~Alexander ~~
Henry and I have to meet tomorrow. I need to know why he did what he did. And also need to know if he acted alone. Anger is overwhelming me.
It will be easier if he comes, so you invite him. He will arrive here soon. Noah smirked at me after patting my shoulder. He stood up and left.
I mind-link with Blake to book a restaurant of his choice, and I will pick him up at 7 p.m. Before I closed the link, he sensed I was furious. "Did something happen? Your emotions are all over the place". His voice echoed in my head. We will talk about it over dinner, my dear, and I closed the mind-link. Dylan, get across to Henry and tell him I would like to see him tomorrow. Okay, Dylan sneered, and we both left the room.
As I end the telephone call, I run my hand through my hair one last time before I see Blake open the entrance door. He looks gorgeous with his artfully tousled black hair, blue button-up shirt, and black trousers. He turns and walks over to me. "You look nice," he says, as he climbs inside the car. You are stunning as well, I tell him, pulling him against my body. I kiss his smiling mouth. When I try to deepen the kiss, he pulls away from me with a laugh.
"We're going to be late if we continue any further."
"Fine, fine," I say, giving him one last kiss before pulling out of the driveway.
"I'm starving," I say, breaking the silence.
Truthfully, I have eaten nothing since
Breakfast. Well, it's a good thing we're heading to a restaurant, isn't it?" Blake says. I shoot him a playful glare before turning to look out the window, hearing his laughter ring throughout the car.
Coming from our house, which is only two miles from the restaurant, it doesn't take us that long to get there. There is a soft glow of lanterns on the outside of the building, giving the place an air of tranquility. As soon as we walked in, we heard soft background music coming from the hybrid as he played the piano on a small stage. The lights were low, and they adorned every table with white and red candles.
"Hello, did you have a reservation?" the hostess asks as she stands behind her podium. She has a warm smile on her face and her dark long hair covers her ears.
I hear my mate tell her, "Yes, for Blake Aiden," as he synchronizes his fingers down my arm and twirls them with mine. Her smile broadens as she sees our hands and gestures to us with her hand to follow her.
"Are you two newly mated?" she asks, leading us up a spiral staircase.
"Yes, we've been together for a little over 3 months," I say.
We have finally reached our table, and I am blown away by the sight. We sit in front of a large floor-to-ceiling window that looks out over the city, and it provides a breathtaking view. There is a white lace tablecloth set on the table, and vases filled with floating candles serve as the centerpiece of the table. Despite its simplicity, this is a beautiful design.
"Wow," I breathe as I pull out a chair for Blake and take a seat in the chair across from him. The hostess hands both of us a menu and tells us our server will be with us in a couple of minutes.
"This is so pleasant, Blake," I say, folding up my menu once I decide on what I am about to have. "You didn't have to take us to some fancy place."
Blake looks up from his menu, his eyes meeting mine. Since this is our first official outing, I thought we could do something special.
"This place is definitely worth our first date," I say with a laugh. Blake must have decided on what he is having because he sets down his menu as well and smiles at me.
We both look up when someone stops at our table. It must be our server, and she seems to be hyper-focused on my mate at the moment. Her ears are perked up in interest, and she has a seductive grin on her face as she listens. Because she hasn't looked at me, I know she's interested in Blake.
My name is Sara and I will be your server tonight. Have you decided what to drink?" she asks, never leaving Blake's face. She seems younger than us, probably by a year or two.
The moment Blake offers her the menu, he politely says, "I would like some water, please." As Blake notices she is staring at him, he quickly scoots his chair away from her. As I watch him do that, I mentally cheer for him because I know he doesn't want to be involved in her flirtation.
I clear my throat to get her attention away from Blake. While she glances over at me, she looks at me with a displeased look on her face. "I will have a strawberry lemonade." Her eyes turn back to Blake as she nods her head, and with one last smile, she leaves.
Blake coughs, looking over at me with a hesitant expression. I kick one of my shoes off and trail my foot against his leg. While rubbing my foot against his leg under the table, I feel him relax as soon as he sees I am not mad, at least not with him.
"I can't believe she was trying to flirt with you when I'm sitting right here, obviously on a date with you," I say, my foot itching its way higher up his leg. Feeling him squirm as I get closer to my prize, I reluctantly pull my leg away. I don't want to make him uncomfortable, but he just grabs my foot between his legs, halting my actions.
Before I can say anything, Sara comes back, setting our drinks down on the table.
