Chapter 31: Chapter 31
“Too much info,” Kelsey countered and threw a gardening glove at Ryder. “Shut up.”
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The sun was already sinking when Ryder and Elena left the garden. She knew that she would come here often in the future since it was a very serene place. Kelsey had even shown her a spot where she could grow herbs since she needed those for her spells. She made a plan to get to work tomorrow morning when the summer sun wasn’t as hot and unforgiving as in the afternoon.
“You must be hungry,” Ryder noted. “Let’s go to the kitchen first.”
She nodded, and he showed her the way to the kitchen. It was on the ground floor, situated in the part of the house that faced the backyard. The waning light of the evening sun fell through the large windows, illuminating white countertops and cupboards. An assortment of spices was neatly arranged on a shelf, and not a single thing looked out of space. The sink was cleaned and empty; no dirty dishes were to be seen. Even so, Elena knew that the vampires occasionally used the kitchen since she spotted a bowl with fresh fruits on the counter next to the silver fridge.
“What do you want to eat?” he asked and opened the fridge, letting her take a closer look. “Pick whatever you like.”
She checked its contents, cringing when she spotted an array of blood bags in the lower part. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to stare at the other things that were stored in the fridge.
“How about something sweet? Maybe pancakes with strawberries and cream?” she suggested.
“Damn, that sounds good.”
“Are you planning on letting him cook?” a voice asked from behind them. Elena flinched, but Ryder had already heard the other vampire arrive, so he simply threw him a sinister glower. The man who had appeared in the doorway was as tall as Ryder and had blond hair that looked a bit messy. His features were soft—but his cat-like eyes held a slight red glow. He probably hadn’t drunk any blood for a few days. Elena wasn’t sure what to make of him yet.
“I’m Thorny,” he introduced himself. “Nice to meet you, Elena. Make sure to keep your soulmate away from the kitchen. I just cleaned everything, and he always makes a mess.”
“Oh, you’re Thorny?” she said, a smile growing on her face. “Thank you for the food you made for me. It was very good.”
“No problem. It doesn’t happen often that we have guests who don’t consume blood, so I used the opportunity,” he shrugged. While he appeared serious and sternly glared at Ryder, she didn’t sense any ill intent from him—just annoyance.
“You can leave now, Thorny,” Ryder growled defensively and stood in front of her with crossed arms.
“So you can ruin the kitchen again? Forget it. I’m watching you.”
“You’re not good at cooking, Ryder?” Elena asked, her words prompting him to scoff. He raised his chin and huffed, not saying anything, so Thorny answered for him. The blond vampire walked closer and sat on one of the stools at the counter.
“He never had a reason to cook until you arrived here,” Thorny revealed, pointedly ignoring the sharp glares he received from Ryder. Anyone else would have been intimidated, but not Thorny. “After he drank your blood, he tried doing it for the first time. To make it short, the rice was burned to a crisp, the meat was inedible, and the vegetables would have made you vomit. He was lucky I interfered before you saw the embarrassing excuse of a dinner.”
Elena’s green eyes were as wide as plates. Her gaze darted from Ryder to Thorny and back. “You tried to cook for me?” she blurted out.
“Yeah,” Ryder grumbled, mad at Thorny for betraying him like this.
“That’s very kind of you,” she smiled, hiding her amusement. “We should cook together, then I will show you how it’s done.”
Thorny’s chuckle made him fume. He clenched his teeth. “Will you leave us alone?” Ryder snapped.
“Fine, but make sure to clean up when you are done,” Thorny stressed. “See you later, Elena.”
She waved at him as he left the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Only when he was gone did she realize that she had a completely normal conversation with a vampire. Without stuttering, without shaking, and even her heartbeat had remained calm. Perhaps she was leaving her debilitating fear behind.
Now she already knew five of the ten vampires who were part of the clan, and none of them had threatened her in any way. Helen had good chances of becoming Elena’s new friend. Kelsey shared his passion for gardening with her, and Thorny seemed to be nice as well. Even their leader, Edgar, had never made any indications that he planned to make use of her magic, so she assumed it was out of the question for him… which was reassuring. The clan members had been welcoming so far. She only needed to meet the rest of them, too…
“Where do we start?” Ryder asked and tore her away from her thoughts. She looked at him in confusion before she recalled what they were doing.
“Oh, that’s right. Can you help me fetch the ingredients we need? I don’t know where you keep everything,” she smiled. “We will need flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and oil for the pancakes.”
He nodded, and before she could even begin her search, he had already gathered everything, placing it on the counter next to the stove. She still had to get used to the fact that he could move at least twice as fast as a human…
“Thank you,” she said once he handed her a bowl and a whisk. “First of all, we need to mix the ingredients. And we also should cut some strawberries and prepare the cream.”
“I will take care of the cutting. We both know how it will end when you handle a knife,” he commented, cheekily smirking as he readied a bowl with strawberries. Elena flushed in embarrassment and hid her red cheeks behind her black hair. She concentrated on making the batter, but his attractive grin stayed on her mind for a tad too long.
“I’m not an idiot,” she whined.
“I didn’t say you are. I just want to keep your fingers safe,” he replied. While Ryder was busy with the strawberries and the cream, Elena finished the first pancake, which was soon followed by many more until the batter was used up.
She put her creations on two plates and decorated them with fresh cream and strawberries. Ryder carried both plates to the table and sat down across from her. The deliciously sweet smell that hung in the air already gave him an idea of how good the pancakes would taste, and he wasn’t disappointed.