Chapter 18
Watch
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“Whoa! You really are a great cook, Leila!” Myrtle commented using her fascinated and amused voice after she tasted her special freshwater fish dish called Herby Fish with Wilted Greens and Mushrooms.
She was so excited to work with fresh ingredients from their garden. And the forest is also accessible, and she saw a lot of fruit-bearing trees around.
Leila felt like she wouldn’t be bored because of these.
Myrtle brought her to the garden a while ago. There were lots of herbs, vegetables, and fruits around. Even spices and other herbal medicines were present. She enjoyed harvesting and thinking about what she could cook using the ingredients, and now she had come up with this.
It’s a good thing that Myrtle also wanted to learn. So, she enjoyed talking to her while cooking.
“I am not that good at cooking yet. I am still working on it,” Leila humbly stated.
“Oh, you’re so down to earth, Leila. I can’t believe that you still call this an amateur one,” Myrtle told her as she placed the food in a bowl.
“I am sure they are all starving. They are going to love this!” she excitedly exclaimed.
Leila just smiled at her shyly as she followed her towards the dining area with a pile of plates in her hands.
“Hey, watch out!”
She flinched as she almost bumped into Hunter. Good thing, his reflexes were better than hers in that he managed to wrap her around his arms for her not to fall, as was the case with the ceramic plates.
Leila felt a bit relieved at that.
However, the electrifying feeling that instantly filled her veins a typical reaction she had whenever Hunter been near her traveled towards her spine, making it shiver.
Her cheeks instantly burned as she bit her lower lip as she stared at his cold and deep ocean blue eyes. Her heart leaped as it met her dark brown ones. For a couple of seconds, her lips were ajar as she saw how it turned a darker shade of blue.
She was truly fascinated.
Her eyes blinked a few times, but she couldn’t believe that it really happened. She discreetly gasped for air.
“H-How…” She whispered under her breath making Hunter clench his jaw and look away.
He let her stand with her wobbling knees.
It’s a good thing that she had the strength to stand up now, despite the fact that she was still bewildered by what happened.
“Next time, watch where you’re going,” he coldly reminded her before walking towards the kitchen.
Leila swallowed hard as Myrtle suddenly got the plates out of her hands.
“Oh, I think I’ve seen some sparks, eh?” She teasingly commented making her cheeks burn in embarrassment.
She swallowed hard and tried to cover her embarrassment.
“What are you talking about? I’m not.” She tried to act innocently as she walked towards the dining table.
Myrtle just smiled at her widely before following her this time, she didn’t even bother commenting anything. She didn’t want Leila to be too uncomfortable this time.
However, she knew better. She smiled discreetly.
“The dish that you cook is superb, Hon!” Hector suddenly blurted out as he smilingly praised Myrtle.
She couldn’t help but let her left brow move upward.
Myrtle laughed at her husband’s praise.
They had just finished eating their sumptuous dinner when Hector said those words. He had his stomach full, alright. With all that he had eaten, and four extra cups of rice, she bet he surely enjoyed the food. Well, she could be happy with that thought, too. Because even Hunter got three extra cups of rice on his plate not that she was watching him, but…
‘Oh, come on, Leila. You are watching him! Admit it!’ Her mind instantly contradicted her thoughts.
She mentally pouted her lips as she felt her cheeks burn because of what was running through her pretty little mind.
“Oh, Honey, don’t think too highly of me. I didn’t cook those,” Myrtle smilingly stated as she winked at her.
Hector’s forehead creased as he stared at her.
“Leila made all of those. I am just a mere assistant, Hon.” Myrtle joyously corrected.
Myrtle couldn’t help but chuckle at the two men’s reaction. And she couldn’t help but hide her smile either.
Hector swallowed hard as she saw Hunter’s Adam apple move up and down, too. Silence suddenly engulfed them as Leila felt the sudden tension fill the air.
“Uhm, what? Aren’t you going to tell anything?” Myrtle acted like she was serious as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Hector cleared his throat.
