Tasting

232–They Are Here To Stay 

Nora: 

“I asked you something.” Cain insisted sternly. I slowly turned around and faced him, my eyes questioning his audacity to question me. 

“You think you have the right to ask me that question?” It bothered me that he felt so entitled to answers. 

“Because the one you’re messing around with is my brother. Do you want us to fight because of you?” The way he said it made me fall silent before I decided to come up with an excuse to hit him with.. 

I wanted to call him out on his hypocrisy. “What about you? Aren’t you dating someone who used to be my friend and then betrayed me?” I scoffed at him, but he seemed so confident, as if he already knew I would bring it up. 

“The friend you convinced me to give a chance and paint her naked? So when you want to be a good friend, you threw me in front of her, and when you don’t want, I shouldn’t date her. Not everything goes by your rules, Nora!” he hissed, throwing a punch in the air but then instantly stopping himself and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“You are my mate. So I will be devastated if you are sleeping with my brother. Not only did you never hold loyalty to me, but now you want to drag my brother into your dirty games and make me look at him differently too?” His loud grunt and clenched jaw made me step back from him. 

I had never seen Cain lose his temper like that. He sounded entirely different from how he usually acts. 

“I never held loyalty to you? Cain! What the heck are you talking about? I had to date Brody because you couldn’t step up to hold my hand and save me from the accusations. And you’re holding that against me?” My voice kept breaking because I couldn’t help but tear up. He was branding me a dishonest mate without truly understanding my situation. 

“Your loyalty is as strong as your wolf,” his comment struck hard. He had suddenly calmed his nerves, but I guess I had to comfort him. It wouldn’t want the brothers to fight because of me. 

“There is nothing going on between me and Silas,” I watched him let out a deep sigh and then turn around to leave. I stayed standing, thinking about everything. He was not wrong. I couldn’t defend my actions or my affair, let’s say, with the other brothers with whom I have felt a mate bond. But with Silas, there was no bond. So what I was doing was actually terrible. I was having intimate relations with my mate’s brother. Even if my mates and I cannot accept each other, it would be inappropriate to fool around with Silas. 

I went back to Brody’s room and lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. I eventually dozed off and then woke up early in the morning to the sound of rain on the windows. 

After taking a shower and slipping into baggy jeans and a white shirt, I left the room to the sight of a mess. The brothers seemed to have 

attempted to cook and caused such chaos that I couldn’t help but slap my forehead. 

The minute I did that, I stole their attention. Silas turned around with pancake batter on his face, his sleeves rolled up, and holding a spatula. Cain was shirtless and covered in white flour, 

“Nothing works here at Brody’s place,” Cain commented with a frown. I didn’t know how it was Brody’s fault that these two couldn’t cook. 

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I kept staring at them with my hands on my waist. 

“Why are you looking at us like that? It’s not like you can cook either,” Silas shrugged, pouting at his brother, who quickly nodded in 

agreement. 

“You two—out of my kitchen.” I wouldn’t let them judge me. I was just an omega. They were alpha kings. They needed to be perfect in everything. But instead, they were a mess. 

“Your kitchen?” Silas inquired while Cain came out from behind him. I then realized he had batter on his abs too. What were they doing, cooking each other or what? 

“This is Brody’s kitchen,” Silas continued, causing me to roll my eyes. 

“Whatever, get out. We can order food,” I pointed at the living room, demanding they sit down so I could clean. 

“Hah! See, I told you she can’t cook either,” Silas slapped his brother’s stomach before they got out of the kitchen. 

“We’ll go take a shower, and by then, the others will have arrived too,” I heard Cain tell Silas, but I couldn’t get a chance to ask them what they meant by that. 

“Oh yeah, tell them to bring us food,” Silas uttered. 

I remained clueless and grabbed a mop and a bucket to quickly clean. the apartment. It was true that the brothers couldn’t do a single household chore. They had told me when I moved in with them that because they grew up in an all–men’s mansion, they never learned to have a woman around. So their habits were pretty raw and rough. 

I rolled my eyes at them before rushing into the bathroom to get cleaned again. This time, when I exited the bathroom, I heard noises 

11:06 

232–They Are Here To Stay 

from the living room. Not just Silas or Cain’s voices, but more familiar ones echoing in the apartment. 

Exiting the room, I was met with the biggest surprise when I saw Nash sitting on the couch with Silas, holding a beer bottle, and Ryker on a separate sofa, hunched over the table. Cain was busy eating a sandwich. They had so much food scattered around that a normal person couldn’t imagine feasting on such a heavy meal in the morning. 

Not only that, they got themselves comfortable with cards in front of them, playing games. 

“What the heck is going on here?” I couldn’t keep my peace with what was happening. 

Their father suggested I should leave to stay with Brody for a few days. to get away from everything, including stress. But now they brought the mansion here? 

“What does it seem like is happening, love? Your stepbrothers have come to stay at your place. Haven’t you stayed at ours too?” Nash winked, making his brothers chuckle without looking my way. 

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