Later, it isn't Luka, but Savannah, who approaches with something that smells Italian, maybe a lasagne, that she leaves at the door.
It comes as more of a disappointment that it's her and not Luka than I'm expecting. Though when she tells me that he would've been the one to come, but had to run an errand for the alpha, it eases the sting a little.
"And I wanted to give you the other half of my message. Luka was in such a hurry to bring you breakfast that he left before I could tell him," she says in a sweet, low voice from the other side of the door.
She sounds nice, friendly.
Still, the Stone pack liked to play games with me, so as much as I'd like to believe I can trust this is her just being nice, I don't know that I can.
My eyes scan the one-room cabin which, although small, is filled with more expensive items than I'm used to seeing. I can tell the clothes are mostly designer, from the material and the cut. The furniture looks homemade and rustic, nothing like the cheap flatpack stuff I'm used to seeing in the apartments filled with roaches and bedbugs. And even though no one has stayed in this cabin for a long time, weeks or months maybe, all the appliances-the washer, refrigerator, and microwave-are the most expensive brands.
This pack has money. It isn't hard to work out what she came here to tell me, given that this cabin is filled with all her belongings.
I clear my throat. "I won't make a mess or steal anything," I murmur. "I'll be gone-"
Her laugh, bright and warm, silences me. "Oh, it's nothing like that. Just that Dayne turned the generator on for you, so if you wanted a shower or to watch TV, you can. Jeremy-that's my mate-is always trying to tell me that not everyone loves reading as much as I do."
Even though my eyes go to the TV set in front of the couch, I frown. "I don't understand. I didn't think anyone had used this cabin for a while."
"Nope. But when Dayne spotted you a few days ago, he turned the generator on here, since this cabin and the one he built for his mate are the only habitable ones around. So, he figured if you came back, you'd have somewhere to stay."
He knew I was here? And he turned the generator on?
Before I can delve into what that means and why this pack is being so welcoming to a stranger, Savannah speaks.
"My mate and I just came back to Hardin to look for some land to build some cabins." Here she pauses. "Look, I know you'd rather not open the door, but can I open it a crack and pass you the food? I feel terrible that it's getting cold while I'm talking to you."
I could tell her to leave, and then the food wouldn't be getting cold. But since this is her cabin she's letting me stay in, and she's bringing me food, I get to my feet and swallow down my nerves before I open the door.
She doesn't shove it open. All she does is retrieve the bag of food I can see in the doorway, and push it through the small gap. Then it's her closing the door and leaning against it on the other side. "So, as I was saying. Jeremy and I were in Paris, making plans to go to Rome, but I started getting homesick. But more for nature, the forests, and the quiet, you know?"
I sit on the floor and open the bag, listening to her speak. I know what she means. It's why I try not to stay in any city for too long. It feels like it kills a part of my soul when I do.
"Anyway, I thought that maybe other people-kids mostly-would love something like that. Nature. I know there are summer camps and things like that, but I doubt everyone can afford to go. So, I spoke to my old agent because he knows everyone, and he said some charities worked with disadvantaged city kids. So, that's what Jeremy and I are going to do; have some cabins where we can give kids who've never gone hiking through the forests or slept out under the stars the opportunity to. Obviously, we can't do it on pack land."
I smile at the thought of a bunch of disadvantaged kids from the city stumbling into one of the pack mid-shift.
"If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't. But what we have-our life here in the forest-is special, and I want to share a little of it with kids who only care about fashion, cell phones, and other things that don't really matter. What do you think? Be honest. Do you think it's a stupid idea?"
Although she's sounded confident throughout her vision, now that she's reached the end, I hear the anxious note in her voice.
I lower my fork. "No, I think it sounds like something they would never forget," I murmur.
After a moment, she laughs. "I just have to convince Jeremy it's not going to be fifty screaming kids throwing up all over him. He's pretty easygoing, but he is an alpha, so I doubt he'd appreciate that."
I chew slowly, thinking, and then I swallow. "So maybe make it teenagers, since they'll probably get more out of it than kids. Maybe he could help teach them something?"
Savannah is silent for so long that I start thinking what I've said is stupid. "Look, it was just an idea, maybe-"
"No," she says, sounding thoughtful. "He's always trying to shove my face in something he knows that I don't. I guess he could use some of his knowledge to educate kids about nature."
Since she doesn't sound like she hates Jeremy, I guess their relationship must be playful, more teasing than the one I had with Jared. There was nothing playful about him shoving something in my face that I didn't know.
Thinking about Jared steals my appetite away, so I lower my fork.
"I'd better get back to Talis and leave you to eat in peace. Luka is going to be so grumpy when I tell him you talked to me and not him. So, that'll explain his mood when he comes back with dinner later," she laughs. "Bye, Eden."
As I listen to her walk away, my thoughts turn to the packhouse. It's only natural that they would want to talk about the strange shifter who interrupted their BBQ. But she didn't say it as if they'd been gossiping about me the way the women in the Stone pack would have.
And she said Luka would be back to bring me dinner later.
I pick up my fork and resume eating, because wasting food isn't a good idea, especially when I'll be returning to living a half-starved life elsewhere soon enough.
While I eat, I think about the alpha with his pregnant mate who scented me days before-and instead of chasing me away, he turned on the generator so I'd have a place to stay.
No wonder the cabin felt so warm.
Once again, the feral wolf becomes my focus. If the alpha knew about me, maybe he knows about the feral wolf, even if neither Luka nor Savannah have mentioned it or acted as if there's a very real threat to them running around on their land.
But then why, if the alpha knows, hasn't he done anything about it? Especially when his mate is so vulnerable?
That must be why Luka couldn't come. He's dealing with the feral wolf.