Chapter 21 A Night Out
twenty-one
A Night Out
*LORI*
Percy and I join our new alpha, his friend Micah, and Alpha Ezra for dinner in the alpha suite.
It seems like their first attempt at dinner truly was traumatizing, because Alpha Marcellus’s eyes gleam when he sees the meatloaf being served to us.
I am still guarded, though. I can’t help it.
I want to believe that this alpha is a good person and a fair leader.
I want to believe that I’m truly getting a second chance, and that I can start anew somewhere.
I want to believe that I will be forgiven, but part of me just waits for the other shoe to drop.
What if Alpha Marcellus wants me to entertain his guests, eventually, just like Elijah did. Or maybe he will want me to get back at his enemies and destroy relationships.
No one seems to catch my uneasiness, though, much to my relief.
Alpha Ezra had told Percy and me some information about our new pack, and how it’s a joint pack and coven.
Hearing it all from Marcellus, though, hits home differently because it makes it real.
We are also not the only new pack members joining.
It seems like there will be two vampires with their human beloveds and a couple more wolves who were saved from slavery.
“Here you are,” the luna’s voice sounds from the door. She is such an elegant, regal woman. She might not be the most beautiful woman, but she looks so charismatic and strong. I wish I was like her.
“Giselle,” Ezra jumps up and takes her hand. “I am so happy to see you.”
“Did I miss something?” she blinks. She pauses before she snorts in her amusement. “You know, don’t you?”
“Yes!” he blurts, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into his arms. “And I am so happy.”
“How did you find out?” she chuckles.
“I didn’t,” he says. “Marcellus was the one who realized.”
Marcellus groans at that while Micah tosses him an amused gaze. “I promise, I didn’t mean to ruin the surprise,” he says.
Luna Giselle doesn’t seem upset, though. “Don’t worry, Alpha Marcellus,” she says. “I just found out today. I am not good with surprises anyway, and was just about to tell Ezra. We both lack the romantic gene, it seems.” She takes Ezra’s face between her hands and kisses him softly.
I feel a stitch in my chest. I will never experience this. No one will hold me like Ezra holds his luna, and smile at me the way he does. And I can’t even blame anyone but myself. I gaze at my plate, sighing slightly. All I can do is try to make the best out of my situation.
Fortunately, Alpha Marcellus distracts me from my gloomy thoughts by starting to chat with me and Percy.
“I will pick you up at the end of the week,” he says.
“By then, we’ll have your housing situation figured out, too.
As a minor, you will be in our group home,” he tells Percy.
“Don’t worry, you get your own room and will have your privacy.
As for you, Lori, do you prefer living on your own or would you like to have roommates in your apartment? ”
“Can… can I really choose freely?” I ask surprised and still skeptical.
“Yes. The houses with roommates are for those who don’t want to be on their own. I told you we have a few pack members with traumatic pasts, and they prefer the safety of having others around them.”
“I think that’s an amazing option, but I enjoy being on my own,” I say quietly.
“I thought you’d say that, but wanted to check in with you still,” the alpha nods. “We have a couple of smaller cottages that aren’t inhabited yet. They’re not very luxurious, though, as our main focus has been the group homes. You might need to work a bit on it to make it truly yours.”
“That doesn’t matter at all,” I say, my heart skipping a beat.
“Could be your first DIY project of the pack,” Micah points out.
“Definitely,” the alpha assures me. “You can change it to your liking. Just please don’t burn it down.”
“Of course, you had to bring that up,” Micah grumbles. “For the record, I didn’t burn down my house, I just set the stove on fire!”
At this, Percy has to giggle slightly, and even I can’t help a smile.
*BENJAMIN*
The two vampires look nice, a bit shy and quiet, but they seem to be kind men. The moment they see Silas, they go down on their knees, bowing to him. I always forget that he is an actual vampire prince until I am met with such a moment.
Their human beloveds look truly anxious, though. Sheila is here to help soothe the situation as well as she can, but even for her it’s difficult.
“We’d need Marcellus for that,” Lucian mutters to me.
“He is really good with people,” I agree.
“I believe not even Marcellus would have been able to lessen their anxiety,” Alpha Cassian says quietly.
He has dropped off a few things for the wolves who will join later, and has stayed to help out Silas.
“They are humans, and what they experienced is probably very traumatic. Just give it some time.”
