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She scowled at him. “Of course. The elders forbade him to talk to or approach any of the females in the village, especially Janna and her children. He disappeared shortly after that. We all slept better when he didn’t return. He was a bad person.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Food,” she replied, not sure what he meant.

He chuckled and motioned for her to follow him. A plump shifter with curious eyes and a pleasant smile greeted them. Jayden’s mouth watered at all the food on display behind the transparent barrier. She had never seen so much food all in one place in her life.

“What is that?” she asked, pointing to a yellowish-orange food.

“That’s macaroni and cheese,” the woman replied.

“And that?” she asked, pointing to another dish.

The woman patiently explained each dish in the silver pans. Macaroni and cheese, green beans, turnip greens, potatoes, rice, fish, plant-based meatloaf… the list was overwhelming to choose from.

“I will take one of each,” she said. “And, that. I want to try your square yellow bread.”

“One super sampler coming up,” the woman replied with a wide grin. “Would you like a super sampler of the desserts as well?”

“What is that?” she asked, looking up from the mouthwatering display.

“Cake, pie, cookies?—”

Jayden nodded. She tried not to show her excitement. This might be the only time she ever ate like this. If it was, she wanted to try everything.

Ben carried their laden trays to the table while she carried the dessert tray. Her mouth watered. She recognized some berries from the forest. The difference was they were mixed in a thick sauce and covered with a white fluff that looked like snow, but tasted better.

She licked the last of the white fluff off her finger off before she placed the tray on the table. Ben pulled out the chair for her and she sat down. Her lips parted to ask him a question when the words died on her lips.

Ben turned to see what she was staring at. His smile widened when he noticed the two men standing inside the doorway, scanning the room. She scowled and looked down at her plate of food when they started forward.

“Why are they here?” she grumbled, picking at the bread on her plate.

Ben gave her an amused look. “Probably to make sure you and your grandparents are safe.”

She grunted her disapproval at the idea and took a bite of her meal. An explosion of flavors burst in her mouth and she began devouring the food. She ignored, or at least tried to ignore, the two men who pulled out the chairs across from her and sat down.

“Van, Peterson. What brings you here?” Ben greeted.

“We were dropping off some more specimens that we collected for matching, and Tracy asked us to check in on Jayden and her grandparents while we were here,” Van said.

Jayden almost looked up when he said her name. She dropped her left hand to her lap and clenched her fist. Her name sounded more like a purr rolling off his tongue.

“Man, those look delicious,” Peterson said, reaching for the dessert tray.

Jayden reached out and slapped the back of his hand when he reached for a cookie. She glared at him when he looked back at her with an amused grin. She pulled the tray closer to her.

“You go talk to the lady. She will give you a sampler plate of your own,” she said.

Both men looked at the tray in front of her, the tray of desserts, then back at her with raised eyebrows. She wrapped her hand around the wooden butter knife, daring them to take any of her food again.

“Uh, I’ll go grab us some food,” Peterson said, pushing back his chair.

She glared at Peterson’s back until he disappeared into the next room where the food was being served. Her head whipped around when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. Van had snatched a cookie while she wasn’t looking. He grinned at her and took a bite.

“I’ll replace it once Peterson gets back. I’m starving,” he mumbled around a mouthful of the cookie.

“I want one with the brown dots,” she warned.