Page 28 of My Haven (Bewitched and Bewildered #16)

Genevieve yawned as the breakfast scramble she made finished cooking in the ovens. Ryuu prepped enough to make three nine by thirteen pans, and she was grateful for his help. Not only were there a lot of people staying at the Nu house, but most were men, who could put food away.

Aiden appeared first, carrying a blanket wrapped Meryn into the kitchen. He set her down on her normal counter seat. Ryuu, Pierce, and the boys followed. And just like that seven people were down for breakfast.

Meryn looked around bleary-eyed. “Coffee,” was her one-word command, not request.

Ryuu sighed and picked up her wrist. “Normal coffee, not the sugar ones you’ve become addicted to, and you have to have a sensible breakfast, not brownies.”

She opened her mouth and hissed at her squire. Instead of getting mad the man broke out into a huge smile and patted her head. “You’re getting better,” he complimented, then went toward the coffee pot to fix her morning cup.

Meryn sniffed the air. “It smells like pancakes.”

Genevieve pointed to the ovens. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Meryn yawned again. “So?”

“So…what?”

Meryn pointed to the walls. “Kendrick, Kyran, and Tristan were glowing yellow to keep the house together. Is magic sex like having a threesome?”

Genevieve felt her body flash cold in embarrassment.

“Meryn, most people don’t want to share such intimate details,” Aiden chided.

“Why not?” Meryn asked.

“Because it’s something shared between mates,” he countered.

“Fuck that. I got plaster in my hair last night, tell,” Meryn said, looking back to Genevieve.

“Plaster broke?”

“Plaster, dry wall, whatever. The white wall stuff.”

Genevieve thought back to the previous night, embarrassment faded, and she smiled at the memory. “I will not give you details, but I do feel sorry for you, being mated to a shifter,” she teased.

“Bitch.”

“I know.”

“Isn’t bitch a bad word to use? Doesn’t it mean that person is a meanie?” Pip asked.

Meryn squinted and Genevieve took pity on her. The poor woman hadn’t even had coffee yet. “Pip, really close friends can call one another ‘bitch’ as a way of saying something along the lines of, ‘I’m happy for you and hate you at the same time’.”

“So, it means you like the person?” Pip asked.

“Yes, kinda.” She sighed. “I’m really not explaining this well. Arlo would be the better person to give examples.”

Meryn accepted her cup of coffee from Ryuu. “You’re doing great.”

Pip looked to Meryn. “Good morning, bitch.”

Meryn snorted into her coffee, began choking and laughing at the same time. Tears ran down her cheeks as the hot coffee dripped off her chin.

Genevieve laughed right along with her. But, if she was being honest with herself, she was laughing more at Meryn than with her.

Once Meryn could breathe, she hugged Pip.

“Okay, let me give you an example. Like suppose I win the lottery, you could be like ‘you lucky bitch’ and it wouldn’t be bad.

Or like say we’re going out and come down decked out in a really cool outfit, you could be like, ‘biiitch’.

In that case you’re acknowledging how good I look. ”

Pip sighed. “This is complicated.”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Meryn said.

“Don’t encourage him. He doesn’t need to be saying bitch,” Aiden fussed.

Pierce was still wheezing as he leaned against the wall. “Gods above, you’d think I’d be immune at this point.”

“What’d we miss?” Thane asked, going straight to Meryn. He placed a hand on her head and nodded. “Kendrick told me about yesterday, doing better?”

She nodded. “We’re teaching Pip about using the word bitch.”

“This should be fun,” Law said, sitting down.

Behind Genevieve, the oven’s timer went off and she began pulling breakfast out. In addition to the three pans of breakfast scramble, she added three full pans of bacon to cook in each oven. She knew she had done the right thing when Meryn and Aiden zeroed in on the bacon.

Dishing it out was easy. Two large spoonfuls, and a handful of bacon per plate. Two handfuls for Meryn and the shifters.

Meryn took a bite of bacon and grabbed the edge of the counter. “Oh my god!”

Ryuu and Aiden looked up, slightly concerned.

Genevieve turned to Ryuu. “The bacon has a bit of sugar glazed on it, but it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Meryn pulled an entire platter of bacon in front of her and began inhaling it.

When Aiden went to try a piece, she growled at her mate.

He looked down, eyes wide. “It must be really good.” He looked around and spotted the second platter.

He snagged a piece and tried it for himself.

He chewed quickly and reached for more. “Can I request this every day? I will run to the store myself if I have to, to get more bacon.”