Lucian nods. “I agree.” He turns to look at Alpha Cassian. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Alpha Cassias. We truly appreciate your help and what you did today, but-“
“Yes, yes, I absolutely get it,” Cassian interrupts him. “I know. I will take my leave now. This is a private pack matter.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Oh,” Cassian nudges me. “Nova wanted to talk to you.”
“She is here?” I ask, surprised. “I thought you came alone?”
“She arrived separately, a couple of minutes ago. Ran some errands for me. She wanted to ask you to join her for a night out. Something about a party.”
“A party?” I ask. “I don’t know-“
“Absolutely, he’d love to go,” Silas interrupts me.
Like a shadow, he has approached us, grabbing something from the table. The two vampires and their beloveds are sitting in an adjacent room now, all four of them drinking and eating. I didn’t even notice that Silas maneuvered them out of the room.
“But you need me here.”
“Benji,” Silas says. “You have worked day and night for this pack. Just go out and have some fun. You are young. Enjoy your youth.”
I feel my heart jump in sudden excitement. I have never gone out, and I certainly was never invited to a party. “I will make sure to come home around midnight,” I assure Silas. “I know we have tons of work to do.”
Silas nods, while Cassian just chuckles. “My sis knows how to party. You will have fun.”
They wave at me before I take off, almost bumping into Nova in front of the house. “Benjamin,” she smiles brightly. “Did Cass already talk to you?”
“Yes, he mentioned a party,” I say. Suddenly anxious that I misunderstood Cassian, and am just supposed to drive Nova. She probably won’t want me to join. Why would she?
“Awesome, so you are coming?” she beams. She is dressed in some ripped jeans and a tight black top, looking great.
“Yes, but seeing how you are dressed, I think I need to change,” I say.
“Definitely,” she grins. “I am not taking you along in your work clothes.”
“I am hopeless with this kind of stuff,” I admit.
“You are kidding, aren’t you?” she deadpans. “You are handsome as fuck. Even with just a little effort, you would look good. Meanwhile, I have to put in a lot of effort.”
“Now you are being ridiculous,” I say.
She grabs me by my shoulders and pushes me back into the house. “Lead the way to your room. I will help you dress,” she commands.
“Yes, Milady.”
She snorts. “Oh, he is finally showing some humor.”
It’s so easy to be relaxed with her, it almost comes naturally to me.
It feels like she’s the best friend or sister I never had.
With Nova hot on my heels, I make it to my room and sit on my bed while she goes through my stuff.
I like simple clothes, and it reflects in my wardrobe.
To my surprise, however, Nova doesn’t seem to mind, and she easily puts together an outfit for me out of a pair of black jeans and a V-line, gray shirt that Marcellus gave me, and that always felt a bit too fancy for me.
She further upgrades it with a belt and some accessories, before she forces me to do my hair and work my locks into some well-set waves.
“Hot!” she says contentedly. “Now we can go.”
“Who else is coming?” I ask. “Isla?” I hope she is going to say no. The last person I want to see is my ex-mate.
Nova laughs. “Why would I want to hang out with Isla? Be respectful to her, yes, but hang out with her in my free time? Nope, I prefer people I actually like and get along with.”
Hearing her explanation stuns me further. “And you really want me to join you?!”
“Well, we clicked, didn’t we?” she asks.
“Yes, I just didn’t think you-“
“You think way too much sometimes,” she grins. “Come, sexy man. I want to hook up with someone tonight. So, we’d better get going. And to answer your question: We are meeting up with a couple of my friends. They are all chill and nice people, and know you are coming.”
When we leave the house together, I spot Maddie and Micah walking towards me. Maddie waves excitedly when she sees me. “Ben,” she exclaims, proudly walking towards me. “Look what I have!”
I gaze at her, noticing the glittery blue backpack she is carrying, with the wolf keychain I gave her attached to it. “Oh, you have such a fancy backpack!”
“Mommy gave it to me because I am a big girl now!” she explains.
I smile at the proud look on her face. Maddie was sad that she is too young to go to school. It seems like Sheila found a way to improve her mood. She gazes curiously at Nova, before taking my hand and tugging at it. I kneel down next to her to be on eye level. “Who is she?” Maddie whispers.
“That’s Nova, my friend,” I whisper, well aware that Nova can hear us. She pretends not to, though, and instead engages in a talk with Micah.
“She’s pretty.”
