Oh god. It hadn’t been five minutes since our reunion and Damon had already insulted my mother. I was at least hoping for us to arrive at the dining hall before drawing out the knives. Not that my mother did not deserve to be called out, but surely Damon did not need to do it in a way that removed all semblance of politeness from the meeting!

At this rate, I would expect my mother to pull out a gun over dinner to shoot at him while she ate her food.

Blaise and I tried to step on his foot to discreetly get him to stop antagonizing her, but it only led to our feet colliding together.

"Damon, shush," Blaise said warningly. I could sense his anger coiling under the surface at my mother’s words, but Blaise always had a stronger hold on his temper. "Don’t forget, we’re guests here."

"Exactly. It seems like your brother is more aware of the situation than you are, Alpha Damon," my mother said smugly, spitting out the word ’Alpha’ as though it was something dirty stuck at the bottom of her shoe. "Now, are we going to eat a meal as a family, or do you wish to shed blood first?"

"Food sounds lovely," Blaise interrupted, smiling with too many teeth. Damon snarled, but Blaise had a firm grip on his arm, a wordless warning for his brother to behave.

Damon then turned to me, and let out a snort. "Fine. Just know that I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for Harper," Damon stressed.

"Fair enough," my mother said, sounding incredibly unimpressed by his reasoning. "Follow me then, so we can get this over with."

Damon bristled further at her patronizing tone but thankfully did not argue with her further. All of us wanted to get this over with as painlessly as possible.

We followed her back to the dining hall. I wanted to trail further back so that I could continue to speak with Damon and Blaise, but my mother was always only a few steps forward. It was as though she had a sixth sense, or eyes at the back of her head that allowed her to track me so easily, even when her back was turned.

"Take your seats," my mother instructed. Before I could sit on the same side as Blaise and Damon, my mother gestured to the seat next to me. "Harper, you’re sitting right here. Let the men sit on the other side."

"You―" Damon looked like he wanted to argue further, but Blaise gave a small shake of his head, despite looking unhappy at this turn of events.

All of us sat down, and the staff began to serve the food. A delicious aroma wafted through the room. The scent of thick fragrant spices in thick curry, paired with freshly cooked rice and chicken would have caused my mouth to water at any other time, but the situation was so tense that I could not even muster up enthusiasm for the meal.

On the other hand, my mother dug into her own with gusto, gesturing for me to do so. But I kept my eyes on my mates.

"Are you not going to eat? I assure you, there’s no silver anywhere," my mother said, sounding vaguely amused at Damon’s attempt to glare his dinner into submission. "My daughter had personally vouched for that."

I shot my mother a glare from the corner of my eyes as I picked at my meal, gingerly putting a spoonful of it into my mouth. Thankfully, it tasted a lot better than the meal I had earlier. The cook had used enough spice so I didn’t taste that strange bitterness that persisted throughout.

Unfortunately, my appetite was waning the longer I sat at the dining table. The air was thick with tension, and my mates refused to touch the food they were given at all. That was smart, but of course, my mother would not accept such an outcome.

"Not hungry after such a long trip?" my mother asked.

"Skip this nonsense and get down to business. What did you call us here for?" Damon demanded, baring his teeth. Blaise and I froze, half-expecting a fight to break out there and then, but my mother merely dabbed at her lips with the napkin, before casting an imperious glance at Damon.

"Eat, or you’ll find that this will be the last time you get to see my daughter," my mother threatened, with a serene smile on my face.

Blaise and Damon exchanged a glance, and warily picked up their spoons, scooping the bare minimum of curry. They sniffed at it cautiously, their noses wrinkling in distaste.

"Don’t tell me you can’t eat spicy food," my mother exclaimed. "Harper, are you sure you want them as mates when they don’t even have functioning taste buds!"

"Spices are not an issue, Madame," Blaise said politely, a bland smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Damon was gripping his spoon so tightly he nearly twisted it. Knowing him, he would have rather jabbed his own eye out with the spoon than eat anything my mother provided.

"It’s the risk of poison that has us more concerned. After all, your fur coat makes a very pointed statement about your stance. Needless to say, it really hampers our appetite," Blaise explained.

My mother snorted in amusement.

"At least this one is witty. Then again, I heard that he was raised by humans for some years too. No wonder he seems to be the better match. Far be it for you to be stuck with two humorless brutes for the rest of your life," she said in a whisper loud enough to echo throughout the room.

A muscle twitched in Damon’s jaw, but then Damon might as well be air to her.

She then turned to address Blaise. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"You know what, since you have endeared yourself to me — more than your brother did, in any case — I have a proposition for you."

"What is it?" Blaise asked.

"If you finish your plate and your brother’s, I’ll let you stay the night with Harper. How about that? Meanwhile, your brother will have to find some other hotel to stay at. Or a dumpster. I’m not too picky."