Chapter 105: First Pick
Right then, my stomach growled once more. I hurriedly wrapped my arms around my abdomen, pinching my lips. As much as I hoped no one had heard that, I knew it was an impossible dream. In a forest where every single sound was amplified, I was surrounded by a group of werewolves born from noble and powerful bloodlines. Doubting their sense of hearing was an insult to them.
"Because I’m hungry," Rowan said, blatantly lying through his teeth. I turned to look at him in surprise, right as he was shrugging on his shirt. He didn’t even bat an eyelid.
"Don’t lie," Cassian snapped as he zipped up his pants. "Briar’s stomach is the one that’s growling like some feral dog. You’re not actually hungry at all, are you? You’re stopping only because of her."
Soren, on the other hand, completely ignored his brothers’ conversation. He walked over to me, the sling bag in his hand. He pulled out a sandwich that I wasn’t aware was in the bottom of the bag, handing it over to me.
"Here," he said, his voice considerably softer than Rowan’s or Cassian’s. "This is for you."
I stared at the sandwich. It wasn’t the same toast he had offered me in the morning. Catching my confused expression, Soren hastily clarified.
"I ate the toast," he said. "I thought to prepare something fresher for you. If you don’t like it, I have other options too―"
He hastily began to dig through the sling bag as though it were an endless well, pulling out all sorts of flavors. I quickly stopped him and plucked out the first sandwich I could reach for.
"I’ll take this," I said. I didn’t need him to end up pulling out his entire arsenal of food supplies.
More than being picky about the flavors, I was thrown off by his sudden behavior. Soren had shown me kindness before, but more often than not, those rare moments were only shown behind closed doors. He had never been so open about it.
Now, here he was, in front of his brothers and supposed chosen mate, desperately shoving four different flavors of sandwiches into my arms. He didn’t even stop to ask if they had a preference, and instead, made sure I had picked out the ones I wanted.
I awkwardly took the roasted chicken and cheese sandwich before stepping to one side.
"Alpha Soren," Violet said, darting over. I couldn’t help but notice her voice seemed a couple of pitches higher than usual. "Do you have a second roasted chicken and cheese option? I’m currently on a diet and trying to avoid mayo as much as possible―"
"These are all I have," he flatly said, holding out the remaining options. Judging by the way Violet’s face fell when she surveyed the options, I guessed none of them appealed to her.
When she didn’t make her choice, he randomly plucked one and smacked it in her hands. It was an egg mayo sandwich. As I watched Violet’s smile drop even further, I couldn’t help but chortle softly.
With the Alphas watching, she couldn’t openly snide at me. However, the second Soren turned away to hand his brothers the remaining sandwiches, she threw me a nasty glare.
I merely smiled sweetly in return before finding a fallen log to sit on.
"We’re only stopping for a short while," Rowan announced, coming to sit beside me. I moved a little further away from him as he did, but no matter how much I inched away, he quickly closed the gap, leaving even less space between us than before.
I huffed, giving up. If I moved any further, he would be plastered against me out of spite, and I would’ve dropped off the log and onto the ground.
"Eat quickly. We’ll leave in twenty minutes," he continued.
I pursed my lips, unwrapping the cling wrap from the sandwich. Even with the layers of plastic coiled around it, I could smell the sauce of the rotisserie chicken in the air. My stomach grumbled, and I eagerly bit into the food. Flavor burst in my mouth, and before I knew it, I was already hungrily scarfing down the food as though my life depended on it.
In no time, the sandwich was gone, but I was far from satiated. I stared longingly at the now-empty wrapper. A bit of sauce still clung to the thin plastic, and I chewed on my bottom lip, debating if it was worth licking it clean.
I had just decided it was too unsightly and desperate when suddenly, a second sandwich materialized right before me. I looked over to see that Rowan had held his portion out, waiting for me to take it.
I stared at him with wide eyes.
"You’re still hungry, aren’t you?" he asked, his face impassive as though we were discussing the weather. "Take it."
"Then what about you?" I blurted out. As soon as the words left my mouth, my lips snapped shut.
Why did I even care? He wasn’t the one who was starved for days on end. His last meal was probably more filling and scrumptious than anything I had ever had in my life. He wasn’t missing much by offering me his sandwich.
However, a tiny unresentful part of my head couldn’t help but feel grateful. Even if this wasn’t a luxurious meal he was offering, he didn’t need to offer his sandwich to me.
Was his kindness and sympathy solely because of the marked bond between us? In that case, shouldn’t he be much more concerned about poor Violet, who was currently sulking in a corner as she nibbled on the white bread and lettuce leaves while avoiding the filling?
Regardless, I muttered, "Thank you." Then, I quickly took the sandwich and bit into it before he could change his mind.
He nodded, saying nothing else. However, I noticed the corner of his lips tilted up ever so slightly as he watched me eat. I chewed quickly, trying to turn away from him as much as possible without making it too obvious.
Just as I was about to bite into the sandwich again, a familiar scent filled the air. I looked up sharply, the sandwich completely forgotten.
"Wait," I said, shoving the sandwich into Rowan’s hands. He barely grabbed onto it before it could fall onto the ground. "Do you smell that?"
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