SEVEN

I didn't bother anyone about the bizarre occurrence at father's grave for the rest of the week.

Tonight, I just have to focus on getting through this dinner that my mother has set up for more of her trusted circle. As usual, I'm expected to sit in on these occasions so mother can impress whoever is on her invite list, even if my accomplishments aren't all that impressive to her successful friends.

Regardless, mother lays an outfit out for me, and encourages me to do my hair all nice so I can look half-decent.

Tonight she has invited the Alpha of the Love Pack and his mate, the Luna to dinner. I've met them before, and as kind as they are, I'm not sure I'm very interested in listening to them drone on about politics I'm not involved in.

Seated in the formal dining room, the silver chandelier glittering above me, I watch my mother talk to her guests, that charming smile one I wish I could emulate. Servers place steaming meals in front of us, which I dig into immediately. Since I was a young girl I always tried to eat quickly so mother would excuse me.

Tonight I doubt I will be so lucky.

"You always have the most wonderful meals prepared, Alice," Aria, Malik's mate says.

"It's always an honour to host the Alpha and Luna," she replies, smoothing her dark hair back, showing off her favourite diamond earrings that I used to try steal and try on as a child. "How is the baby?"

"Practically a child now," Aria replies.

"How have you been, Aven?" Alpha Malik asks, drawing my attention up to him. I used to freeze in the presence of Alpha's, especially since I had a massive crush on the Alpha of the Love Pack as a girl. The cornflower blue eyes he looks at me with now once had my toes curling in my shoes. Now, I'm hardly bothered, happy he has found his mate.

"Just finished up another year of university," I tell him, smiling blandly.

"She's doing so well, too," Mother cuts in, beaming widely, as if either Aria or Malik care very much. They are just asking to be polite. In reality, they are here to stay on my mother's good side, since she is a large influence in this Pack. "Top of her class."

"I heard about all your scholarships. You must be proud," Malik says, to which my mother smiles, nodding her head.

Mother doesn't care whether I do well at my degree, only that I'm actually doing it. I don't need the scholarships, or even to graduate. My degree is something I want, but in reality, mother is going to insist I stay here, take care of her and her business. I want to travel first, which will not be easy to convince my mother to let me.

"Did you hit your head?" Aria asks suddenly.

Everyone's attention focuses on me. My hand comes up to my head tentatively, worried I'm bleeding, before realising she's focusing on the small scar left that reaches down to my temple. It's small, yet glaringly obvious.

"Aven loves ice-skating on the lake nearby," Mother cuts in, knowing I haven't ice-skated since I was a child. Regardless I smile, not wanting to admit I slipped because I was drunk. "She had an accident while practicing a few days ago."

My attention shifts as Aria and mother continue to go on about the snow and all it's inconveniences. Instead, I focus on a new set of servers walking in, their feet near silent on the smooth flooring, attempting to avoid being noticed as much as possible. None of them speak as they fill up our glasses.

And for a split second, my gaze meets with one of the servers, and my breath hitches in my throat.

It's Eryk.

I almost don't recognise him from the other night. His suit is gone, replaced by a common servers outfit, his hair mussed and unruly. The moment our gazes meet, he looks away, leaning over me to fill my glass.

"Oh, it's you," I breathe.

Memories flood my mind that night. After the veil of dark unconsciousness faded, his brown eyes all that I could see for a long moment. He saw my blood...It was all over him, yet he hardly flinched, as if he's seen another like me with purple blood. I mean, more exist. I know that for certain after that strange encounter with the girl at the gravesite.

"Honey, you don't need to speak to the servers in front of the Alpha and Luna," mother says, trying to make a joke of it, although Malik and Aria only chuckle uneasily.

"He's the man who helped me when I hit my head," I comment, trying to make my mother understand that this is who I've been mentioning since the incident. He's the one who got in despite not being on my mother's strict guest list, which now makes sense, since it seems he's a server who posed as a guest.

I should be creeped out, but he helped me...

"Don't be silly," mother continues, the bite to her tone suggesting she doesn't want me speaking about this right now. How dare I embarrass her. "Now pay attention to our guests, they are the important ones."

I hadn't even realised the more guests have walked in. Hardly paying them much mind, even as they sit right in front of me. My eyes are glued to Eryk, who circles the table, avoiding my pressing gaze.

"I don't know any of these people," I say lowly to my mother, as the rest speak between themselves, not bothered by our conversation. They are likely more Alpha's or other social elites who are insufferable and impossible to have a conversation with anyway.

I need to speak to Eryk.

"Well, they are powerful...There's Alpha Kael, Alpha Ren and Stace. Maybe you should introduce yourself to them," mother mutters, looking as though she wants to jab me in the side for being so impolite. Some of the names are familiar, but others are not. It doesn't matter, I'm going to concentrate on them right now.

"Uh huh," I mutter, continuing to look at Eryk, who is still going out of his way to avoid looking at me.

I have to prove this, to myself more than anything, that I did really see Eryk at that party. After hitting my head, a lot of what we spoke about is mainly a blur. However, as my eyes drift to a plate in the centre of the table, laden with shellfish, one subject manner I mentioned to him did come up...