“I want it for breakfast and a snack. Lunch and a snack. Dinner and a snack.” Meryn said. She saw the boys watching her, then sighed, before sliding the platter over to them.

“She’ll share with the boys and not you,” Law teased Aiden.

Aiden just shrugged. “The boys are growing, and she knows I can get my own,” he said, completely unfazed at the ribbing.

Meryn rubbed her cheek on Aiden’s upper arm. “Men secure in their relationships are sexy.”

He sat up a bit straighter and smiled as he ate his bacon.

Genevieve watched the entire scene play out. Meryn was giving Aiden positive reinforcement for the behaviors she liked. She was damn-near clicker training her mate.

I wonder if it works because he’s a shifter?

“Good morning, my mate,” a deep voice said from behind her, before a kiss was pressed to the back of her neck.

“Good morning, to you too,” she said, smiling at Caiden. “Sleep well?”

“Better than I have in years,” Caiden admitted, stretching. He looked around and saw two empty bacon pans. He picked them up and carried them to the sink to begin washing them.

That deserves a reward.

She walked over and stuck her hand in his back pocket for a squeeze. When he turned to look at her, she stood on tip toe to kiss him. “Thank you, baby.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Caiden happily continued to clean up after breakfast.

She looked over to Meryn, who held up her coffee cup in salute, then took a sip.

Genevieve poured her own cup and took a break while Caiden continued to clean up breakfast.

Zev and Hunter dove into the bacon and also offered to go to the store to get more. She’d have to add that to her weekly meal prep plans.

Caiden threw a dish towel over one shoulder. “What are your plans for the day, hun?”

Genevieve sipped the last of her coffee. “I think I’ll head back to Storm Keep and talk to the director about the kids’ preferences and ask if they have any allergies. Is it okay if I take them some eggs and that block of cheese? I figure anyone can make scrambled eggs.”

“Of course,” he said, looking a bit worried. “Maybe I should go with you.”

She waved him off. “It’s a straight shot to the parking area and the orphanage is in the Lower City. After I speak to the director, I plan on going to the Water Temple to torture Arlo, so as you can see, my afternoon is booked.”

He smiled. “You have your phone with you? You have my number? Meryn’s number? Thane’s number?” he asked, one question after another.

She nodded. “Meryn sent me everyone’s number yesterday along with a color-coded power point presentation, and excel sheet that I’ll look at later.”

He walked over, pulled her into his arms, then kissed her gently. “Be careful and come straight home.”

“Sure. What will you be doing while I’m gone?”

He jerked his thumb over to Aiden. “I need to catch up on the drills with the thermal goggles.”

“Have fun being He-man ,” she said, rinsing her cup and placing it in the dishwasher. Going to the fridge she pulled out a gallon of milk, a few cartons of eggs and a block of cheese and put them in the canvas shopping bag she found. She went to the pantry and added a couple loaves of bread.

“Have fun, torturing Arlo,” he called back, as she walked toward the front door.

She picked up her backpack in the foyer where she left it that morning and lugged the food to her van.

It didn’t take long to get to the city. Parking was as easy as she remembered and walking to the orphanage involved very few turns. Again, she heard the children before she saw the building. When she walked up the kids welcomed her warmly. The director was called over as she waited by the gate.

“Come in!” Nan called, as she hurried toward her.

Genevieve lifted the handle of the gate and let herself in.

“I brought some stuff for breakfast,” she said, passing the bag to Nan and setting her backpack on the ground.

The woman glanced down in the canvas bag and a look of intense relief crossed her face.

“Thank you, for this.” Nan looked around.

“June!” An older girl jogged over, and Nan passed her the bag.

“Can you get breakfast going for the children?”

June saw the bounty and smiled. “Of course!” She all but ran inside, a few kids trailing behind her.

Nan patted her arm. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Soon, they’ll be getting more than scrambled eggs. I have a few kid-friendly recipes I’ve been wanting to try.”

“Did you come all the way out here to bring them breakfast?” Nan asked.

“No, actually, I wanted to ask you about the children’s preferences. Does anyone have any allergies I should be aware of?”

Nan shook her head sadly. “They haven’t had much opportunity to try different things, and I hate to admit it, but even if there were allergies, the kids would probably eat the food anyway, they’re that hungry.”

“We can’t have that, food allergies can have serious consequences. Please have them tell me or you if there is an adverse effect. It won’t mean they’ll never get that food again, it just means I may have to make it differently.”

“You are a true godssend,” Nan said, wiping her eyes.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be just me. The guys I met in éire Danu want to help too.”

“Why would they help us?” Nan asked.