Chapter 4: Tail

I pull my zipper hoodie back on, toss the hood up over my dark hair as I walk through the door to the restaurant. Nickolai has decided he wants to treat us all to dinner, considering it’s really his father’s money and all expenses are already covered. We amuse him. Tank is sitting at the table grinning from ear to ear, chatting with Nickolai who has very clearly already started drinking. The moment I’m in Nickolai’s sight, he beams at me, though he says nothing.

“Well, look who is back from his hours-long run,” Tank says, raising a beer to me. 

“Should you be drinking so much?” I ask, raising a brow to Nickolai.

“Ah, come on. Let the boy drink his beer. He is going to be Alpha soon enough and he won’t be allowed to have any real fun,” Tank jokes. 

Nickolai frowns at Tank. Though he is excited to be taking over the helm of his father, he is hesitant and worried he won’t do well. He is always second-guessing himself, worried he won’t live up to the name his father has made in the werewolf world. It’s why he demanded that he be the one to do this treaty. He wants to prove to his father and the rest of the pack that he is willing and able to do what he can to protect the pack. He doesn’t realize that we all know he is ready and that this mission he demanded is further proof.

The air shifts around us and Nickolai’s eyes light up. It takes every ounce of self-control to not tense and groan in frustration. Wren. of course he would invite his new… whatever she is to him. He is obsessed with the girl and it’s enough to make me want to gag. Tank eyes me with suspicions, so I shoot him a confused scowl as he chuckles into his beer.

“Hello there, boys,” she says, skimming my back as she slides past me around the table. I flinch away from her and she recoils her hand that she was using to steady herself.

“Geez, jumpy much?” she mutters. 

“Wren, thank you for being my guide today. It was a beautiful day” His eyes are locked with hers and a pink tinge creeps up her cheeks. She realizes he is trying to insinuate she is what made the day beautiful. Shit, he is smooth.

“Yeah, best I have had in a long time.” She responds by tucking her hair behind her ear with her gloved hand.

“Why do you wear gloves?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

“What?” She looks almost offended by the question. Like me, asking is the stupidest thing that’s ever been asked. I nod to her gloved hands and arms.

“Why?” I say again, my voice is curt. “A nice girl like you must want to meet your mate as soon as possible. Isn’t that what girls want?” 

She raises an amused brow and shrugs.

“In the pack, you come from, that may be how the girls are, but not here, not me. When I meet my mate, I want to know I love him for more than the bond.”

“Oh, so you would rather fall in love and risk the heartbreak of the man you love not being the one you want?” I scoff at her foolishness. 

I wear my gloves because I have nothing to offer the person I would be mated to. I have no house, no money. All I have is my body and my position, which doesn’t leave much time for anyone else.

“I would rather be mated to someone I love than stuck with someone I can’t stand.”

“Hmm… What would you do if the man you fall for isn’t your destined mate?” Nickolai chimes in.

“Well, I suppose it depends on if I know who my mate is or not. If I love someone else, would it be fair to let my mate find me and learn that he is not wanted?”

I bark in laughter.

“Have you never seen a true mate bond? Were your parents not mates?” I ask.

“My mother disappeared when I was a toddler, so no. I have not been privileged enough to witness a bond.” She says.

Her words are light, airy. There is no anger in her demeanor or her eyes, and I find that odd. I open my mouth to speak, but Nickolai shoots me a glare. I sigh and look down at the menu, ignoring the desire to rile her up more. 

“The mate bond isn’t something you can deny once it’s been discovered,” Nickolai says with a gentle smile. He reaches out and rests his hand on Wren’s, looking into her eyes. My stomach churns, and I can’t help the rage that’s storming around in my head.

“Geez, Nickolai. Why don’t you just fuck her already and get it over with” I mutter in annoyance. Looking an unmated woman in the eyes is as close to intimate as you can get without mating. If she wasn’t wearing her gloves, we would know right now if they were true mates.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Seb.” Nickolai swings his angry eyes towards me and I stand from the table, moving away. His hand falls on my shoulder when I hit the bathroom hallway and he spins me to face him.

“What the hell is your problem?” He asks, his eyes that should be full of anger and more filled with concern, and I want to slap him. He is such a good fucking friend and a better alpha. 

“I don’t trust her.” I saw with a shrug.

“Oh, what, because she isn’t fawning all over you like the girls back home?” He snorts.

I frown at him. The woman in our pack, like me, yeah. But that’s not what this is about. This is about trusting her. And I just don’t.     

