Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 14

I laughed at John's story as he described what his class did during their high school graduation ceremony. I shook my head at his antics before taking a drink. Supper was very good, it was rare that I got stuff like this. Ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, bread, and more. My supper was usually bread and smoked meat. I hadn't been this full in a long time.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise as someone put a big plate of honey muffins on the table. Their sweet scent made my mouth water. Other than the ice cream this afternoon, the last time I had any sort of sweet or dessert was when I had been an Omega with the Black River Pack. By the time I got to the table with that pack, the desserts and good stuff had almost always been consumed.

Will had been watching me most of the meal and instantly noticed me eying up the plate of sticky sweet morsels that were out of my reach. With a chuckle, he reached over to snag one off of the pile and held it up to my mouth. I was a bit self-conscious of the four people watching in amusement as Will tried to handfeed me, but that didn't stop me from leaning forward to take a bite out of the treat.

The flavors exploded on my tongue, and I hummed in delight as I enjoyed my mouthful. I turned a bit red as I noticed that Will was watching me with an enrapt expression.

Samantha noticed the blush and chuckled before explaining, "That is the mate bond at its finest during the courting stage. Anything you show interest in, he will try to get for you. If it is food, you can practically be guaranteed that he will try to feed it to you himself. The mate bond itself will drive him to do it. It will be overly pronounced until the mate bond is completed. Oh, and don't be surprised if your mate gets jealous and overprotective at any given point in time."

To complete the mate bond, I would have to be marked and mated. I wasn't ready for that yet, so I expected that the mate bond would get Will worked up over something at some point. Sam looked pointedly at John as she finished her little speech. John rolled his eyes, saying, "I wasn't that bad..."

Mark snorted in disagreement. "No, you were much worse. You growled at anyone who so much as glanced at her. You wouldn't even let me or Tim in the same room with her, even when you were sitting beside her."

John grumbled incoherently as he ate his own honey muffin. Will juggled the rest of the muffin so a corner stuck out towards me, and I leaned in for a second bite. It was just as good as the first.

I mumbled around my mouthful, "I am glad that Will doesn't seem to go overboard in the jealousy area."

I had seen quite a few men like that; they were insanely jealous and could barely tolerate watching their mate even shake hands with another guy as a greeting. I had felt the faint stirrings of jealousy when a few other women had walked close during the meal, and I knew the mate bond was responsible for it. It usually tended to affect males worse though.

Will looked sheepish as he confessed, "I will admit that I have had to bite my tongue a few times. I am quite grateful for all of the self-control lessons that Tony knocked into me in our training, though. They are getting a serious workout."

I grinned internally, oddly flattered that he would get jealous over me. The others snickered at his admission and slight sheepishness. He seemed relaxed enough at the moment as he sat beside me despite the fact that two unmated males were at the table and talking with me. I wasn't entirely sure how I would have felt if Samantha wasn't already paired up with John.

Will popped the last bit of the muffin into his mouth, which was fine by me since I was quite full at this point. I stretched and leaned back in my chair. "I am stuffed," I said. "Is the food always this good?"