by Cara Adams
Even if she was only twenty-one she was still old enough to mate them. Yeah, okay, he was getting ahead of himself here, but he definitely liked her and wanted to get to know her better. In a social sort of way. Two wolves and a human. Him, and Dom, and Kady. That sounded pretty good to him.
* * * *
Uwe looked around the Castle Kitchen. The lunch rush was over and Kiril and Magnus were washing the last of the huge pots, which had held pottage and werewolf stew. Both were very popular items always on the menu. He’d just finished chopping dates and strawberries for the custard tarts he was about to make. He loved the strange-to-his-mind ingredients in the recipes.
If he’d been making a custard tart for his family it would have had eggs, milk, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, and possibly some jam in it. As well as the dates and strawberries, the medieval recipe called for eggs, cream, butter, cloves, mace, ginger, saffron, and wine and broth. Evan, the head chef, had experimented for a long time with the broth, Anastasia had told Uwe, but clear vegetable broth gave the tart a very nice flavor. They were just different enough from modern food for the guests to know they were trying something historical, without being so unusual a taste as to scare customers away.
Uwe loved working in the kitchens. He’d always enjoyed baking, and he’d be sorry when the summer ended and his job was over. He didn’t think he wanted to be a chef forever, but he’d really enjoyed experimenting with the ancient recipes and coming up with something new, exciting, and different, yet still true to the time period of the castle. The first time he and Anastasia had been trying out a new pie recipe he’d asked her how long and what temperature to bake the pie.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, what does the recipe say?”
“Bake a little while.”
“What?” He’d gone over to the old book and read it himself. “Lete bake a litull whyle.”
“That’s why it takes us so long to introduce a new item on the menu. It’s not just a matter of trying to guess how much of each spice to use, but also of how long to beat, or stir, or bake the dish.”
He had noticed his baby sister seemed to have a real gift of guessing the quantities of the spices though. Whether it was accurate to medieval times or not, he didn’t know, but the foods sure tasted great to him.
He sighed and began the next stage of the recipe for the custard tarts. Normally he’d be working side-by-side with Kady on these desserts, but today was Wednesday. Because the castle opened seven days a week in summer, none of them got a full day off, only a half day after the lunch was prepared, and Kady’s afternoon off was Wednesday. He missed her. She was bright, and smart, always full of energy and quick to work out what needed to be done.
He was starting to wonder whether or not she might be the right woman for him. He was human and so was she. They’d both grown up on the mountain and loved being here. And he could work for the pack—the Mountain pack—and support them both. Although he was not a wolf and hadn’t sworn allegiance to the Alpha of the Mountain pack, he could swear allegiance and be welcomed and accepted because his father and two brothers were wolves. Uwe knew she didn’t much want to work in fast-food again, but as long as he had a job, her working in the castle summers should be adequate for them to survive financially.
All of this was getting a bit ahead of himself, of course. They hadn’t so much as kissed or dated yet. But he knew from the way she smiled at him that she liked him. As for himself, he wanted her more and more every day. All he needed to do was take the first step and ask her out. That was going to be tricky, as by the time they finished each evening it was a bit late. Usually six or even seven p.m. Still, they could go for a walk or just sit and talk over coffee, perhaps.
As the third son, and a human at that, Uwe’s family had never let him feel that he was a disappointment to them, although all the siblings knew their parents had hoped for a wolf daughter. The three boys had played their way all over the mountains all year-round, hiding in caves and under bushes during rainstorms, getting filthy dirty from dust or mud depending on the season, and usually coming home with torn clothes and huge appetites. But they knew every inch of their mountain in every conceivable type of weather, and had grown up happy, healthy, and energetic.
Once Anastasia had started demanding to come with them, they’d all learned to wash her hands and face, braid her hair, and brush the worst of the dirt off her clothing before going home. Uwe sometimes wondered if he would never have washed his hands at all as a boy if she hadn’t been so insistent on joining them. But despite being the youngest of them, and a girl, she’d been fearless, intrepid, a staunch follower wherever they went and whatever they did.
Uwe thought he saw that same sense of joy in life and willingness to get out there and do it all, in Kady. Suddenly he wanted to know her better. They’d talked a lot this summer, but the main conversation had been food, of course. Now he wanted to know so much more about her. What was her favorite color? Did she have a favorite flower? He knew she wanted to stay on the mountains, but right here, or would somewhere else suit her as well?
Tomorrow. He’d ask her out on a date tomorrow. They could go into the local town, just seven miles away, for a coffee after work, and just sit and talk. That would be perfect.
* * * *
Dominik Golubev never forgot he was the firstborn in the family. It was his job, his role, his lifelong commitment, to look after his younger siblings. Kady was his baby sister’s friend. He’d gotten to know her a little over the past summer and he liked what he saw of her. But when he’d seen her casually sitting under a tree on the mountain he’d been horrified. The mountain wasn’t a safe place for anyone, especially not a woman by herself.
The orchard was securely fenced, and he was surprised when she said she’d climbed the fence. That made her fitter than the average female as it was quite a high fence deliberately to keep animals and people out. But no fence was perfectly secure and just as she’d gotten in so an animal or bad person might have gotten in too. Animals or people who’d harm her.
