To Suffer With

Chapter Twenty-Four - Unexpected

The restaurant we would be dining at had been cleared for the night. It was a peaceful space with dark wooden furnishings and shocks of colour in the form of greenery hanging from the ceiling. Though I had little time to admire my surroundings as my eyes were immediately drawn to the circular table in the middle of the room and the people settled around it. Just as Roman radiated power so did the other two men seated in a deceptively casual manner. Alphas. It was impossible not to know them for what they were. I recognized the older one as Alpha Kane instinctively. His looks and demeanour held such a chilling resemblance to Kaiser that it put me instantly off-balance. The other Alpha, Brandon was younger, a few years older than Roman at a guess. His deep chocolate eyes follow my movements with a predator’s precision. He’s leaned forward arms crossed on the table, muscles pulling at the seams of his white shirt that contrasts so well with the darker tone of his skin. I know he’s the dangerous one in the room. While Kane barely registered my presence his attention focussed on Roman, Brandon has tracked my every movement in to the room. From the nervous shake in my hand to my desperate search to look anywhere else.

That search leaves my attention on the last occupant of the room. Alpha Kane’s mate. Where I had expected to find an older dignified she-wolf I am met with the very opposite. Alpha Kane’s mate is young, somewhere in her mid-to-late twenties, and stunningly beautiful. She had long-flowing auburn hair that framed in face in such perfect waves as if she was on some hair-care commercial. What was with natural born-werewolves? Was beauty a side effect of their curse? Though I did wonder how common the age-gap between Kane and his mate was. I wondered how long wolves were supposed to wait around for their mates. Especially Alphas’ who needed to further a bloodline.

“Roman,” Kane rises to meet Roman as we approach, gripping his arm in a form of greeting.

“Kane,” Roman nods towards the older Alpha, before his gaze drifts down to this mate, “Asteria.”

Asteria gives Roman nothing more than a sidelong glance with a subtle almost unnoticeable nod.

Alpha Brandon makes no move to stand and Roman and him seem content to greet each other with nothing more than a small nod.

Roman takes a small step to his left fully exposing me from where I had been successfully hiding behind him. Roman’s small movement has succeeded in making me the focus of attention. My fear of werewolves seems to resurge with an awful force and I struggle to fight the urge to run.

“This is Al,” Roman introduces me with little fanfare.

I pull my eyes from wooden floor forcing myself to meet their gaze once more. I may be terrified of them but I wasn’t about to cower in submission. Something tells me nobody in this room would respect me much if I did.

Kane gives me a gruff smile sharing a look with Roman before redirecting his attention onto me. “I’ve been wanting to meet you,” he comments.

I’m sure they had all be curious about me depending on what Roman had shared with them.

“Haven’t we all,” Asteria adds with such indifference that I doubt the truth to her words.

“Can’t say I feel the same,” I say stepping forward to take the seat in front of me.

It would do me little good to lie to them or fake niceties, not when they would see right through it.

Kane laughs heartily at my comment, seeming to take no offence to my words, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from a former resistance member.”

“It is former isn’t it?” this question comes across from Brandon and seems to be directed not to me but to Roman.

“Allegedly,” Roman replies with an easy smirk, taking the seat next to me.