Marked

Chapter 47: Dinner

Grilling and eating was done, and I couldn't help but notice how much lighter everyone seemed. They were laughing more easily, smiling more, the tension more bearable than it had been before. Kane and I were seated at a porch table, various Deltas and pack-members that helped with the house were around as well. Zach and Nessa were leaned back against the house, sitting on the ground and sharing ear buds as they listened to music. Connor and Ben were still wolfing down the food we grilled, Hunter and Mia were off to the side with Kaden who was explaining to them a premise of some video game. They all seemed lighter and it made me feel lighter too.

Kane dropped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer to his side, pressing a kiss against my temple. "Did you get enough to eat?"

"I think I got too much to eat," I said honestly, glancing up at him.

"Sebastian often overdoes it," he nodded.

Sebastian was their cook in the pack-house. He was a complete sweetheart and very shy. I hadn't been able to get him out of his shell yet but I found it most likely to happen while he was cooking. He loved cooking and with Kane in charge, Bryce's ridiculous rule of only women doing things like that went out the door and Sebastian was reveling in being able to cook. Not only that, but before Kane took over, apparently they were often underfed. It was a way to punish them for not trying hard enough. Once he was gone, that changed drastically and Sebastian was all about making more food than was needed so no one went hungry.

"Do you think we'll be able to sleep inside tonight?" Kane asked, glancing back at the house.

"We'll see," I shrugged. Truth was, I had no doubt we'd be able to sleep inside tonight. Except I was feeling selfish and I wanted to spend the night with Kane alone in the house. He didn't know that yet, but I'd already asked Ben to keep everyone out of the house tonight. I wanted alone time with him, I needed alone time with him.

Tonight was about Kane and I, and I wouldn't have anything get in the way of it.

"A few people have been asking about Saturday," Kane said. "Who's going and who isn't."

Saturday was a sensitive subject. It was the day of Addie's dinner, the day Kane promised to have me back. I hadn't said anything to him about my plans and he hadn't directly asked.

"Well, I figured most people need to stay here," I said honestly. "Because you were already gone so long. I thought we'd just take a couple people. Actually, the person I was really hoping to take is Nessa," I said, turning in my seat to face him. "Do you think she'd go?"

"Vanessa?" He repeated, frowning. "I'm sure she would if she was asked. Why her?"

"Mia told me she has a lot of pain, that she can barely shift," I explained.

He nodded slowly, pain crossing his face. "It's true."

"Remember our friend Kora from the ally pack?" I asked. He nodded. "She's really good at healing. I gave her a vague idea of what Nessa was going through and she's happy to give it a shot. I really think she could help Nessa, as long as you think it's a good idea. I don't want to get her hopes up but... It's worth a shot, right?"

He shrugged and nodded. "If you think so."

"Do you think she'd want to go?" I asked.

"You could ask her," he said, inclining his head back towards Nessa. "I imagine she would very much like a chance to be able to shift normally."

"And you're okay with it?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay, I'm going to ask her then, and I'm going to get some more water," I said, rising from my seat and grabbing my glass. "Do you want anything?"