Maya and Caden made their way into the packhouse, and they followed their noses into the kitchen.
They found a scene of Lisa and Stephanie busying themselves with food.
It was unusual to make food at this time. Lunchtime passed and it was still a long way to go until dinner, and this was definitely too much work for a snack.
Not to mention that Maya had never seen Lisa holding a spatula and standing in front of the stove.
"Are we having guests?", Maya asked from the door.
The moment Stephanie and Lisa turned toward the door, Maya and Caden realized that something was off.
Lisa glanced at Maya and made a face. "It seems that I offended some Omega, and I need to pay for it."
"I told you not to call her Omega!", Stephanie hissed at Lisa and then looked at Maya and Caden apologetically. "Talia prepared a meal for Damon, and Lisa helped herself when no one was watching. Damon asked that we remake food so that Talia doesn't notice."
Lisa rolled her eyes. She hated working in the kitchen and she hated when people tell her what to do.
When Lisa was little, as the only girl living in the packhouse of the Dark Howlers pack, she was more than just Beta's daughter. She was the princess that was doted upon by her parents and the Alpha family while other people either played with her or served her.
Since she grew up here, Lisa treats this as her home, and nothing was ever off-limits.
Later, Lisa moved to live with her aunt in the Lightclaw pack. Lisa's aunt was not strict with her, and as Tony's girlfriend, no one dared to cross her.
When Lisa visited the Dark Howlers pack in the last decade, she would go on trips with Stephanie or hang out with her friends in Darkbourne, continuing with the princess lifestyle where everything was fun and games while the hard work was done by someone else.
Lisa was not used to this fix-your-mistake treatment, and she was not used to being reprimanded either.
"Why are you talking like I committed an unforgivable sin? It was just sausage and potato and bread. Nothing fancy. Or did I spoil her chances of charming Damon? If she was banking on that meal to get his favor, she won't…"
"Lisa!", Stephanie's shout interrupted Lisa's banter.
Stephanie hated when she needed to discipline Lisa because she felt guilty that Lisa grew up without a father and with Lisa living in another pack, Stephanie didn't spend much time with her either. However, Lisa's actions upset Damon, and Stephanie had to let Lisa know that she made a mistake before things escalate.
"I already told you that Talia made that meal to thank Damon for his kind treatment, which is much more than you ever did."
Lisa snorted. "Big deal. Sausage and potato…"
"I was talking about being thankful.", Stephanie said irritably.
Maya and Caden watched this from the door, both wearing matching frowns on their faces. They didn't want to get involved in this family dispute.
"Smells good. Any food for us?", Caden asked.
Stephanie gestured toward plastic containers that were stacked on the side. "There are extras from what Talia made."
Lisa snorted. "We could have used those instead of making new."
"Then, you wouldn't learn your lesson.", Stephanie said.
"What lesson? To not eat food that Omega made?"
"Lisa", Maya called stiffly. She couldn't stand Lisa's condescending attitude. Lisa was always a proud she-wolf, and the breakup with Tony hit her hard, but that didn't give her permission to vent her frustration on others. "I suggest that you tone down that attitude and treat Talia with respect, or you will regret it."
Lisa looked at Maya in disbelief. "You too? You are kidding."
"Do I look like I am kidding? I don't know if Steph told you, but Cassie disrespected Talia, and that got her kicked out from here."
"How can you compare me with that shameless slut?", Lisa snapped. "Cassie came here to spread her legs for Damon, and I live here."
"Talia lives here also.", Maya deadpanned.
"So what? Now I need to tiptoe around a wolf-less she-wolf Damon rescued?"
Maya wanted to respond, but Caden was faster.
"No one said that you need to tiptoe around Talia, but you need to treat her with respect. You are lucky Damon is not here to hear you say those words."
"What would he do? Throw me into the dungeon? Kick me out of my own house?"
Caden narrowed his eyes at Lisa. "This is Damon's house. It belongs to the Blake family. You only live here, just like the rest of us. You are not a child, and you should think about how you can contribute instead of causing trouble. Don't test your luck by messing with Talia because Damon won't sit that one out, and you won't like the outcome."
Lisa wanted to respond but she realized that she can't utter a word because Caden released his pressure and she ended up bowing her head.
Lisa hated this.
She was dumped by Tony when he found his mate, and Stephanie pestered her until she gave in to return home. Instead of being comforted, she is being punished and everyone is telling her to respect some random people.
Lisa grew up pampered and she didn't like this treatment. She didn't like it, not even a little bit.
"Ahh!", Lisa shrieked when the butter-garlic sauce for the artisan bread burned. She was so upset that she forgot to stir it.
"Throw that and start again!", Stephanie ordered.
In a restaurant in Darkbourne…
Talia and Damon were sitting in the booth at the end of the restaurant and Talia was looking at the big platter filled with grilled chicken wings that were glistening in shades of red and brown from the smokey barbeque sauce.
"I thought you will deal with the matter here and we will go home to eat.", Talia said.
Damon scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
He told Stephanie that she has one hour, but even with him pretending to discuss something important with the owner, it was less than half an hour.
Damon thought of making up another excuse to delay their return, but Talia would suspect that something is off, so he went ahead with ordering chicken wings.
"The owner was grateful for my quick action.", Damon said. "It would be impolite to refuse."
Talia let out a long breath. If she knew they will end up here, she wouldn't bother with making food.
She was looking forward to seeing Damon's reaction to the meal she made.
The potatoes were perfectly baked, bacon bits were crispy, and the sausage smelled divine. But that was when the food was freshly made. Now they will need to reheat it and Talia was not sure how much Damon was interested in it.
Did he take a peek at the plates before he found her in the garden, and he found that the food is not good enough?
Was it because many she-wolves cooked for him before and Talia's offering didn't compare?
Damon could feel Talia's dejection and he realized that he needed something bigger to distract her.
"Kitten…", he called. "Would you like to meet my wolf?"
Talia's eyes widened. "Now?"
"Anytime you want is fine."
She glanced nervously around. "Are you going to shift here?"
Damon chuckled. "I don't need to shift. Actually, if I do that, my wolf won't be able to talk to you and you will get sniffed and licked."
"Will he talk to me?"
Damon hummed in confirmation. "He wants to talk to you, but for that, I need to stay in this form and give him control. Like that, no one will know what's going on."
Talia was trembling from excitement. "Is it common for you to give him control?"
"No. He mostly just talks in my head, but with you is different." Damon glanced at the chicken wings. He was hungry. "However, right now is not convenient. Having a wolf out on an empty stomach might be problematic. I don't want him to embarrass me by jumping on the table to devour these…"
Talia was frozen for a moment and then she burst into a fit of giggles. The mental image of Damon climbing the table and stuffing his face in a mass of chicken wings was hilarious.
"What's funny?", Damon grumbled, but he was not angry. He loved to hear her laugh, and it seemed that mentioning his wolf distracted her from whatever bad thoughts she had.
"Nothing, nothing…" There was no way she would say what was on her mind. "Let's eat."
Damon used thongs to pile up chicken wings into Talia's plate.
"Eat, kitten…", Damon urged her. "These are the best chicken wings in Darkbourne."