"Excuse me, can you pass that dish?" I ask Eryk, just as he walks past it. He pauses, dark gaze finally dragging back to land on me. His brows furrow for only a moment, before he paints his face expertly with a calm mask.

He does remember I'm allergic. And I can prove it.

Leaning forward, I reach for one of the shellfish. My fingers nearly grasp it, before Eryk's hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist tightly, stopping me.

Everyone goes silent, eyes drawing to the sight of the servers hand around my wrist, holding tightly. Noticing everyone's attention, he slowly let's go of me, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"I apologise, ma'am," he mutters, lowering his gaze.

Everyone resumes speaking, as I slide my hand back under the table. I knew it. I knew he remembered me mentioning I had an allergy, and now he's tried to stop me from getting myself killed. He's not looking at me now, grabbing his wine bottle before stalking out the room. I grit my teeth, knowing mother isn't going to let me excuse myself from the bathroom without a good excuse.

My eyes fall on my wine, bubbles gliding up the glass and to the surface. Swallowing my pride, I pretend to reach for my food, but bump the glass with my knuckles instead. The glass topples, wine spilling onto my dress.

Everyone gasps, as I jump up, letting most of the water drip down onto the floor. Everyone starts moving, some servers coming up to me to try help, although I dismiss them, along with my mother's hysterical protest. Some of the guests have stood now too, looking startled as if I've just done something horrific.

"It's okay, I'll go upstairs and change," I tell everyone, rushing around the table to get out of the room.

Right as I round the table, I run into one of mother's guests, my shoulder bumping theirs. I hardly give them a glance, barely noting their dark hair and tattoos. Were I not so distracted by Eryk, I may have spared him another look, something about the aura coming off him feeling eerily familiar.

"Excuse me," I mutter before rushing past, exiting the room.

I can feel my mother's glare on my back as I slip out the door, knowing that I'm going to feel that wrath later, when all her guests have left. Regardless, I concentrate on why I'm out here, and sure enough, I see Eryk walking down the hallway toward the kitchen.

"You...I know you from the other night, at the ball," I call out, jogging after him. He hesitates, turning to look over his shoulder. At this moment, I know I'm not mistaken, that it really was him at the ball...I know those eyes.

"I don't think we have ever met before," he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.

I pause in front of him, having no doubt know that I know him, and for whatever reason, he is lying to me. But why? Does he have magic and is afraid of it? Is he ashamed that he saw my blood and doesn't want to be sworn to secrecy? I'm worried I look insane confronting him about this, but I can't take the chance.

"Seriously? You're going to lie to me?" I say in disbelief.

"Look, I can't lose this job..." Eryk mutters lowly, looking over my shoulder as if someone is going to emerge from the dining room.

"I'm not trying to get you fired," I assure him. All I want is the truth, so I can see what he is going to do with the information he learnt from seeing my blood, and why he has chosen to lie to me about it. "You healed me, or whatever that was on the night of the ball. You have to remember."

"I should get back to work," he remarks, backing away a few steps.

"You saw my blood..." I continue, knowing I'm being insistent, but I'm not willing to give up on this.

He shakes his head, trying to avoid my gaze. "No, I didn't."

"You remember my allergy to fish...You tried to stop me from eating it," I continue. He bites the edge of his lip, rubbing the back of his neck. There is no mistaking the way he grabbed my wrist, holding tightly, as if the thought of me eating that fish terrified him.

"You're very much mistaken."

I pause, realising we are at an impasse. I know he is lying to me, but there is no way of proving it unless I do something radical. If I follow the sinking feeling in my stomach, then Eryk is lying to me, and him knowing I bleed another colour is different. Not to mention I get the feeling he is trying to protect me from myself.

"What would you do if I ate some?" I challenge. I think back to that shellfish, the way he grabbed my hand like his life would be the one in danger if I ate it.

He blinks, his expression shifting. "Why would you do that?"

"I think you're trying to protect me," I tell him firmly, not wanting to let him convince me out of this one. "I mean you saved my life on the ice that night."

He looks over my shoulder again, releasing a long, painful breath. He's holding something back, his shoulders tense, fists clenching and unclenching. He wants to tell me what is going on, but something is stopping him from doing. Maybe if I push some more, he will finally relent.

"You should get back to your dinner," he mutters darkly, his tone lowering to the point he may be threatening me.

"I'm going to do it. I'm going to eat the fish," I tell him, backing up a few steps. Whether I'm going to act on this is another thing, but my threats are clearly enough to bother him, as he steps toward me, reaching for my arm, but I pull it away quickly.

"Aven," he growls, his entire demeanour changing in an instant. "Don't."

"Why?"

"You'll die? What do you mean why?" he exclaims, throwing his hands up. I know I won't die, since mother's personal healer has a myriad of drugs capable of helping me if I ever were to accidentally consume fish.

"Then you'll save me..." I breathe. I'm betting everything on this...Basically my own life. This man is a complete stranger, but I can't shake off this feeling, that what happened on the ice that night isn't something my paranoid mind conjured, but is a reality.

Eryk takes another step forward toward me, but I match it back. "You have no idea what would happen if you died..."

Suddenly he no longer looks angry, but worried.

I don't wait another moment, knowing he isn't going to give me an explanation. Giving him one more lasting look, I turn back to the dining room, knowing that I may be making a very big mistake.