“Uhm, well, thanks for the sumptuous food, Leila,” he simply stated as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I bet you really are sincere in your words, Hector,” she replied sheepishly.
Myrtle and Leila both chuckled at how Hector’s lips protruded.
“Oh, he is, Leila. Look at how full his stomach is,” Myrtle giddily pointed out.
He just scoffed and didn’t say anything.
Oh, she truly loved to bully Hector whenever Myrtle was around. Hector couldn’t disagree with Myrtle, which was giving her the upper hand. She stared at Myrtle fondly.
Leila couldn’t believe how she found a sisterly bond with Myrtle.
Then, her forehead immediately creased when she saw Hunter walked towards the open and huge wooden window all of a sudden with his forehead creased as if he were bothered by something.
He had been experiencing that particular heavy feeling since they arrived at the pack’s community. He had this heavy feeling that someone was watching their every move.
“Why?” Hector immediately inquired concerned by his brother’s sudden move.
Hunter simply looked at him then at her and at Myrtle, before shaking his head.
“Nothing. Let’s all get some rest,” he plainly replied before going towards his own room.
Hector shook his head. He still couldn’t believe why his brother was acting with indifference. Perhaps, he couldn’t and wouldn’t change that kind of attitude of his even though they have already patched things up by now.
He let out a deep sigh.
“Damn. I can’t really spell him out,” Hector whispered under his breath, but enough for all of them to hear.
Leila, on the other hand, heaved a deep sigh as she helped Myrtle, and the Omegas arrange the table.
She was about to go to the kitchen when her eyes moved towards the open window. She swallowed hard as she felt her spine shiver. She could feel something in the woods something like someone was watching her.
Leila swallowed hard and looked away in an instant. Her heart was beating so loudly inside her chest.
“Are you okay?”
She almost had a heart attack and flinched a bit when Myrtle held her arm.
“Hey, are you okay?” She asked again.
Leila just gave her a small, forced smile before nodding her head.
“O-Of course… I… I will just put this in the sink,” she managed to utter.
She didn’t wait for Myrtle’s words and just walked to the kitchen sink.
Leila couldn’t stop her raging thoughts as she tried to calm herself.
“No. That’s nothing, Leila. You are just hallucinating. Stop scaring yourself, for goodness’ sake…” She whispered under her breath to calm the fast beating of her heart.
However, little did they know, a pair of eyes in the darkest part of the woods were all watching them.
He had been watching them since the very beginning… watching them from the shadows trying to get his own best timing.
“Smile now because you will all cry soon. Leila is mine.” He lowly whispered as he walked away not letting Hunter see him with his eyes being so cautious and doubtful a while ago.
But before he could even walk a mile away from where he was a while ago, Viego suddenly appeared in front of him.
“M-Master…” His voice was gruff and laced with fear causing him to groan, dissatisfied.
“What is it?” He coldly inquired.
“Our men can’t get near the pack. The sentinels are heavily guarding the woman,” Viego told him.
“F*ck!” He cursed loudly.
Then, he let out a sarcastic laugh like a madman who had lost his own sanity.
“So, they are now making this game a bit difficult, huh?” He sardonically stated.
“Let’s see…” He simply said.
However, the smile behind his mask instantly disappeared the moment, one of their men approached them.
“M-Master…” He fearfully said.
“What is it, this time?” His patience was already wearing thin he just didn’t want his composure to be gone… not in front of his subordinates.
“T-The… T-The enemies…” He unsurely said his lips quivering in fear.
“T-They are marching towards our t-territory n-now,” he finally informed him.
With that, the sarcasm he had been playing suddenly vanished as pure wrath and deep annoyance engulfed his entire system.
“What kind of sh*t are you talking about?” He furiously inquired.
“T-The A-Alpha of the M-Moon Howlers P-Pack is with h-his allies… They a-are already near our h-hideout,” the man said with his scared and trembling voice.