Page 65 of Primal Bonds 1
Chase nodded in agreement. “A mother hen. No one would dare come near Lan when you’re around, you overbearing gorilla.”
“I’m not a gorilla,” Nolan snapped.
Loud noise came across the hallway then, and the three youngsters came into the living room. Lan said, “Need any help with making dinner, Master Adam?”
“If you can help with setting up the table, that would be great, Lan,” Adam said from the kitchen.
“I’ll help, too,” Shiro said.
“Sure,” Adam said. “But be careful with your wrist.”
“I will,” Shiro said, stiffly waving his sprained wrist Chase had bandaged up for him.
Aka didn’t offer to help. Rather, he avoided getting anywhere too close to Adam, which amused Chase. He walked over to the man and said, “Umm, Chase, I’m going to stay over with Shiro tonight and tomorrow.”
Chase sighed. “The moment you found your brother, you ditched me. You’re such an ungrateful little runt. Well, I’m going to be lonely, but sure, go ahead and stay with Shiro since he’s so important to you.”
Aka laughed. “You won’t be lonely. You have work at the clinic.”
From the kitchen, Lan said, “I’m staying over, too, so I won’t be going back with you, Master Nolan.”
Nolan happened to see Chase smirking at him, which annoyed the hell out of him. To Lan, he said, “Do whatever you want. It’s your days off.”
Adam said, “You’re welcome to stay, too, Nolan. There’s a third spare bedroom.”
Nolan snorted. “No, thanks. I’d rather sleep in my own luxurious, king-sized bed back at the Sullivan Mansion where there’s a ton ofbodyguardsto keep me safe.”
Lan noticed Nolan’s sour tone and whispered to Shiro, “He’s pissed I’m not going back with him.”
Shiro whispered back, “You’re his bodyguard, right? Is that allowed? You ditching your job?”
“It’s my days off,” Lan said firmly. “I can do whatever I want. He has otherlousybodyguards to keep him safe.”
Adam said to Lan, “That’s right, Lan, you can do whatever you want.” He ruffled Shiro’s hair. “You don’t have to worry about Nolan throwing a tantrum like a little girl, Shiro. You have fun with Lan and Aka.”
Nolan glared at this brother. “Throwing a tantrum? Like a little girl? Me?”
“Aren’t you?” Chase said, chuckling.
“I most certainly am not,” Nolan snapped.
Ten minutes later, everyone settled down around the dining table and started dinner, which was roast pork and root vegetables plus side salads.
“Oh, wow!” Shiro said, his eyes sparkling, which made Adam smile. “It’s roast pork.” He turned to Aka and said, “We’ve never had roast before, right?”
“Actually, I had it before. Chase took me out for dinner in a fancy restaurant and we had roast,” Aka said, grinning from ear to ear.
“So I’m the only one then,” Shiro said.
“Pretty much.” Aka chuckled.
Adam came around the table with a bottle of wine and poured it into three glasses. Nolan eagerly grabbed one and brought it to his lips for a sip. When he put the glass down, he asked, “What do they feed you guys at the institute?”
Aka said, “Unpleasant stuff.”
“Yep, disgusting stuff,” Lan said. “Mainly dry toast, tasteless cereals, or runny oak porridge for breakfast. For lunch it’s plain sandwiches, and dinner, sometimes meatballs and weird-tasting pasta and sometimes rice and minced meat with who knows what’s in them. They probably put drugs in there, too.”
Shiro said, “They were unpleasant. Nothing like Adam’s cooking.”