“Yes, she is,” I say.
“You are pretty, too. Are you going to make babies?”
At that, I almost fall over in shock. Micah clears his throat while I stare at Maddie, completely flustered. “Maddie had a couple of questions about babies,” Micah says. “And Sheila explained it to her.”
“I see,” Nova smiles at Maddie and kneels down next to her, too. “Benji and I are just friends.”
Maddie frowns. “No babies?”
“No,” she chuckles.
“I have you to look after,” I tell Maddie. “You are my little sister after all, right?”
“Right!” she exclaims, suddenly all happy again.
“Come, Maddie.” Micah takes her hand. “Let’s have dinner. We have spaghetti tonight.”
Maddie stretches her hands into the air. “YES!” she exclaims, before waving at me and hurrying away again.
“Goddess,” Nova chuckles. “What a cutie.”
“She really is,” I smile. “She is our pack baby. Everyone adores her and her mom. Now,“ I turn to Nova. “Ready to leave?”
“Let’s go,” she says. “We are running late.”
Just like Alpha Cassian said, he and Nova arrived in separate cars, so we take Nova’s to her favorite club in one of the nearby towns. There’s a dance party tonight, which terrifies me because I have no idea how to dance.
By the time we make it to the club, we have already met plenty of Nova’s friends and acquaintances.
She introduces me to everyone, though I can barely remember the names.
Everyone is really friendly, and no one seems to mind that I am around.
For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like an outsider.
“Man, you are cute,” one of Nova’s close friends laughs at me while Nova has shuffled off to grab some drinks. “Pity I am sticking to my ‘no-werewolf’ rule.”
“What kind of rule is that?” I ask.
“I only hook up with humans,” she says. “I don’t want to find my mate and then stumble over my exes in another pack.”
“Makes sense.” I nod. “You are from Nova’s pack, right?”
“Yes, we have been besties ever since we were in diapers,” she grins.
“Hey, Kitty,” Nova pushes past us and hands us a drink before elbowing her friend. “Cute, blond guy at three o’clock.”
Kitty and I both turn around in unison.
“Don’t stare at him at the same time,” she groans.
“You are right, he is cute,” Kitty approves.
“Well, see you later,” Nova grins, before shuffling off.
Kitty just laughs, grabs my arm and tugs me towards the dance floor.
On her way, she makes sure some of her friends join us.
At first, I feel out of place, scared to make a fool of myself, but somehow Kitty and Nova’s mood is contagious, and suddenly I find myself shaking to the music.
I don’t care if I look silly, I just want to have fun.
I have never let loose like this before, just hanging out with friends and enjoying myself.
While I am dancing, I suddenly sense a human girl approaching me.
She is wearing a fresh, fruity perfume, and while it’s nothing like the scent of Isla or Freya, my former mates, she still smells nice and looks hot!
For a split second, I feel anxious again, but in the background, I see Nova cheering for me.
“Hey,” the girl says, wrapping her arms around my neck and swaying to the music with me.
I playfully grab her by her waist. “Hey,” I say.
She really is beautiful, and I like the way she laughs.
For once, I switch my brain off completely and decide to just have fun.
I have never kissed a girl before, but somehow, when her lips come closer, my brain switches off and I just go with the flow, allowing my instinct to take over.
Her lips feel so warm and soft. This is amazing!
It’s a couple of hours later, when the club closes, that we all gather outside. The nameless beauty took off eventually, but I didn’t mind. I was not ready to sleep with her. Having my first kiss is one thing, but I want to have sex with someone I am truly feeling connected to.
“Goodness, my head,” Kitty groans. “I think I need to grab something to eat before I go home.”
“Me too,” Nova says, squeezing her eyes. “Can’t believe the sun is rising already. Good thing I have the day off.”
The sun is rising, a new day approaching.
The sun…
…is rising.
Fuck!
I told Silas I would be home around midnight.
I broke my word. Trying not to alert my new friends and pull them into my drama, I explain to them that I always like to walk home after a night out, to get some fresh air or rather let my wolf out – something Nova and one of her guy friends agree with – before I leave them, trying not to look like I’m in a hurry.
Only when I am out of sight do I pick up my pace and start running. My breath hitches, and the closer I get to the pack, the more blurred my sight gets. It’s like I can’t see or hear anymore, while my stomach churns and turns.
Fuck, they will kill me. Marcellus will kill me.