He hadn’t meant to terrify her. He’d meant to shock her just enough so she never repeated her actions. But he’d been the one who was shocked. He’d been thunderstruck at the intensity of the emotions that had rolled through his body when he’d seen her sitting there. He wanted her. She was beautiful, perfect, and fuckable, and he’d wanted to jump on top of her, pull her pants down, and fuck her until they both screamed in release.
Between terror at Kady putting herself in danger, and overwhelming desire for her, he was scarcely able to walk back down the mountain without hauling her over his shoulder and paddling her damn ass.
His brothers sometimes made jokes about him being Dom the Dom, but all three of them were Doms and he refused to let anyone called him Nik. He hated that abbreviation of his name. He spent a few moments thinking about his personal toys. The Werewolf Castle wolves had a very well-equipped dungeon in the east wing where they lived. He had a toy box full of his favorite paddles, floggers, whips, handcuffs, and more, but no dungeon. Still, he didn’t need it. The mountain had dozens of caves, and he and his brothers knew the exact location of every one of them.
Dom had sensed a gentleness in Stefan’s voice when he spoke about Kady. As the eldest, Dom decided it was time for them to explore the idea of Kady being the human he and Stefan would share. He and Stefan hadn’t really discussed sharing a woman. They’d more or less left it up to fate. But he knew he’d be perfectly content to share with his brother—either of his brothers. They all got along well together and understood each other’s personalities. So he, and Stefan, and Kady would fulfill the rule of the Werewolf Castle wolves. Two male wolves with one human female.
He was thirty-one. It was time he mated and moved into a house of his own. With Stefan beside him and both of them working for the Alpha they’d be able to put a decent deposit on a cottage in the mountains. And the first room he’d equip would be the dungeon. He’d teach Kady how very good indeed BDSM s
ex could be, especially with two men.
He supposed he’d need to get to know her a bit better first. Most of his knowledge of her was secondhand from Anastasia. And romance. Didn’t females insist on being romanced? The bed strewn with rose petals or some such craziness? Well, he wanted her, so he could do that.
He would treat her right. He’d never hurt her. But to avoid hurting her he really ought to find out more about her. That meant talking one-on-one with her, at length and at depth. It was a damn shame he couldn’t start with the whipping and fucking, but talking had to happen. And likely Stefan needed to be there, too. So how was he going to work that out? Would he have to wait until she finished her summer shift at the castle? Hmm. This required more thought than he’d expected. He needed to get a few plans laid, some scenarios planned, before he spoke to her.
Not a problem. He was a Dom. He could do that.
* * * *
Kady dropped into a chair and took a sip of coffee. Ah heaven. Today had been very busy. There’d been a midday banquet, and as well as a good crowd eating in the Castle Kitchen, many of the customers had wanted to-go boxes with slices of pie, baked apples, honeyed pears, and even werewolf stew. The werewolf stew was a castle joke. It was actually made of beef, but the vegetables and spices used in it were medieval ones, and along with their own homemade semimedieval bread, it was the most popular main dish on the menu.
As soon as she got her breath back she needed to start baking more bread. They used a little less raw grain than in medieval times, making the bread not as harsh as it would have been back then, but still different from modern bread. Thicker and chewier. It’d taken Chef Evan quite a while to get the balance between authentic and edible right, but he’d done it and the bread was enormously popular as a side dish to the pottage and the werewolf stew. They sold huge amounts of it and baked it fresh every day.
Anastasia dropped into the chair beside Kady, her own coffee in her hand. “I’m almost afraid to look in the walk-in refrigerator and see what we need to replenish. My guess would be just about everything. The customers have been like a plague of locusts today.”
“Yes, but a plague of paying locusts.”
“That’s true.”
“Hey, Anastasia, there’s only one apple pie left. Do you want me to start making another batch?” Uwe asked.
“Hell, yes.”
“What about strawberry pies? Are there any of those left?” asked Kady.
“I’ll just go and look. I made custard tarts yesterday so there should be plenty of them left.”
Although they usually had a wide range of choices, they absolutely had to have two of everything. Anastasia had explained to Kady when she started work in the Castle Kitchen, that although many people just wanted to taste medieval food, and would usually choose whatever the day’s special was, there were other people who liked to sit in a group and try one of everything, so there had to be several choices. Kady guessed that’s why the banquets were so popular. At the banquet the serving size of each portion was small. More than a taste, but by no means a full serving. The idea was not just to be true to medieval serving sizes, which had been small, but also so that the guests could try a number of different items for each course.
“Three strawberry pies,” said Uwe.
“Better make a double batch of apple pies then and that can be tomorrow’s special since today’s was custard tarts. And I’ll make a small batch of strawberry pies,” said Anastasia.
Kady stood up and stretched. “I’ll start making the bread.”
Kiril and Magnus would begin chopping the vegetables for the pottage and the werewolf stew after they finished washing all the dishes, and once Evan had finished sending out the orders for the next lot of ingredients they needed to buy, likely he would begin making some of their regular orders, such as Turkish delight for the candy store.