I could tell Nickolai that she stole the peace treaty the first time it went missing. But that wouldn’t phase him. Nope. He is convinced he is a great judge of character, and not to mention that I played it off like I found it outside, so why would I have lied about it? It was dumb and I should have been honest, but I was trying to save him from feeling like he had been had.

“You’re right. I’m jealous,” I say deadpan. “I’ll get over it. Sorry, Nicki,”

He watches me suspiciously.

“Now, I’m going to take a piss. You planning to come in and compare or you going to head back to your woman?” I ask, easing the tension. He grins at me and shakes his head.

“She’s not mine, not yet anyway,” he whispers, looking at her over his shoulder. “She is different, Seb.” He looks back at me.

Fuck me.

I slap him on the shoulder and sigh. “Then get the fuck away from me and make your move.”

He grins and ambles back to the table while I walk into the bathroom and try my damndest not to punch the wall. I splash my face with cold water, looking at my reflection in the mirror. My empty, tawny eyes stare back at me, looking more tired than usual. I push off of the sink and head back to eat. 

The entire dinner has me tense and on edge. Every time Wren laughs I have to take a drink, my own personal drinking game, and shit, I’m going through a fuck ton of beer. I finish my food and push back from the table to stand.

“I’ll meet you guys back in the room. Wren…” I start and she looks at me, startled. “Ehm. Thanks for being Nickolai’s guide.” and then I spin on my heel and exit the building. 

I stand in the dark across the way of the restaurant waiting for her to come out after they all finish up. Something is amiss. I can feel it in the air around her. It’s shrouded with lies and laughter that seem forced at times. I know she wants the treaty, hell I had to steal it back from her. What I don’t know is why she wants it and what lengths she will go to in order to get it from Nickolai. Who doesn’t even know that he no longer has it either. No, I have it safely tucked away in my case in our room. 

When they finally emerge, Tank hangs back to the side looking around, and his eyes land on me. I know he can’t see me. I’m too far in the shadows, but I have trained us to watch the shadows. A smirk makes its way across his lips. Fucker knows I’m here though. He is too smart for his own damn good.

Nickolai giggles with Wren and shoves his hands in his pocket, shuffling his shoes and looking down at her while she blushes. He steps towards her and my chest aches with every inch that disappears between them, then leaning down he drops a kiss on her cheek and the post I’m holding onto creaks from the strain of my hand strangling it. I release it quickly and close my eyes. Breathing in the cool air, forcing myself to relax.

When I open my eyes again, I see Wren disappearing around a corner and I slink behind her as she grins to herself, looking giddy about her day and evening with Nikolai. She is so lost in her own mind that she doesn’t even bother to try to take to the rooftops like I imagined she would. After twenty minutes of wandering near her, I notice the tension in my body is slowly melting away. Two drunk men stumble into her and she gives them a rough shove, cursing at them as they laugh and apologize.

She stops when she reaches a run-down single-level home with a tarp over the garage. Her back heaves in a big sigh before shaking her head and trudging forward, disappearing into the rundown house. I sleuth closer, moving around the back, and peek in through the broken kitchen window. 

“Dad?” she calls out, looking around. A body moves in the blue recliner and groans in pain. She rushes over, falling to her knees, her face covered with worry.

“Dad,” she whispers. “Why didn’t you call me?” Her small hands reach out to touch him.

“Oh Wren, are you home?” he slurs. 

Of course, she comes from a broken home. A drunk dad and no mom. It makes sense; she says her mother disappeared. Most mates go crazy when they lose their other half.

“Did you call the healer? Shit, dad, you look terrible and you are running a fever again.”

“Elara…” He whispers, reaching out and touching her cheek.

“No, dad it’s still Wren.” Her voice cracks as she stands and places her hands on her head like she is trying to think about what to do next.

“I have to find her. We have to go get her back from Alden.” He mutters. I can hear his voice quivering, as if on the verge of a breakdown. I freeze when his words register. He has to get her back from Alden… Alpha Alden has his mate? 

Wren wipes at her cheek, bending down. It looks like she drops a kiss on the top of his head.

“I promise, Dad. I’ll get mom back, but first let’s get you to bed, ok?”

“No… no… I have to get to work,”

“They called and said you could have the night off.” Her voice has a lilt to it. And her eyes stare outside like she tells him this often. Like she lies to him often.

“Oh.” He says, sucking in a quick breath as he tries to move once more.

“Let me get you some medicine.” She offers as she moves towards the kitchen, looking drained and forlorn.