere and suddenly position herself as their future Luna? She clenched her teeth subtly, suppressing the anger bubbling within her.
She had worked in this house for years, ever since she was a little pup. Her mother had served the Alpha’s mother faithfully, and the two won had been close, almost like sisters. Because of that history, Sebastian had always treated Angela more kindly than the other oga maids.
Sowhere deep in Angela’s heart, she had nurtured a foolish hope that a fairytale might unfold in her life, that one day Sebastian would finally notice all her subtle attempts to draw his attention, her careful gestures ant to seduce and charm him into seeing her not as a working oga in his quarters, but as a woman.
Angela would not have been particularly angry if he had simply brought a woman ho to use in bed and then discard. She was well aware that the Alpha had several mates over the years who he took to his bed. But he had never truly wanted any of them. After the death of his first Luna, no other woman except Miss Zoe had ever stepped foot into his main quarters, let alone shared his bedroom here.
He always took them to his penthouse or so hotel in the pack.
But he didn’t only bring this one here. And the worst part? He had cooked for this woman.
Angela had never once seen him cook for his first wife, Natalia. The only other ti she rembered him cooking was when his younger sister had been ill, and even then it had been out of necessity because Miss Zoe had said she wanted his cooking and no one else.
Yet now he had woken up early in the morning to prepare an entire feast for this wolfless woman.
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