Artem

I was on my way back to my office after cooking dinner when I ran into Kent. He had apparently just left the library.

"What are you doing over here?" I asked him, surprised to see him since I had given him his orders earlier.

"I was visiting with the kids." He looked back toward the door. With one quick draw I could smell the other scent.

"Star is in there." My wolf was already on high alert after having smelt her scent.

"Yes, she was trying to find her way around and I took her to the library to meet the others. I think it helped her a lot."

"Really?" My heart soared after hearing this. Could she be warming up to us soon?

"She seemed to be smiling while she was with the kids, I think they will help her to heal a little, and she will help them too."

"She was smiling?" I admit, I was jealous that he had gotten to see her smile before I did.

"Yes, she seemed to be happy when she was spending time with the kids. I don't think she's ever been around kids before, but she was a natural with them."

"That's good news, man, it really is. I am glad that she is starting to feel welcomed and not like a prisoner."

"She's still scared though. I don't know what all they did to her Artem, but she has a lot to work through. Don't push her too hard."

"I won't."

"Good." He was looking at me firmly. "By the way, I told her she could have dinner in the dining hall with everyone else."

"Really?" My ears perked up and my heart sped up a little when I heard his words. "What did she say?"

"The kids begged her until she agreed to eat with everyone. I imagine she will be nervous and will want Chay near her. But it's an opportunity for you to spend time with her as well."

"You're a good friend, man." I grinned at him as I resisted the urge to pull him into a hug. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He was grinning now too. "And you owe me. Also try not to blow it."

"Never, I will make sure things go smoothly. I am going to go throw together a quick dessert to go with dinner."

I was already running down the hall when I heard him yell one last thing.

"Calm down Scorch, you're getting too excited." I didn't care if I was too excited or not. This was my first time seeing my mate outside of her room and she should be in a more relaxed state. I wouldn't miss this opportunity.

I was in the kitchen, putting the last touches onto dessert when everyone started showing up for dinner. There were a dozen people at the table, counting myself, and the desserts were made individually so they were easy to prepare. It was a variation on apple pie that was much quicker to make and I hoped she would like it.

We were eating a dinner that consisted of a tossed salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, and garlic bread. It was good, and the boys loved it. But Star seemed a little confused. She had once again not eaten this type of food before and the noodles were falling all over the place when she was trying to eat it.

I had gotten an idea, something that I hoped she didn't reject. Slowly, I walked over to her and knelt beside her chair. She had been sitting on the end so this was easy to do.

"Here, this is how you do it." I said as I sat my plate down next to hers. I took a fork and a spoon and used them in tandem. I started spinning the pasta around the fork while the spoon held it in place. Once the pasta was wrapped around enough I brought the bite to my mouth, making a lot less of a mess than I could have.

I saw her already reaching for her notepad.

[Thank you] She wrote the words quickly and then followed my example. When she put the bite of food in her mouth she smiled.

I had finally seen her smile. It was like the clouds opened up after a very long rainstorm. The beauty and radiance of that smile made my heart sing. I felt like I would float away with happiness if I looked at that smile long enough.

"Good?" I asked her after a moment. She didn't write the words this time, she just nodded her head vigorously. "That's good, I'm glad you like it." I smiled as I took my plate and sat at the closest open spot to her, which happened to be on the other side of the table right at the edge. In a way, we were sitting next to each other.

I spent the entire meal more focused on her and the expressions she was making than on my own food. Just seeing her, how much better she was doing, it was enough to fill me up. I hadn't smiled this much in a long time, just seeing her brought me that much joy.

When the kids were done eating their dinner they immediately wanted their dessert.

"Do we get sweets today?" Dalton asked, causing all the boys to call out for them.

"Yeah, sweets, sweets." I saw Star grin at the boys who were smiling happily as they begged for their dessert.

"Yes, you get some." I smiled as I nodded to them.

"I'll get them." Kent offered as he rose from his chair. He grinned at me as he stood as if knowing that I didn't really want to leave the table just yet.

A few moments later Kent came back in with two large trays covered in the apple pie bombs that I had made. They were quick and easy to make but also really good, especially when fresh and crispy like they were. Chay, seeing what was for dessert dashed from the room and came back with a carton of vanilla ice cream.

After a few minutes everyone had a pie and a scoop of the ice cream and they were ready to dig in. There was a chorus of satisfied groans that came from everyone as they started to eat.

"So good" Chay moaned almost obscenely, causing me to roll my eyes at her.

"The food is always great here." Julian commented.

"Yeah, the Alpha is amazing." Flint added.

That was when I saw Star tilt her head and give Flint a curious look. She wrote a quick message on the notepad and showed it to the boy, but I couldn't see it from my angle.

"Yeah, the Alpha made these." Flint added after looking at the message.

"The Alpha does all the cooking. He's the best." Cohen said smiling before shovelling a large bite into his mouth.

After hearing those words Star turned her head to stare at me. Her eyes were a question like she didn't know what to think.

[You cooked my food for me?]

"Yeah, I do all the cooking around here right now." I didn't know why, but I was scared for her to know this. I didn't want her to think I was making her food to gain her trust.

[Why would you cook for me?]

"Why wouldn't I?" I knew she would take it the wrong way.

[You are an Alpha aren't you?]

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I have to ignore other people."

[But I'm not worthy of food made by an Alpha] She was looking at her plate after she wrote those words, like she thought I was going to be mad that she ate it at all. I was glad that none of the others could see what she had written.

"Star, can we talk for just a moment? Please?" I indicated the next room over. She looked scared but she nodded her head and followed me easily.