Griffin watched the wolf lounge lazily on his rug while the stew simmered in the background.
[You like having him here, don't you?] Kael asked.
"I do. It almost feels like I found a piece of my soul I didn't even know was missing," Griffin sighed.
[If I didn't know any better, I'd say that what you're feeling is a mate bond. But it couldn't be that unless he was a shifter, which we both isn't possible. The werewolves were wiped out a long time ago.] Kael muttered darkly.
"Hmm. Is there any way to tell if that is the case?"
[Only if he shifted.] Kael thought about it, [Or if he fully matured. We'd be able to smell the bond if he did.]
Griffin got up and Nathan immediately opened his eyes. Griffin smiled at the wolf, "Just checking on the stew. I'm sure it's just about ready, but you'll have to wait for it to cool down. I don't want you to burn your tongue."
Nathan let his tongue hang out at the comment before getting up and stretching, getting out of man's way. Griffin laughed deeply at his actions. "Is that your way of saying, 'I don't care. Just feed me'?"
Nathan butted his head against the back of Griffin's thigh, nudging him towards the fire and pot hanging over it.
"Ha ha ha. Yes, sir. I hear you loud and clear," Griffin said, still laughing. He grabbed the pot from where it had been hanging and brought it back to the kitchen counter where he had two bowls waiting. Serving up two huge helpings of the rich stew he glanced at the wolf that stood only inches from him, watching his actions. "Can't wait, huh? It does smell good." He carried the two bowls over to his large, comfy looking armchair and set them down on the side table before going back and getting a glass and bowl filled with water.
Sitting down, he set the water bowl and the bowl of stew on the ground and waited as the wolf sniffed the contents before carefully starting to eat. He couldn't hold in the burst of laughter at the wolf backing away with its tongue hanging out, the food obviously still too hot for it.
"I did warn you that it might be too hot for you," he laughed. Griffin started in on his stew, the heat not bothering him, while the wolf sat there looking at the bowl like it betrayed him. "Just give it a couple minutes, it'll cool down in no time."
Once the stew had cooled enough for Nathan's sensitive tongue, he gulped it down as quickly as he could.
"Guess you were hungrier than I thought." Griffin said. "Do you want any more?"
Nathan looked up at the man, licking his lips, before shaking his head. He was full and quite warm now. He watched as Griffin picked up the empty bowls and took them over to the basin. "I'll wash them tomorrow. Do you need to go outside at all?"
Nathan shook his head at the question. "Okay. Let me just throw some more wood on the fire, then we can go to bed. If you need to go outside at any time just wake me up, okay?"
Griffin threw enough wood on the fire to last several more hours before heading to his bedroom. He looked over his shoulder to see the wolf, once again, getting comfortable on the rug in front of the fire. He decided to leave his bedroom door open a crack. Just in case he needed him at all.