Chapter 55 GRUMPY LOVER
By midday, the pack house had settled into its quieter hours, the heat of the sun pressing lazily against stone walls and open corridors. Most of the warriors were out training or on patrol. Servants moved softly. The world kept going.
Adam had decided he was not part of it today.
He lay curled on a wide couch near the open balcony doors, half wrapped in a blanket he hadn’t asked for but hadn’t rejected either. His body felt like it had been gently taken apart and put back together wrongly. Not pain, exactly. More like soreness that lived deep in the muscles, the kind that made even breathing feel like effort.
He stared at nothing in particular.
Kael hovered.
“Drink,” Kael said for the fourth time in ten minutes, holding out a cup.
Adam cracked one eye open. “I had water.”
“That was nine minutes ago.”
“I’m still hydrated.”
Kael crouched anyway, setting the cup on the table within arm’s reach. “I’ll just… leave it here.”
Adam sighed, tugging the blanket closer around his shoulders. “You’re hovering too much.”
Kael’s mouth curved immediately, unbothered. “I am nesting.”
Adam let out a small, disbelieving huff. “You’re an Alpha. You’re not a bird.”
“Yeah, I am an Alpha,” Kael agreed cheerfully. “And I really love nesting up with my mate.”
Adam shut his eyes again, but his lips twitched despite himself.
Kael stared at him for a moment longer than necessary, then reached for another blanket and draped it over Adam’s legs with exaggerated care.
“There,” he murmured. “Extra insulation.”
“I’m not cold.”
“You will be if you don't cover up more.”
Adam didn’t argue further. He shifted slightly, the movement making his face pinch before he smoothed it away. Kael noticed anyway.
“Still sore?” Kael asked, immediately concerned.
“No.”
Kael waited exactly one second. “Are you lying?”
“…Yes.”
Kael nodded, as if that was confirmation of something important. “I’ll be right back.”
Adam frowned weakly. “You just said you were nesting.”
“I can nest with supplies.”
Kael was gone less than a minute. When he came back, he had ointment, a folded cloth, and the unmistakable look of a man about to make himself useful whether asked or not.
Adam groaned quietly. “Kael.”
“Mm?”
“You don’t have to—”
“I know,” Kael said gently, already kneeling beside him. “But I want to.”
He warmed the ointment between his hands first. Slow. Deliberate. No rush. Then he pressed his thumbs into Adam’s calves, firm but careful.
Adam inhaled sharply, then sagged.
“That’s—” Adam stopped, then tried again. “That’s… okay.”
Kael smiled, soft and private, and kept going.
They stayed like that for a while. The sun shifted. Somewhere outside, birds argued loudly over nothing or something. Adam’s breathing evened out.
Kael rambled...
Not about anything important. About a dispute between two guards over whose turn it was to clean the east stairwell. About how the cook had tried a new spice blend and nearly poisoned half the staff. About how the physician had scolded him earlier for not eating properly during rut and how unhealthy that was.
Adam listened with his eyes closed, occasionally making a sound of agreement or disbelief.
At some point, Kael’s fingers drifted up to Adam’s shoulders, kneading gently.
Adam murmured, half-asleep, “You’re going to make me useless.”
Kael hummed. “Useless is a harsh word. I don't want you to do anything but that doesn't mean I'm making you useless, I'm rather making sure you lazy around and stay nicely groomed like a cat.”
“I'm not a cat.”
“But you're so cute.”
Adam didn’t respond. He drifted off to sleep.
Later, when Kael shifted to sit beside him instead of kneeling, Adam stirred and opened his eyes.
“You're still here,” Adam muttered.
Kael gave a fake offended look. “Rude.”
“I don't know, shouldn't you be busy? You could be doing… Alpha things.”
“I am,” Kael said seriously. “This is Alpha work.”
Adam studied his face, quiet for a moment. “You’re not trying to fix me?”
Kael blinked. “Why would I?”
Adam looked away.
Kael didn’t push. He just leaned back, pulling Adam with him so Adam ended up half against his chest, supported without being pinned.
They stayed like that until the heat grew heavier and Kael suggested moving outside.
Adam made a face. “Walking?”
Kael immediately scooped him up.
Adam yelped. “Kael!”
“You walked last week,” Kael said, adjusting his hold. “That’s enough walking for one lifetime.”
“I can walk.”
“I know,” Kael said cheerfully. “I just don’t want you to.”
Adam’s protest dissolved into quiet resignation as Kael carried him through shaded corridors and into the courtyard, where cushions had already been laid out beneath a wide canopy.
Adam was set down carefully, pillows arranged behind him like a throne.
“This is ridiculous,” Adam muttered.
Kael beamed. “You’re reclining.”
“So why are we here?” Adam asked, leaning into a more comfortable position.
“I'm going to do a sword dance for you.” Kael announced, almost too cheerful.
“That's a thing?”
“Yes. And I'm trying to entertain my beautiful mate so he can be a little less grumpy.”
Adam rolled his eyes, “I'm sure I'll be unimpressed.”
“You won't. Watch.”
Adam watched him move away, watched the way Kael’s posture shifted as he picked up a practice sword. There was no aggression in it. Just focus.
When Kael began the form, it wasn’t violent.
The blade traced arcs through the air, smooth and deliberate. Each movement flowed into the next, grounded, controlled. Graceful rather than destructive. A dance meant to honor, not intimidate.
Adam found himself sitting up.
Kael turned, spun, stepped… the sword never rushed, never faltered. When he finished, he didn’t mind the guards watching quietly from a distance.
He bowed to Adam, to sign off his dance. Something an Alpha wouldn't do, and something Adam doesn't really know the weight of. Kael didn't mind bowing to his mate or being seen doing so.
Adam swallowed. “You look… steady.”
Kael’s answering smile was soft, like he’d been given some kind of grand prize. Like that single word meant more than applause ever could.
Later, Kael grilled food himself. Burned one side.
He shrugged and ate the burned part anyway.
Adam laughed and Kael froze like he’d just been knighted.
“Do that again,” Kael said, eyes bright.
Adam threw Kael a questioning gaze. “Do what?”
“The laugh, baby. I want to hear it again.”
“I can’t just—”
Kael burned another piece on purpose.
Adam laughed harder.
“Ahhh… I feel a lot better. You've been so cold all day I feared you're planning to divorce me.”
“Kael, we're not married. Just mated, you can't unmate can you?”
“No. I can't. You can't. We have to stay together forever.”
Kael fed him with his fingers, casual, unhurried. No expectation. Just closeness.
By the time the sun dipped lower, Adam was tired again. “Can we go inside? I'm tired.”
Kael lifted him once more without comment.
Adam rested his head against Kael’s shoulder and let himself be carried.