Page 70 of The Night Wolf

Dani smiled at him. “Why not sit down and let me feed you, Quinn? It’ll make you feel better.”

He turned to Gareth. “Where… where should I sit, M—Alpha?”

“At the table, please.”

Quinn’s eyes went wide. “On the furniture? We’re only allowed to eat scraps from Master’s hand.”

“Not anymore. Do you remember eating with silverware?”

Quinn nodded.

“That’s what we do here.”

The chair Quinn took was right beside Sean’s. In fact, he scooted closer until their arms touched. When a knock sounded at the door, Quinn was up and ready to bolt. Only Sean’s hand on his kept him in the room. Dani answered the door for Deke, who wheeled himself into the kitchen. When he noticed Quinn, Deke’s nostrils flared and his pupils grew large.

“Good evening, Alpha.” His voice was broken and rough. “Good evening, Dani.”

“Hi, Deke. We’re having some chili, if you’d care to join us.”

“Yes, I’d like that very much.” He rolled up to the table, but Gareth noticed he never stopped looking at Quinn.

“Deke Simmons, this is Sean’s brother, Quinn. Quinn, this is Deke, the man who is going to be taking care of our property.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Quinn.” Deke held out a hand but drew it back when Quinn didn’t move. “I’m looking forward to working here.”

“Quinn, sit down and eat, please.”

“Y-yes, Master.” He took his seat and dipped his spoon into the chili. When he put it in his mouth, he shot Sean a panicked look.

“What’s wrong?”

“This is people food. We don’t eat people food!” he wailed, pushing the bowl back.

For every word Quinn spoke, Gareth was going to take another piece out of Ryker’s hide. He could only imagine Ryker doing this to Margaret or any other child. Before he could say anything, Deke spoke up.

“Hey, look at me.”

Quinn didn’t move.

“Quinn, I said look at me.”

The movement was slow and deliberate, but he turned his gaze to Deke.

“This is people food. You are people. Therefore, you will eat it. Do you understand?”

Quinn breathed a sigh, then gave a slight smile. “Yes, Master.” He picked up his spoon and dug in. He ate like he’d never had food before. When he finished, he picked up the bowl and brought it to his mouth.

Deke must have realized Quinn was intending on licking the bowl. “Put the bowl down, Quinn.”

Without hesitation, Quinn did. “I’m sorry, Master.”

“You did nothing wrong. If you’d like more, you need to ask Dani if you can have some.”

Quinn tilted his head. “Excuse me, Dani. May I please have more?”

She grabbed the bowl and went back to the stove. “You can have as much as you want.”

“How can I help you?”