There had to be enough food left to feed all the hungry workers at the castle as well. Most of them chose to eat in the Castle Kitchen instead of going the seven miles into the nearest small town. Although a few families cooked their own meals in their apartments.
Kady put her coffee cup on the sink, washed her hands, and then began preparing the dough for the bread.
By five that evening, the long preparation bench in the Castle Kitchen held a row of hot, fresh loaves of bread, trays of pies, platters of Turkish delight, and trays of honeyed pears. In the walk-in refrigerator were huge tubs of diced vegetables ready for tomorrow’s pottage. Kady took off her apron, washed her hands, and collected her cell phone from the closet in Evan’s office where the staff paced such items while they worked. She scrolled through her messages, but there was nothing important. Her parents and her friends knew she could only take calls on her breaks and usually phoned her after six.
All the staff had “uniforms” they were supposed to wear when they were in areas of the castle that guests could see them. None of the kitchen staff wore their costumes unless they were going out the front of the kitchen as it was hot and messy work. Nevertheless, Kady looked out the staff door and down the little pathway before exiting from the kitchens. This area was technically staff only, but a lost tourist could wander along here as it wasn’t blocked off.
“Wait up, Kady. I’ll walk with you,” said Uwe.
She looked around and smiled at the handsome man. He was good fun to work with, and she enjoyed his company. Although since all the human women lived in the priests’ house, which was inside the castle, walking her back there would take them less than five minutes.
He joined her at the door, checking there were no guests around as she’d done, before leaving the kitchen, then making sure the door was securely locked behind them. “I missed you yesterday afternoon. Did you enjoy your time off?” he asked.
Kady was surprised. He’d never really asked a personal question before. “I went for a walk up the mountain. I love the mountains. They’re in my blood.”
“Mine, too. I can’t imagine ever living down in the town.”
She sighed. “I’ll probably have to. When the tourist season ends I’m going to have to get a job, and, for the hospitality industry, that’ll mean shift work. It’s not going to be practical for me to live up the mountain if I’m working all sorts of shifts in town. At least before, I was already in town to study, and worked my shifts around that. Besides, it’s time I moved out of my parents’ house. After four months away there’s no way I want my mom telling me to tidy my room or something.”
“Is your room so very messy?” he asked with a teasing sound in his voice.
“Not my room here. The priests didn’t have much personal space. All my stuff is still in my suitcase under my bed because there’s no closet or shelves or anything. But normally? I’m not a naturally neat person.”
“That’s right. I remember Anastasia saying she got to move into the head priest’s room which has actually got a tiny closet in it. But no one else’s room has.”
Although there was no rule banning males from the priests’ house where the women stayed, in fact no men ever entered it. They waited out front and texted the woman they wanted to speak to. The rooms were tiny, scarcely wide enough for a narrow twin bed and the space to walk beside it. There were two hooks on the wall, presumably for the priest’s robes, and a chair beside the bed, which functioned as a nightstand and that was all. All the women met up in the kitchen of the house, which had a large table, chairs, and a television, so they used it as their living area. They made their own breakfasts, and their evening meals were provided by the Castle Kitchen. The women usually chose to eat at the Castle Kitchen for lunch, or just have a tub or yogurt or a piece of fruit and wait for the evening meal.
Kady often found herself far too busy to stop for a break during the day, although she would regularly taste the recipes as she cooked, so she figured that was enough to term “lunch.”
When they reached the priests’ house Uwe touched her arm. “Kady?”
She turned and smiled at him. H
e seemed worried about something although she couldn’t imagine what.
“Will you come out to dinner with me please? We’ll go down into town and you can choose the place. Please?”
“I’d like that, thank you.” Kady felt a little bubble of happiness inside her. She really would enjoy being with him, although they couldn’t stay late. They started work much too early in the morning for late nights out. But a meal. Yes. She’d enjoy that.
She saw Dominik and Stefan marching up to join them. Dominik moved so purposefully. “March” really did describe his movement. It was much too formal for “walk.”
As he’d done the previous day, Dominik moved right into her personal space before speaking. “Kady, I want you to have dinner with me and Stefan. I’ve booked a table at the Dragon Palace for seven tonight, because I know you can’t stay out too late.”
She shook her head. He was so bossy. It was exciting in a way, but it’d have been better if he’d checked whether or not she liked to eat Asian food before he’d made the booking. Oh, and that she hadn’t already made arrangements for the evening. “I’m sorry I’ve already agreed to go out to dinner tonight with someone else.”
“Who?” asked Dominik.
“I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” she said, just as Uwe answered, “Me.”
“You? You can go find another woman. I’m planning—Stefan and I are planning—to get to know Kady better.”
“Kady and I are both human and both chefs. We understand each other and get along together really well without anyone having to get all bossy and arrogant and dominating.”
“I’m the eldest and I—”
“Gentlemen!” Kady held up her hand in a stop sign. “I’m still here and perfectly able to make my own decisions. I’m not a bone for you dogs to fight over.”
