Chapter 160
“Good evening, my Queen, my King,” Constance walks into the dining room with a couple of plates. “Tonight, we will start you off with a special Italian appetizer. This is fried polenta and liver pate. Enjoy.”
She sets the pretty plates in front of us. I’ve never had liver pate, but the smell has my mouth watering and Midnight’s approval. There are three generous pieces on a glass plate I’ve never seen before. It’s stunning.
The little squares are beautiful. I think it’s toasted bread topped with tomato sauce and chopped liver. I’ve never had liver before. Not once, and I’m a little afraid. Knight doesn’t seem to have a problem. He digs right in. Maybe I can ask her not to tell us what it is next? Nah, that seems disrespectful to the chef.
I try not to think about it as I take my fork and cut into the first piece. I pause just as I’m about to put it in my mouth, and Midnight grumbles, urging me to do it. I laugh and take the first bite. Just the texture alone is satisfying. I feel her approval instantly.
“Okay, you’re right.” I laugh and take another bite.
“You okay?” Knight grins.
“Yeah, I just never had liver before. Midnight clearly has and was excited.”
“If it helps, it’s chicken liver,” he says.
I shake my head. Nope, it somehow makes it a little weirder. However, I continue to eat it. I eat all three, knowing Midnight has a massive appetite. I honestly rarely get full, and I feel like I eat an embarrassing amount of food every time I eat. She doesn’t care. She’s just a big, happy wolf. At least, I think she is.
“Thank you,” I say when Constance takes our plates away. She bows her head and walks away. “That was amazing.”
“I’m glad you liked it. You looked a little pale in the beginning there.”
“Don’t make fun.” I roll my eyes. “Have you really just been hanging out?”
“I have not. I’ve been helping Roman with some stuff. He’s going to be staying with us back at the pack house. So is his sister.”
“Nice. How is Baby doing?” I ask, remembering the last conversation we had with her.
“She’s not doing well. She’s putting on a good face, but when she’s upset, she acts differently.”
“How?”
“Mm, like a real–life Rogue Princess. Rage backed by a whole lot of entitlement.”
“I mean,” I shrug.
“Are you taking her side?” he glares at me.
“Hell yeah. I’d be fucking pissed if that happened to me. Mainly because she tried to leave quietly, and they didn’t let her. You know what it’s like not to be able to take what is yours. I don’t think you should downplay how she’s feeling. I think she showed a tremendous amount of maturity for her age. If it were Vy or Perry, they would have killed the girl, and you know I’m right.”
“Angel, Baby isn’t like Vy or Perry. She’s more like Ayrie. She’s had to do things she probably shouldn’t have had to do at her age, but she’s the kind of monster that does things logically. We’ve given her everything and then some. He’s nothing–some asshole in a very common pack role. The life he could have offered her would never have been enough,” he shakes his head.
“That’s not for you to decide, Knight or Roman. I haven’t known Roman and Baby for very long, but they’ve been on the run since they lost their family. I personally know what it’s like to make the best of what is in front of me, and I’ve had a lot of fun skipping along the road to nowhere.
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08:20 MON
Chapter 160
“I think maybe I was good with the twins because they showed me that I was never the problem. They bring out a part of me that I’ve never gotten to share with anyone else until now. So, maybe the kid was, as you say, an ordinary wolf in a pack. It would have been her home, and now she never gets to
know.”
Constance takes this moment to bring out the first course. My heart dances as she places the huge deep bowl of pasta in front of me. She smiles at the grateful look I give her when she glances at me.
“Your first course is a pici pasta with the chef’s famous cinta senese meat sauce. Enjoy,” she winks at me and walks back into the kitchen. Just the smell has my mouth watering.
I can’t help how happy pasta makes me. A rush of excitement pierces my chest as I reach for my fork and spoon. I could be the savage I am when I eat around the kids, but this is way too fancy for me not to eat it properly. Knight watches me curiously as I take my first bite.
“Did my father make you take etiquette classes?” he smiles.
“It was the first thing Xo made me do. She also made me take a few speech classes. Claimed I had a ghetto accent.” I laugh remembering the day she signed me up and paid for them so that I couldn’t back out.
“What?” he covers his mouth with a napkin to laugh.
“Yeah, she said I spoke ghetto and that if I was going to be hanging out with her, I had to get rid of it. I don’t know what the fuck she was talking about. I took the classes cause she paid for them.”
“Mm, I think I know what she was talking about. You do this thing when you get upset. I thought it was just in my head because you’re always so proper, but I see it. It’s one of the things you and Perry have in common.”
“I take that as a compliment on behalf of my sister, but that other half. What the fuck, Knight?” I laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay,” he clears his throat. “You do this thing. You square your shoulders, and you make a filthy and intimidating expression. It’s followed by the most obsience shit I’ve ever heard you say and I’m not going to lie to you, Angel. I’ve seen girls in South Central and the Bay do that.”
“Shut up.” I roll my eyes.
“That right there is another one. Preppy girls don’t roll their eyes like that. They don’t have the swagger for it. Your brattiness is different from girls like Vy and Baby. You earned your place from the ground up. They’ve secured it after it was offered. Own it. There’s nothing wrong with it. But Xo was right to get you those classes.
“One thing about the high–ranked is that. Manners. We tear each other apart, but eventually we have to use our inside tones. If you go off on an aristocrat or royal like that, they’d never take you seriously.
“The older, more traditionalists would probably backhand you for it. Male or female. It’s not about the gender, ethnicity, or background. Respect is the most powerful ally you can have in a room full of people who know what they’re talking about, Without it, we’re just animals doing animalistic shit.”
