Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden) novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22
Brooklyn

I spend a restless night in my new room. When the clock reads 7:00a.m., a knock comes at my door and it opens without waiting for a response. I glare and make a mental note to somehow get a lock.

“Ah! You’re awake.” The same woman who dressed me last night bustles into the room. “You’re already late, my dear.”

“Seven?” I ask, looking at the clock again. “Seven is late?”

“The household starts at five,” she says, coming over and starting to make the bed while I’m still in it.

When I head for the door in my pajamas, she makes a small noise of warning. I look back at her. “You’ll want to change, my dear,” she says. “This house dresses for its meals.”

***

No one is in the hall when, dressed in tight fawn-colored pants and a silky green sweater, I walk down the stairs. I hear some noise at the end of the hallway and push through the door there.

I blink in surprise as I suddenly find myself in a gigantic kitchen filled with people. There are mismatched tables scattered all around and, behind a low wall, a restaurant-sized cooking range. From it wafts the scent of breakfast foods—sharp with onions and rich with butter.

My stomach growls, and Lena paws at me a bit.

“Brooklyn!” Hudson says, spotting me from across the room. His face lights up. I can’t help returning his smile, he’s so cute and genuine.

“Hi,” I say, my eyes scanning the busy room as I hurry over to him.

“Are you hungry?” he asks, giving me a happy grin and sitting back down in his place at a small table.

“Um,” I say—honestly, when was the last time I ate—but my stomach answers for me, giving a big growl that even a human without wolf senses would hear.

He laughs lightly as I sit. “Good, we’ll get you something.” He raises a hand to signal someone by the cooking range.

The room is just buzzing with people. Guys in suits drinking tiny cups of espresso, guards pass with guns—big guns—passing through, housekeeping staff on their way to their jobs.

From what I can sense, everyone is a wolf shifter. Something about that makes me feel more comfortable. I didn’t grow up with a pack, and even though this isn’t a pack, either, there’s a “pack” feeling to it that warms me.