Thank you so, so much to the Guest who left the sweet review on my last chapter!

Hungry Like the Wolf: Part Ten

Scarlet and Wolf have been eating in a hearty silence. Their mouths are too busy to chat and their stomachs are too happy to be wondering what the other one is thinking. It isn't until their forks scrape against empty plates that they look at each other with soft smiles.

"I'm full," Scarlet says.

"I'm tired," Wolf responds.

"I feel so gross from the pizza and that weird milkshake Winter gave you."

"Then why did you eat the whole thing and drink the rest?"

"It was a mistake and you wouldn't share the lasagna." She grins when Wolf shrugs as if he didn't eat the whole dish on his own. She sighs as she leans on him and his arm wraps around her. "Stars, I'm full. I ate too much. Why do I always do this?"

"Because you're greedy?"

Scarlet parts from him, glaring. She picks up her dirty fork to look at him through, squinting her eyes as he grins at her. He pushes her arm down and kisses her along her jawline and down her neck until she nudges him off.

"I think I have a stomachache and my brain has a stomachache," Scarlet says. "I'm full but I feel like I didn't eat a lot. I don't even remember eating that last slice … it just happened. I'm getting closer and closer to that nauseous place. I'll just fall in a food coma and die."

Wolf looks at her awestruck, as he usually does. "I love you so much."

"I'll get fat."

"I'll love you more."

"Because you'll be fat too."

Wolf stifles a laugh. "Wow."

Scarlet frowns at him. "You said you'd make love to a lasagna!"

"You agreed!"

"It was so good! You know, the small bit I got before you ate the rest." Scarlet slides out of the booth and grabs their plates. "I'll finish closing you. You get the car."

Scarlet winks at him before heading to the kitchen.

-o-

Levana's seen some weird things when she'd come home from work, mostly when the girls were smaller.

Winter once braided pipe cleaners into her hair and cried when they got tangled and the wires were scratching her scalp whenever she moved her head. She walked in on Winter with the biggest tears and a rainbow in her hair, unsure where she even got the pipe cleaners. Levana and Evret had to unweave them gently with shea butter and stayed up late into the night until every last pipe cleaner was out.

Cinder's taken apart her fair share of appliances and Levana would come home to a mess of gears and blades on the tables, countertops, and the floor. If it was a small and useless appliance like a hand blender or a food processor that Levana didn't even know they owned, she never minded. If Cinder could somehow put it back together and it didn't explode when they plugged it in, that was okay. The coffee machine and the toaster were grounds for reprimanding.

Then there were the nights were Kinney, Jacin, and Iko would come over and accidentally sleep over until their parents all came by to pick them up. A movie would either be playing its final act or the credits are already rolling and the kids would be sprawled on the couch.

The older the girls got, the less she'd walk into weird moments.

But today? Levana isn't sure where Cinder is but she's likely at Kai's place, and Winter is asleep on the couch with her phone beside her and a lot of empty milkshake cups from The Rampion on the coffee table in front of her. Some of half-empty, others completely empty or full. In the kitchen, Levana spots some takeout containers and that's when she notices the smell.

She hates how it makes her mouth water.

Levana ignores it as she looks back at Winter. She isn't sure how long Winter's been asleep or if she should bother waking her. She looks so peaceful.

Instead of nudging Winter to go to bed in her room, Levana walks over to the other couch and unfolds the blanket draped on the arm. She places it on Winter before calling it a night for herself.

-o-

Kai and Cinder, mostly Cinder, got the twins to start their homework by promising them that they could stay up until Torin and Mallory got home. That's an extra hour from their bedtime if Torin and Mallory come home when they said they would. It's not a school night anyways. Kai's hoping all the unhealthy food for the night tires them out early (he was starting to yawn) and Cinder suggested going out for ice cream. Lucky for Kai, Cinder said that to him privately to decline because if the twins heard, they would be jumping up and down and waiting at the car.

So now they're doing dishes together as the twins are in the living room filling out their worksheets. Kai's soaping and rinsing as Cinder's drying them with a dish towel and putting them away. When they finish and the sink and the counters are wiped clean, Kai

"Thank you," Kai whispers to her between kisses.

"Thank you," Cinder responds, pulling him closer as her back hits the counter. She turns around for a moment to look at it to see what she bumped into.

"I love you."

Cinder pauses as she looks at him. Those three words linger in her mind, repeating many times before she smiles faintly.

"Finally," she says.

Kai raises a brow. "What do you mean by finally? You know I love you."

"I know you love me but you haven't said it. Not that I needed to hear it because I knew and I was never going to pressure you. Even I've said it. Me. Cinder Blackburn. The resident so-called cyborg mechanic."

Kai thinks for a moment before exhaling a small laugh. The stars be damned. "Well, I do love you, my resident so-called cyborg mechanic."

"I love you too."

Cinder smiles as he kisses her again. She tugs on the strings of his apron as he holds the back of her neck, his fingers tracing her hair as he guides the kiss. Cinder wraps her arms around his neck and almost leaps onto the countertop but they part suddenly when the twins walk into the kitchen.

"Yeah?" Kai asks, clearing his throat.

Cinder brushes back the loose strands of her hair. They're not sure if the twins noticed or saw anything, but they don't look fazed. There are not enough univs for the swear jar to cover that trauma. Kai and Cinder glance at each other and they're both flushed.

"I broke my pencil," Quinn says, handing Kai her broken pencil for him to fix (or sharpen).

"Can we have dessert now?" Skylar asks.

Kai takes off his apron and hangs it over the countertop. "You know what, let's go."

The twins cheer and run towards the door. Kai opens his arm to gesture for Cinder to head out but she walks beside him, wrapping her arm around his waist and kissing his cheek.

And that concludes Wolf's arc. I have the next arc completely outlined and I have four chapters written. You all know the drill by now: I will be back by the story's next anniversary at the latest, but I think we'll be back sooner!