Free Dark Moon by Elizabeth Kelly Page B

with him?  Why was he so –
    Understanding washed over her and she quickly looked down at the menu.
    “Leta, what do you feel like having?”  She asked loudly.  “They have chicken on the menu today with potatoes and turnips.  The roasted duck might be good.  Or do you feel like having bear?  We haven’t had bear in forever, and it comes with biscuits and gravy.”
    Leta grinned happily.  “I’m going to have bear.  I wish when we went hunting we’d go after a bear.  It’s always boring old deer.”
    Sophia looked up in time to see Kaden giving her a look of gratitude mixed with embarrassment. 
    “I’m going to have the chicken.”  Dani said.  She smiled at Kaden.  “Have you decided yet?”
    “Aye.  I think I’ll have the bear as well.  I’ve never had it before.”
    “Never had it before?”  Leta forgot about her dislike for him and leaned closer.  “Not even once?”
    He shook his head.  “Not even once.  But I have eaten rat.”
    Leta’s eyes widened.  “You haven’t!”
    “I have.”  He grinned at her.  “If you want, I’ll catch one in the barn so you can try it.”
    Leta shuddered.  “Gross!  No way!  I’m never trying rat.”
    He laughed and took a drink of water as Leta hesitated and then said, “What do they taste like?”
    He leaned across the table until his large head was only inches from hers.  “They taste like...” Leta stared mesmerized into his eyes as he paused dramatically. 
    “Chicken.”  He tapped her gently on the nose, and she squealed in surprise and nearly fell off her chair.  She stared wide-eyed at him, and then burst into loud peals of laughter. 
    There was an older couple sitting a few tables away, and they frowned in disapproval at Leta’s loud laughter.  Sophia squeezed Leta’s hand lightly.  “Hush, Leta.”
    She giggled and nodded before looking at Kaden.  “Why did you eat rat?”
    He wiggled his eyebrows at her.  “Because the bear I was chasing didn’t feel like being dinner that night.”
    She laughed again and Kaden grinned before catching a glimpse of Sophia’s face.  She wasn’t smiling.  In fact, she was giving him a clear look of pity that both unsettled him and made him a little ashamed.  He didn’t want her pity.  The Lycan had no idea what real hardship was, and he was suddenly furious with her.  So what if he had eaten rat to survive.  He had done worse things to keep both him and Bree alive.  Their different backgrounds were yet another reason for him to ignore his attraction to her.
    He knew he was overreacting, knew it was his own sense of shame at the things that he had done to survive that was making him so angry, but it didn’t stop him from glaring at her.
    “What?”  He muttered.
    “Nothing.”  She said quickly.
    “Do you have something you want to say?”  He clenched his hands into fists under the table as she gave him a confused look.
    “No.  Kaden, what – “
    She was interrupted by the arrival of James, Bree and Nicholas.  Nicholas sat down beside her and ruffled her hair affectionately.  She smacked his hand away and rolled her eyes at him as Bree, nearly glowing with happiness, slid onto the bench beside her brother.  Dani leaned over Kaden, letting her small hand rest on his thigh under the table.
    “Why so happy?”  She asked Bree.
    Bree smiled at James and then held her left hand out.  Kaden winced when Dani squealed shrilly into his ear before grabbing Bree’s hand. 
    “It’s beautiful!”
    Sophia leaned forward and admired the ring on Bree’s finger.  It was a simple gold band with a large blue stone embedded into it.  The stone shone in the dim light of the restaurant and Sophia traced it gently with the tip of her finger.
    “It’s lovely, Bree.”
    “Thanks, Sophia.  James actually picked it out.”  She flushed a little.  “I had my eye on a smaller one, but James liked this one best.”
    “It matches your eyes.”  James kissed her gently