I immediately feel guilty.“Sorry, I know my eyes make people feel awkward, I shouldn't have asked I-” he stops me.“Miss Gale, I submitted. I wasn't uncomfortable. You're just more dominant than I am. Alpha Kane must be correct about you. At the very least you're more dominant than I am.” he explains. I frown.“I don't know, I'm not even a Shifter. This doesn't make any sense to me.” Shaun shrugs.“It makes sense to me. It explains how you talk back to the Alpha the way you do. I could never manage it. Not unless he allowed me to.”“Which really ruins the whole point of talking back.” I comment. Shaun shrugs. I feel awkward again, I don't want to participate in another conversation about my interactions with Bellamy. I decide to avoid further conversation by heading back inside. I grab the empty plate from the windowsill where Shaun placed it.“Well, thanks for your help. I should put this inside and attempt to get some sleep...” I trail off when I realise that Shaun isn't actually l
I suddenly realise that Bellamy is still talking.“So we're okay then?” he questions.“Yeah Bellamy, we're okay.” Now that we've made up, I'm sort of reluctant to hang up the phone. I'm still not ready to sleep yet.“Shaun mentioned you tested your dominance. I meant to help you with it earlier but we never really had the chance.” His tone is apologetic, but, as usual, he doesn't actually apologise.“Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal.”“But I was right, you are more dominant. We'll have to test you against Megan sometime, and me.” He comments. Okay, not good. I don't want to give him too much evidence about our fates just yet.“Um, yeah, maybe.” I say casually. A beeping sound comes from the phone.“I have another call coming through. I've been waiting for this call so I really need to get it...” Bellamy trails off. He doesn't sound like he really wants to hang up.“It's fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Bellamy.”“Goodnight Ryann.” The phone clicks as he hangs up. After
Now that we are under a proper light rather than the shadowy front hall, Darrien notices how tired I am.“You look dead on your feet. Did you sleep at all last night?” he questions. I shrug.“I slept a little, but I don't really feel like I did. My head is killing me.” I groan. He turns and rummages through a cupboard that is high enough that I would have to climb on a bench to reach it. He then grabs a bottle of coke from the fridge and pours a large glass. He places the glass and a little box in front of me.“Take two of these and finish the drink. Painkillers and caffeine. You should feel a bit better once they kick in.” I gratefully down the pills and start on the drink.“Thanks, I definitely need it.” We sit in silence for a minute or two as I finish up the coke. I can already feel the sugar and caffeine perking me up a little.“So, what's the meeting for? Megan told me to come this morning, she didn't mention any meeting.” Hopefully this isn't some super secret Shifter thing tha
The first voice is male, but so high pitched that at first I'm not sure.“You can hardly be surprised, Alpha Kane, that someone keeps arranging these attacks on you. As the youngest Alpha and an unmated one at that, you're sure to be seen as the most vulnerable.” The voice declares, the tone is snide and I instantly dislike whoever the man is that is speaking. The next voice is also male, but far more quiet. I struggle to catch the words.“There is nothing that Alpha Kane can do to change his age other than wait. It is the second matter that is of more concern. He should find a mate. Perhaps then his position would not offend people as much. It would also secure his position. Perhaps then the attacks would cease, or at least become less frequent.” The second man suggests. His manner doesn't seem outright rude like the last man. More bored, like he just doesn't really care all that much. A third man speaks. His voice is loud and boisterous, but seems friendly, at least in comparison to
I put it out of my mind and turn my attention back to those in the room. Bellamy looks dead on his feet, he also looks annoyed.“It's got to be those damn canine Shifters. Wright has always had an issue with me. Mum never liked him either.” He sighs and deflates. It makes him look even more tired.“But I can't prove anything. At least not yet. Maybe I should go and try and find something more solid I could-” I cut him off.“No, there are more immediate issues. Like you getting some sleep before the party tonight.” I keep my tone firm. I am not suggesting he sleep, I'm ordering it. He needs to rest or he will be totally useless. Tonight will be stressful enough for him as it is. I don't need him loopy from sleep deprivation.“But I need to get proof the canine Alpha was involved in the attack. I can't just leave it.” He objects. Megan takes the chance to put in her two cents.“I'm with Ryann on this one Bel, you need sleep. Besides, you have your own personal army of Shifters ready to
I jolt awake as the bedroom door swings open.“Sorry, lost track of the time on the phone, I-” she stops herself.“Well, I guess you didn't even notice. I thought you looked a little tired. I guess a twenty minute nap isn't a bad thing.” She collapses onto the large bed beside me and snuggles in next to me. She smiles contentedly. Are all Shifters this cuddly? Or maybe it's just a Kane thing.“Was Bellamy here?” she questions.“I think I can smell him.” I shrug.“I ran into him in the hall. He was half-asleep. I think I must have woken him when I came up the stairs.” I keep my tone casual. Megan nods accepting my explanation. Wow, it is surprisingly easy to hide things from people when they aren't actually expecting you to lie. Not that I did lie technically, I just didn't go into a lot of detail. Okay, now I feel guilty.“Hey, Ry?” Megan sounds a little nervous. I smile at her use of a nickname for me.“Yeah?”“I know we haven't known each other long, but I was wondering if you would
“Uh, Ryann... did I... did I wake up earlier this afternoon? I remember... but I'm not really sure...” He trails off and stares at the floor. Great, now I feel awkward too. I was hoping he wouldn't remember that. He could have done us both a favour and pretended he didn't remember at the very least. He didn't have to bring it up, now we have to talk about it. Darn.“Oh, um... yeah. You were up for a couple minutes, although I wouldn't have really described you as awake. I think you were practically sleep walking.” Come on Bellamy. I've just given you the perfect out for this discussion. Don't keep going.“I... yeah, you're probably right. I had a lot of trouble trying to get to sleep in the first place.” THANKYOU! I am so ready for this conversation to be over. I can hear Megan's heels as she comes down the stairs. She joins us in the kitchen. Darrien is following behind her with a slightly dumbstruck look on his face. He can't seem to take his eyes off her. It's adorable.The drive d
I. AM. ABSOLUTELY. FLOORED. This room is stunning. How did Megan get this party put together in so short a time? She should go into event planning. There are round tables all around the edges of the room. Each table has a black table cloth with decorative candle things in the middle. The centre of the room is clear to leave space for dancing and the DJ is set up at the far end of the room. There are servers running around setting up places at the tables and I can smell something amazing coming from somewhere nearby which is making me wish it was time to eat already. To one side of the room I can see large open doors which seem to lead outside. I can't see much but I know there are some fairy lights twinkling away out there. The opposite side of the room has several large tables pushed up against the wall. These are mostly empty but based on the few things I can see there, it's going to be where the food goes. Buffet style dinner it is, I can't wait. Megan and Tristan are still over wi