21. Dinner

The Redbone Alpha’s home was as lavishly carnal as he was—everything a mix of reds and blacks and bone-white. Skulls decorated walls and bones were integrated into various decorations. It was surprisingly intimate, unlike the cold, open spaces of the harem and bathhouse.
It was disarming. Sona felt lulled by the warmth of the waning sun through the wide windows and the crackling fire in the fireplace. At the center of the room was a long table with half a dozen chairs. She wondered what guests he entertained. 
Then she wondered, *Did he have any family?*
His parents, the former Alpha and Luna, she at least knew were long passed. But did he have any extended family?
“Do you like it?”
Sona met Taos’ gaze. He no longer seemed dazed with bliss from all the adoration. Now he was unexpectedly genuine in his question as if…as if he wanted her own genuine response.
“It’s nice,” she admitted. “It’s homey.”
“Here, sit.” He pulled out the chair at the head of the table. There wasn’t a command in it, so Sona was more obliged to do so, even if she was aware of a sudden awkwardness between them as he sat at the other end. “You still don’t like the skulls.”
Her mouth quirked. “Still don’t like the skulls.”
“I can have them taken down.”
“No, you don’t have to—”
“Alpha!” a voice announced. Sona whirled away from Taos’ intense look to see a small female near-skipping toward him. She wore what seemed to be typical Redbone fashion—barely anything; the shiny cloth was surely silk, covering her privates but leaving the eye able to admire her slender limbs. 
She immediately perched sideways on his lap, Taos’ large hand brushing aside the fabric to massage her thigh, fingers precariously on the inside of it. Smiling like the monster he was, he whispered something into her ear that made her giggle. Then he drew away and brushed the bountiful red hair aside. “How’s the elk coming along, Laleh?” 
Unbidden, Sona felt her ears perk. *Elk*? It was a luxury in both Moonvalley and Goldwater. Maybe its rarity was what made it her favorite meal. 
Laleh ever so subtly scowled, bothered with the sudden dismissiveness. “You treat your cook so cold in front of this outsider?”
Taos caught Sona’s raised brow and he cleared his throat. “She is a valued guest and our new healer. I hope you’ll expect her presence more often.”
The cook’s glare was cold as winter. “She’s the first foreigner I’ve ever seen.”
“Everyone’s taking it better than I imagined,” Taos said cheerily. “No one has tried to rip your throat out, trinket!”
Laleh giggled and Sona sneered. “How grateful I am.”
As Laleh got up to leave, Taos slapped her ass. She squeaked and scurried off. The Alpha offered a wider fanged smile. “Was that skip of your heart because of our show of affection or the mention of elk? I do enjoy a juicy bite of the creature, so I hope you do. I’d imagine it more substantial than whatever the innkeeper served you.”
“Dare I say it’s a favorite of mine,” Sona admitted begrudgingly. Taos’ eyes sparked. She didn’t want to decipher its meaning. “No, I am not fond of watching you grope females so brazenly.”
“Brazen? I could call you that.”
She smirked. “True.”
Taos sat back in his chair with arrogance, reaching forward to pick up and toy with the small skull in the center of the table. Sona couldn’t tell what animal it was, but at least it wasn’t a wolf’s. “I liked to be pleased,” he rumbled, “but I like to please in return.” He pinned her with his dark eyes, smile downturned. Sona’s faded too. “Please me with your healing skills, and with each action that you impress me with, I will please you with one request. Redbone, whether you choose to believe it or not based on the tales you’ve been told, values equal trade. I am an amicable male. Don’t make me act otherwise and we will get along wonderfully.”
There was a lot to consider in his words. Sona stored them at the back of her mind for later, because what she had to focus on was something she could finally cling to—a favor for a favor. She didn’t know how big his favors would be, but if they were, equal trade offered her the chance to get one back just as big. He likely knew that too, and would take care not to ask too much of her from the start; the same went for her.
Sona leaned back too, mirroring his nonchalance. “I won’t test your patience if you don’t press mine.”
“A difficult bargain,” he said flatly. “I cannot say I will stick to that like blood to skin, but I will make an effort.” Taos set the skull down with a bang. “Agreed.”
“Agreed.”
-
Sona’s mouth watered when a wooden plate of elk meat was set in front of her by the hostile Laleh. Taos dismissed her with brief thanks before she could dote on him. She shot Sona another venomous look as if it was her fault. 
Well, it was. Because now Taos was…treating her. His undivided attention was both unnerving and irritating. But at least he was quieted by the meal and she could focus on hers to satiate her empty stomach.
Then he shattered the beautiful silence with, “So. Your Beta. Tell me how you came to start an affair while still with your soulmate. Who seems to have lost your favor. It makes perfect sense, with your soul piece falling away to leave space for perhaps a new one.”
She kept her eyes on the earthenware cup of ale—that she already sniffed for any kind of poison and admitted was enjoyable. “He is my oldest and closest friend who, I’ve come to learn, has felt romantic feelings for me for a long time.” And she felt terrible for being so oblivious for all these years. 
“Did you find that out while he was inside you?”
She hurled a slab of meat at him. He caught it in his hand despite juice splattering his face and burst into hearty laughter. “That is none of your damn business, you crude bastard,” she snapped viciously. 
“So I’m correct?”
A pause stretched between them. He broke it with a grin. “I’m correct. Don’t be shy in your pleasures. Will I have to keep reminding you that we are werewolves? The last thing we should be is unabashed in our desires. Or our hunger. Or…” Taos observed the wet elk meat in his hand. It looked too close to a heart; Sona didn’t have much difficulty imagining him plunging into an enemy’s chest and ripping the organ out. “Our emotions.”
“What do you want me to emote, then?” 
“Your thoughts,” Taos mused, consuming the thrown food, swiping his tongue over his lips of the juice. “Why do you treat me with such rancor so easy, so soon?”
Sona quickly looked elsewhere until he’d cleaned his face, then she met his eyes and glared. If he was to be crude, then she would be frank. If he was to not hold back his opinions, then neither would she. “You orphaned my—Conri. You orphaned dozens of pups from their families. Moonvalley is in shambles! I am still loyal to that pack, and instead of doing my part, I’m being held hostage feasting while my best friend and family are caged off from me because Conri decided to become power-hungry. You’ve taken everything from me. It’s not something I can look past, *so easy, so soon*.”
Taos went stiller than a statue, his expression impossible to read, especially when he dropped his gaze from hers. But Sona could tell that he was stewing on what to say next. She felt no guilt for her words deep in her heart, but on the surface…she suddenly felt as meek as the concubines accused her of being.
His forefinger started to tap the surface of the table. “*I* orphaned your former mate and dozens of pups?”
“Yes,” she said before she could think. “In the raid on Leto.”
“Am I to be defined by the sins of my father?” Taos asked coolly, drumming his fingertips.
Sona clamped her lips closed. She well knew it wouldn’t have been him who led the attack. It was nineteen years ago now. She didn’t know how old Taos was, but he couldn’t be much older than her, as odd as that was to think, so he had to only have been around ten years old.
“All Redbones are one and the same, aren’t they, my presumptuous healer?” he continued. “That’s what you’re thinking.”
Before she could take back her words, he jerked to his feet and stalked over to her, and he towered over her in more than just height. “Redbone does not apologize for its actions,” he snarled. Sona shrank into her chair. “And it does not tolerate accusations in its own territory.”
“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered.
Taos stilled again. Neither of them moved or breathed. Then he turned on his heel and walked away toward another door. “I’ll retrieve you tomorrow morning. Don’t waste sleep fucking your banished Beta.”