Too Late To Regret, My Alphas

Chapter 66: Late Night Visit (III)

Rosalie:

I opened my mouth to answer. Then closed it. Only to open it again barely seconds later.

"...You haven’t eaten dinner yet?"

Both men looked at me. Then, almost in sync, they shook their heads.

I stared. For some reason the sight nearly made me smile again. It was absurd. Completely absurd. If someone had told me a month ago that one day two of the most powerful Alphas in existence would casually appear at my house late at night and ask me for dinner, I would have assumed they were insane.

And yet, here they were. Sitting in my living room and waiting for food.

I quickly pulled myself together before my expression revealed too much. I was already moving toward the kitchen as I asked, "What do you want to eat?"

Zaiden answered first.

"Anything."

It was simple and short like usual. I nodded and stepped into the kitchen, my brain racing to decide what should I cook.

The kitchen and living room were connected in an open layout, so technically I could still see them from there. That should have made things easier. But it didn’t. Because instead of staying seated, both men stood up, walked over, and then settled down on the stools placed opposite the kitchen counter.

Right in front of me like they had front-row seats.

I paused and stared at them.

Neither moved. Neither looked embarrassed. They simply sat there and watched me.

I silently turned back around. Fine. If they wanted to stare while I cooked, that was their problem. I opened the refrigerator and started taking things out - chicken, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, some greens, and a few other vegetables.

I decided on something simple - chicken soup and sautéed vegetables. Warm and comfort food considering it would be past midnight by the time they would get to eat.

As I started washing the vegetables, a strange thought suddenly entered my head. I was cooking for my mates for the very first time. My hands paused, and suddenly, my entire body became painfully aware.

I knew.

Of course I knew.

Cooking had meaning. Preparing food. Feeding. Caring. They weren’t random things. Not in werewolf culture. Not between mates.

The realization came too suddenly, and immediately, I felt it. That familiar warmth and that invisible pull of the mate bond. It was like something sleeping inside me suddenly stretched awake.

My fingers tightened around the carrot, but somehow I nearly lost it. The carrot slipped and I barely caught it just in time.

Immediately, Eiden spoke calmly, "Are you alright, Rosa?"

I looked up, my heart fluttering at the nickname I was hearing after days. He tilted his head slightly, and I noticed how his blue eyes held something suspiciously knowing. And suddenly I realized he knew, maybe not exactly what I was thinking but enough.

Enough to realize the bond was affecting me.

And for one brief second, I almost wanted to throw the carrot at him.

The thought came so suddenly that I froze.

What-

Since when did I think things like that? Throw something. At Eiden Thorn. I quickly looked away.

"No. I’m fine."

I washed the carrot aggressively. And neither spoke, I could still feel them watching. And the worst part, they weren’t even trying to hide it.

So I focused on work. Once I was done washing everything, I moved on to chopping the vegetables. Then I heated the pan and focused on preparing the chicken broth.

I tried my best to not look up at either men as I worked. I tried my best to ignore them and not get distracted. Except, it became impossible. Because every few minutes, I could feel eyes. And every time I looked up, they were still there. Watching.

At one point I dropped the spoon. At another I added salt twice. Then had to fix it. Then nearly sliced a carrot unevenly. Which annoyed me more than it should.

I had cooked for years. I knew what I was doing even before I stepped in the kitchen. So making stupid mistakes had my face growing hotter and hotter. I refused to look at them.

About halfway through, I heard quiet movement. Then a glass of water appeared beside me.

I looked up.

Eiden had placed it there. He gave a soft smile and then calmly returned to his stool like nothing happened.

I stared at the water. Then drank it silently because apparently my throat had gone dry.

Finally after nearly an hour everything was ready. I set the food down on the table - chicken soup, sautéed vegetables, and rice. And suddenly, I became nervous. My heart wouldn’t calm down.

The three of us settled at the dining table. But I didn’t sit immediately. Instead, I stood there watching as both men picked up their spoons. They looked at the soup and then took their first sip.

Silence.

Eiden stopped. Then slowly looked up at me and lifted his brows. His expression held genuine surprise.

My stomach twisted.

Then Zaiden quietly took another spoonful. Then another. Then finally looked up too. And suddenly, they both spoke.

"This is so good."

"This is really good."

The immediate rush of satisfaction and contentment that suddenly washed over me left me surprised. I didn’t even realize their approval matter this much to me.

I watched as Eiden next tried the vegetables and nodded again. "You are an excellent cook."

Something warm spread through my chest.

I looked away as I spoke, "Thank you."

They continued eating. And they actually ate. They weren’t politely pushing food around, nor were they pretending. They genuinely enjoyed it. And unexpectedly, watching them eat something I made... felt nice. Too nice.

Dangerously nice.

Zaiden looked up halfway through. Then frowned slightly. "You are not eating?"

I shook my head. "I already ate."

He stared at me for a second. Then accepted the answer.

The room became quiet again. But this silence wasn’t uncomfortable. There was only soft movement of spoons and plates.

For a strange moment, it felt normal. Like this was something we had done before. Like something we would do again.

I immediately pushed that thought away. But the warmth stayed.

Then Zaiden placed his spoon down and his gray eyes lifted to me once again as he spoke, "You should start training."