"Here you go. Are you ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?" Once again, she cannot notice that Blake isn't the only one at the table. Instead of arguing, I just tell her my order and lean back in my chair, watching Blake as he reads her his order.
Once she leaves, Blake reaches under the table and starts rubbing my leg."How was work today?" The rubbing feels amazing, and if I wasn't so hungry right now, I would probably fall asleep.
"It was alright. I did rounds with Noah and checked all the CCTV," I say, eyes threatening to close from his rhythmic rubbing. He takes a drink of his water, looking over at me.
Anything interesting? He asks. I shake my head 'no' when I remember the weird Joe guy. My eyes widen and I sit up, pulling my foot from Blake's grasp.
Actually, now that you mention it, there was something odd. Remember when I told you I was late for a rune ceremony a few months ago? My office has caught fire. Noah's PI brought a file today, and it says Henry handled the arson. I couldn't believe it, so I asked Dylan to tell him to meet me tomorrow.
Blake was silent, but his expression said otherwise. He didn't know what to say. Deciding to drop the subject, can I see your soul mark? I can see the abstract geometric design on his neck, almost like a sun, but also almost like wings, in a crimson shade of purple and gold".
I reached up and stroked it with my thumb, and Blake shuddered. "Mine" I whispered
"Wow, can I see yours?" he asks. I was about to show him, and our food came in. I will show you when we get home. A blush spread across Blake's face, but he nods his head. We continue chatting until we finish our food.
We finished our dinner and paid the bill. Hand in hand, we walked out of the door together. "That was amazing, Blake, thank you," I say, leaning my head on his shoulder as we walk to the car. Despite the flirty server, the night was amazing, and Blake was constantly smiling and laughing. I don't know how it could have been any better.
When we pull up to the house, Blake and I walk into the house, and I remember what we said before we left for dinner. What we had started earlier definitely needs to be completed. Grabbing Blake's hand, I haul him up the stairs and into our bedroom.
Tell me what you wanted to talk about this morning, Blake replied. I clear my throat. Your Luna ceremony is in four days. Maya and Lily will help you get ready, and Noah's mate will handle the rest.
Blake clears his throat before handing me a diamond ring. It belonged to his mother. What the fuck was I thinking? I sprinted to my closet and pulled out my mother's ring. He smiled sheepishly as we exchanged rings. I have always wanted to give you, but our timing is always wrong. Blake smiled.
The next morning, Dylan called to inform me Henry was around. After a rough, long night with Blake, I wasn't expecting Henry to come so early.
I lazily crawl out of bed and into the shower. Blake is still sleeping and I don't want to wake him up.
I sprinted out of the house and into my car.
When I go to the pack house, Henry is sitting with Cara, and I wonder why he did what he did.
Cara, calling her name to get her attention, Alpha. They both stand up and greet me. Let me speak with Henry alone. He will see you later.
Okay. She looks at me and shifts her gaze back to him. I'll be in the garden when you're done, and she walks out of the pack house.
As she walks out, Noah walks in, shifting my gaze back to Henry. I sit in the chair in front of him. Noah sits beside me. Henry, where were you on the day of the Rune ceremony? Fear disappeared from his face more quickly than it appeared. I was at home helping the newly rescued omega settle in. If you need any information about that day, you can ask Alpha Oliver. He was there with his beta.
You mean the day he tried to molest my mate? Henry gasped, eyes wide open, fidgeting in his seat. He started rubbing his fingers nervously. I'm sure he didn't know he was your mate, Henry whispered before looking at us.
That's not why you're here, Henry, Noah said.
I'll get straight to the point. I hired a private investigator to look into my father's case, but we were rather shocked at what he discovered. Noah said, staring into his eyes.
What? Honestly, I can swear on my life. I knew nothing about it. He was terrified.
Why did you set fire to my office on that day? I asked.
He relaxed a bit, but it's clear he was still scared. I swear that was not what happened. The fire was an accident, and tears laced his eyes. The only thing I told Cara to do was to delay you, so you'll be late for the rune ceremony. I swear that was all I said to her. A tear drops on his cheek.
What was the reason for asking her to delay him? Noah is as surprised as I am.
He rolls his eyes and bites his bottom lip, readjusting in his seat. I will be honest, the first time I saw you was 3 years ago. You attended Alpha Oliver's mate Luna's ceremony with Dylan. I, I fell in love with you at that moment. Noah's face relaxes as he leans back in his chair. I'm sorry, Henry whispers before he continues, and when I found out you don't have a mate, my feelings for you skyrocketed. I could not explain how it happened, but it did.