I clicked the door shut to my study, running my hands through my hair in exasperation.
Exasperation at Cherry, at myself, at this whole goddamned situation. For a moment, guilt kept me at the door. I thought of Cherry perched on a bar stool, eating alone in the kitchen. Her gray eyes washed out and picking daintily at her meal. I almost went back. Almost.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care about her. She was…
What is she?
The truth was I didn’t know anymore. But the hopefulness in Cherry’s tone as she’d said dinner was ready had knotted my stomach. It wasn’t at the thought of her cooking.
Her food is always bloody delicious.
I knew part of me would regret not sitting down for a bite. But it was what lurked beneath that simple offer of food. An important part of the mating bond was a mate’s desire to nourish the other. The more frequently I gave in to her cooking and ate with her, the more chance there was for the bond that was destined to exist between us to grow.
No doubt it was partly why my parents had Cherry move in with me as soon as she turned of age. I stifled a groan as I thought of my mom and dad before going to my desk and collapsing in my chair. I opened up my laptop and booted it up. My parents were such self-righteous asses. I loved them and respected them, not just as parents but as Alpha and Luna, too. But what they’d done to me in this matter was a bitter pill to swallow.