Chapter 50

Charles

The soft morning light filtered through the windows, casting a gentle glow over the quiet house. I had always been an early riser, and this morning was no exception. I padded down the hallway, my thoughts still lingering on the dreams of the night.

As I descended the stairs, I listened to the sounds of the house to figure out if anyone was awake in the house. There was no one. Jackson wasn’t even here, and neither was Margaret.

Then, I heard Cecil moving around in her room. She went to the door and opened it before looking up at me with brilliantly glowing eyes.

Beta. She was a beta lycan, it seemed. I supposed I was affecting everyone in the house more than I anticipated.

"Morning, Cecil," he said, returning her smile.

“Morning,” she skipped to my side and took my hand. “Are you making breakfast?”

“I am. You have a request?”

"Can we make pancakes for breakfast?"

Charles chuckled. "Of course we can. Pancakes sound like a great idea."

Cecil's smile widened, and she practically pulled me down the stairs, bouncing on her toes.

“Can I help?”

“Of course,” I said.

It was as good of a time as any to teach her where things were in the kitchen. We went to the pantry, and I helped her pull everything out.

“What do you think about flavored pancakes?”

“Yeah. Oh, can they be cinnamon, like a cinnamon roll?”

“We can definitely make cinnamon roll pancakes.”

She cheered as I grabbed the bag and measuring spoons. I let her measure things into the bowls for the batter and the cinnamon sugar. She hummed along with me as we worked. I left her in charge of mixing the icing to be used in place of syrup as I fried the pancakes, sausage, and eggs.

“This is going to be so fancy,” she said, struggling with the whisk. “Like fancy tea.”

“High Tea?” I asked.

“Yeah, I saw it on T.V. The humans were having it in a garden, and they had fancy cups.”

I smiled. “Would you like to have High Tea with me? We can’t have it in the garden, but people have High Tea inside too.”

Her eyes grew wide and bright. “Oh, can we?”

“Of course.”

She squealed with delight as the scent of cinnamon sugar and meat filled the air. I remembered spending time with Devin like this. While he was never as sweet as Cecil was, he had his moments of not being a complete ass. I wondered if he had ever taken the time to cook with Cecil the way I had cooked with him.

Before long, breakfast was done, and I loaded it up on a multi-tier stand.

“It’s just like the people on T.V.!” She jumped from the counter, landing softly and dashing off. “I’ll get my tea set!”

Interesting. I wondered if Grace had ever seen her do that. She came back with her set of tiny cups and plates. I washed them and let her set the table for us both with the floor cushions she had in the playroom. The morning sunlight filtered through the playroom windows, casting a warm and inviting glow over the space. I filled her small pot with herbal tea and cooled it a bit with ice before joining her.

I poured her a cup of tea as she beamed up at me. Then, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Soon, Grace walked in. I looked up at her and smiled at the soft smile on her face. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders in a way that made my fingers tingle with the urge to reach out and touch it. She looked comfortable and touched.

"Morning," she greeted, her voice gentle and warm.

"Morning," I said, my eyes lingering on her.

Cecil's excited voice broke the spell. "Mommy, we're having High Tea! Do you want to join us?"

Grace's smile grew as she walked over to them. "Absolutely. I wouldn't want to miss out on High Tea with such esteemed company."

I grabbed a pillow for her and set it down as Cecil went to get another set of silverware. She eyed the teapot.

“I suppose it’s too much to ask for this to be caffeinated?”

I laughed. “Oh, sure. If you want a hyper little lycan around.”

Cecil came back and set out a place for Grave before serving her pancakes as I poured her a cup and leaned close.

“There’s coffee in the press,” I whispered. “Hang in there a little while.”

She turned red but nodded. My fingers brushed against hers for a brief moment. Our eyes met, and in that shared glance, I saw a reflection of my own emotions. There was a tenderness there, a silent acknowledgment of everything we hadn’t spoken about and needed to.

As we sipped our tea and ate, Cecil was full of things to say. She told Grace about making pancakes and quickly stated that Grace should join us next time. The thought of Grace in the kitchen with us warmed my heart and filled me with yearning.

“These are way better than our usual,” Grace said. “They really tasted like cinnamon rolls.”

“They do!” Cecil said. “Uncle Charles is the best.”

I smirked and caught Grace’s eye. “Wait until you taste real ice cream.”

She frowned. “Are you saying werewolf ice cream is fake?”

“Most werewolf ice cream comes from questionable human recipes,” I said. “The rest is some watered-down approximate of real ice cream.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll admit, lycans have some great food, but it’s ice cream. You can’t improve ice cream.”

I smiled. “What do I get if I can change your mind?”

Her eyes turned heated. My gut clenched with need, but I couldn’t indulge the way I usually would. Not with questions about Jackson, Chief Asher, and everything else whirling through my mind.

“I’ll… have to think of something,” she said.

“You’ve got time. It’s hardly time for ice cream now.”

As we started to refill our plates, the door opened and closed. Based on the pattern of footsteps, it was Eason, not Jackson.

“What smells so good?”

“Uncle Eason, we made cinnamon roll pancakes!” Cecil cried. “You should have some!”

He came into view. His eyes sparkled as he smiled. He looked like he hadn’t slept all night, but he smelled clean.

“Ooh, is there room for one more of High Tea?”

“Yeah!” Cecil jumped up. “I’ll get the plates!”

I shook my head. “You keep eating. I’ve got to refill the tea anyway.”

I nodded towards my empty seat. “You can take my cushion. You look like you need it.”

“And coffee,” he said. “Very strong coffee.”

I heard Eason joining the table and making an extra spot for himself. I grabbed the last set of play dishes, refilled the pot, and grabbed the coffee press. I came back and took my seat again, pouring Eason and Grace coffee before refilling Cecil’s cup.

“These are so good,” Eason said, tearing into a stack of pancakes. “You really helped make these?”

“I did!” She looked at me. “Tell him, Uncle Charles. I really did!”

“She did most of the work,” I said, grinning. “I just fried them.”

Eason shook his head. “You’re not going to be as hopeless as your mom, then. Thank the moon.”

Grace scowled. “Mom couldn’t cook either.”

“It’s time to break the generational curse.”

I laughed. Then, Eason's expression grew more serious. "I hate to bring work into this lovely tea party, but I did come here with an agenda.”

Grace's brow furrowed, and she set her teacup down. "What's going on, Eason?"

Eason sighed, his gaze shifting between Grace and Charles. "There's a new wave of media coverage hitting us. They're linking you with other alphas who have formed alliances with lycans through marriage, suggesting that your pack is straying from traditional werewolf values and embracing the lycan influence."

She glanced at me, and I was eternally grateful that I had been keeping a low profile.

“It feels like you have more to say.”

Eason nodded grimly. "There’s an organization behind the messaging. The W.S.U.? I haven’t heard of it, and I haven’t had much time to look into it. Ever heard of it?”

Grace shook her head. I nodded. The Werewolf-Lycan Segregation Union was well known on both sides of the divide. I was surprised they hadn’t popped up sooner.

“They have a habit of popping up with these sorts of smear campaigns all the time. It’s… speculated that the current President is in their back pocket.”

Speculation was a bit too light of a word since he was on their donor’s list and had a hand in making sure that their activities went over without issue.

“You have some experience with these people.”

“Enough,” I said. “But it’s not something I think we should get into now.”

Eason's lips quirked into a faint smile. "Definitely not when there are cinnamon roll pancakes around. And that icing?”

“I mixed the icing too!” Cecil said.

“I’m going to have to hire you to cook,” Eason said, ruffling her hair. “When you’re taller, though.”

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10 chaps for this week have been released, happy reading!