Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 243

Chapter 243: Premium Quality

Valerie sat elegantly on the velvet sofa in her brightly lit living room, casually flipping through the glossy pages of a fashion magazine, when the front door burst open. Alicia walked in, her face twisted into a pout.

Valerie looked up from her magazine, her eyebrows knitting together as a deep frown settled over her features. She glanced at the wall clock. "What are you doing back from the packhouse so early? You’ve only just left."

Alicia let out a dramatic whine, folding her arms tightly across her chest as she walked further into the room. "Kai’s girlfriend is in the packhouse."

Valerie sat up sharply, tossing the magazine onto the coffee table. "What do you mean, Kai’s girlfriend? Aren’t you supposed to be his only girlfriend?"

Alicia looked at her mother, letting out a very long, exhausted sigh, before slumping heavily down into a nearby armchair. "Kai has a werewolf girlfriend, Mum, and you know it. It’s that ginger girl, Jessica. Everyone in the packhouse is treating her like royalty."

She tossed her head back against the cushion, looking completely defeated. "Honestly, now that the Lycans are making peace with the werewolves, I don’t even see the point of fighting for him anymore. It is a total waste of my energy. He doesn’t even see me when I walk into a room."

"Spit that nonsense out right now," Valerie snapped, rising to her feet. "What is that rubbish you’ve just said? Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked to position you in that Alpha’s family? Since I couldn’t get in there myself, you were my way in, and now you want to ruin everything with this defeatist nonsense?"

She jabbed a finger at her daughter. "Let me remind you, child. The Mondragons aren’t merely our Alpha family. They’re directly related to the royal family itself. Kai alone has wealth that doesn’t even come from the family business. He’s young, talented, and every woman’s dream. You are not giving up on this. I won’t allow it."

She snatched up Alicia’s handbag. "Now get up. We’re going to that packhouse together. Right now."

Alicia stared at her. "But Mum, one of the maids told me they’re having an intimate family dinner tonight. We can’t just barge in on that."

Valerie stared right back, entirely unmoved.

"That is all the more reason we should be there, you silly girl. Stand up, fix your makeup, and come with me right now."

***

Jessica carried the ceramic casserole dishes toward the formal dining room, where the maids were already busy smoothing out the linen cloths and setting the cutlery for the evening meal.

She had volunteered to cook for the whole family tonight, a welcome-home meal for Angelica, who had just returned from her visit to Nana in Dravengard.

Soon, Angelica walked in, looking a bit weary from her travels but smiling warmly, followed closely by Alpha Tan, Kai, Tan’s Beta, and his Head Gamma.

They were all chattering casually among themselves as they took their respective seats around the long table, and the maids began to dish out the steaming food.

Jessica slid into her seat beside Kai, her heart doing a nervous little flutter as she beamed across the table at his mother. "Welcome back from Dravengard, Aunt Angelica. I made a special meal, just for you."

Angelica’s face warmed, and a wicked twinkle came into her eye. "How lovely. I only hope you didn’t mistake sugar for salt."

Jessica chuckled. "You’ll just have to see for yourself, won’t you?"

Kai and Jessica exchanged a glance, and under the table, his hand found hers and squeezed it slowly.

When the maids finished serving, everyone around the table waited, watching, as Angelica lifted her spoon and took the first taste.

She chewed and closed her eyes for a brief second, savouring the rich flavours in her mouth, taking her time about it, drawing out the suspense like a seasoned performer, while Jessica held her breath. Then, her eyes snapped open to look directly at Jessica.

"Wow. This is absolutely perfect!" She gave Jessica a hearty thumbs up. "Congratulations, my dear. You have officially passed the mother-in-law cooking test with flying colours!"

Jessica cheered, throwing both hands in the air, and the whole table erupted into laughter and applause.

"Everyone, dig in!" Angelica declared.

They all fell upon the food, and the compliments came rolling in from every side. The soup was delicious and thick. The meat was tender.

Kai beamed with pride and excitement as he watched his family and warriors thoroughly devour the food. He leaned back in his chair, a smug smirk on his face as he looked at his brother.

"See? I told you lot," he announced, "I always go strictly for premium quality."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify