Hey, guys!
I HAVE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR YOU WHEN YOU READ THIS CHAPTER!
It's not long so please read it; it'll clarify something in the story that some of you may be wondering about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen, Roxy and the other female wolves made their way out through the backdoor. I’d rather not have Africa see them leave because that would arise questions from her. Lord knows I don’t need her questioning anything right now.
I exited my father’s office and walked towards the living room where my beautiful mate was curled up into a ball, with her chin resting on her knees, as her back faced me. I gulped as my eyes scanned over her toned caramel shoulders and part of her back that was exposed due to her skimpy tank top. She’d also tied her black curls up with just a few loose tendrils hanging on the back of her neck. I don’t know why, but that sight is seriously turning me on.
I felt my pants tighten and my canines extend as I inhaled her unique coconut and honey scent. It’s taking every ounce of my self-control to keep from taking her on that couch and she hadn’t even turned around yet.
Deciding that it was time to make myself known, I cleared my throat and watched as it instantly whipped her head around in surprise to stare at me. Her eyes widened and her heart rate increased as she watched me.
“Ro-Roman!” She squeaked in surprise. “Um, where are Roxy and the girls?”
I slowly walked around the couch to sit next to her and she scooted as far towards the arm rest as possible; away from me. “Something came up and they had to leave, don’t worry though, they’ll be back soon.”
She stiffly nodded as she angled her body away from mine. She looks like she’s trying to bury herself in the armrest.
Why was she so uncomfortable around me? Even if she is a human, she still would feel the mate bond to some extent right? She should feel some desire to be around me just as much as I want to be around her. But every time I see her, she looks at me in fear. She shouldn’t ever feel afraid of me.
“Why are you so afraid of me?” I bluntly asked her.
She jumped at the sound of my voice and slowly turned to look at me in confusion and distress. “Par-Pardon me?”
“Why, are you, so afraid of me?” I slowly repeated the question as deeply gazed into her intricate looking eyes.
“I’m not,” She breathed out. “I’m not afraid of you.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn’t need to listen to her heartbeat to know that she just lied to me.
“You’re lying,” I called her out and I scooted closer to her while she pressed herself even closer into the armrest.
She gulped as she took a sharp intake of breath. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh please,” I said as I leaned my body towards hers, and once again she tried to back away from me. “A blind person could see the fear radiating off of you.”
She pursed her lips and let out a deep breath before giving me an innocent looking side-eye. “I’m not afraid of you, I’m wary of you.”
“Wary of me?” I repeated with a raised eyebrow as I leaned up and rested my elbows on my knees. “Why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’?” She retorted as she whipped her head around to stare at me incredulously. “I know what kind of guy you are Roman.”
She was becoming interested in the conversation. Her body was angled slightly towards me and her arms weren’t so tightly wrapped around her knees anymore either.
Wait.
What did she just say?
“Excuse me?” I tilted my head in mock confusion. I knew exactly what kind of guy I am…well…was until I met her, but I want to see how much of my past she knew about.
“Roxy told me,” She finally looked in my eyes. “About how you just use girls and toss them away like garbage when you become bored of them; about how you’re a womanizer.”
Damn you, Roxy!
Africa wasn’t wrong though; I had done those things. And to make it even worse, I used to be proud of what I did. Not anymore though, I regret what I did because it makes my mate cautious around me.
“And the reason you’re so interested in me is probably because you think I’ll easily fall victim to you,” She boldly stated. “But I’m not like those girls you like, and I have zero intentions of behaving like that with you.”
I should’ve been annoyed or even angry by her little rant, but I was even more turned on than I was before. I’d never heard her say so many words in one sentence! And what really impressed me was that she stood her ground against me, an Alpha. Obviously, she’s a shy girl but she just proved that she can be assertive when she needs to be. She’s acting like a Luna without even realizing it. Another sign that she was my mate.
“I never thought that you were like those girls,” I confessed to her while she narrowed her eyes at me.
“Then why do you talk to me?” She completely turned her body towards me but still kept her knees close to her chest.
Because you’re my mate and I want to have a relationship with you. Of course, I couldn’t say this to her so I settled with something a bit more inconspicuous. “Can’t I try to be friends with you?”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as her lips parted slightly. Her big beautiful lips that looked absolutely delectable. “Friends?
“Yes, friends,” I repeated as I leaned back against the sofa.
Africa shook her head and stared at me in confusion before speaking. “Why would you want to be friends with me?”
“Why would I not want to be friends with you?
“I can think of a few reasons,” She chortled incredulously. “First of all, we aren’t even in the same age group.”
I smiled at her and watched her gulp. “I’m only twenty-six, not that much older than you.”
“Only twenty-six?” Her eyes widened. “That’s a nine-year age gap!”
Nine years huh? Well, I expected that much; after all, she was friends with my sister so I figured that she had to be around Roxy’s age. “I’m guessing that means you’re seventeen then.”
She nodded as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
“Nine years isn’t a lot,” I shrugged. “And besides, it’s not like there’s an age limit on friendships, is there?”
She suddenly blushed as she put her head down on her knees. “I-I guess not.” What was she thinking about that made her begin to stutter again?
I wanted to ask her about what was currently going on in her brain but I decided against it. She’ll only become nervous again, and I definitely don’t want that to happen, especially since she seemed to be loosening up around me. “Then tell me about yourself.”
“Huh?” She squeaked as I put my hands behind my head and stared at her.
“Well, we’re friends now, right?” I smirked at her. “Shouldn’t friends know things about each other?”
“I guess,” She mumbled as she leaned her head even further into her knees.
I stared at her, waiting for her to say something but she never did. “I’m still waiting.”
She peeked up at me through her long lashes. “You first.”
Testing out the waters I see. “Very well, I have a sister.”
Africa’s head shot up as she narrowed her eyes at me in disbelief. “You don’t say.” She sarcastically responded.
I chuckled at her mocking reply. I’d purposefully said that just to see her reaction. “What about you? Any siblings?”
“I have three,” She softly replied. “Two brothers and one sister.”
I nodded at the new information. “Are you the oldest?”
“No,” She let out a sigh. “I’m a middle child. My sister and one of my brothers are older than me.
“I figured that,” I ran a hand through my hair. “You either had to be the oldest or middle child; you don’t really act bratty, like how the youngest would.”
“Bratty?” She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah bratty,” I returned her raised eyebrow stare. “And entitled, and spoiled, and obnoxious! Don’t tell me that your younger brother doesn’t have those character traits?”
She bit her lip as she thought about my question which only further turned me on. “I mean, I guess you’re right.”
“And it doesn’t matter the age, they can be five or thirty-five and still behave the same way.”
“You’re…actually kind of right,” She said as she looked deep in thought. “I don’t share the same father as my older sister and brother, and my older sister is the youngest on her father’s side. Now that you brought this topic up, she still has those character traits and she’s twenty-five!”
“See, I told you.” I grinned at her. “Every youngest child acts the same no matter their age.”
She smiled at me as she laughed. It was a beautiful sound and it made my own smile become even broader. “I’ll definitely bring that up to Eden.”
“Eden?” I repeated. “Is that your sister’s name?”
“Yeah.”
This family had some interesting, yet beautiful names. “Wow, your parents chose some pretty names when naming you guys. Do your brothers also have unique names?”
“No, their names are pretty normal,” She laughed. “My oldest brother is Bradley and my youngest is Keenan.”
“So the girls get the beautiful names and the boys get the basic ones?” I laughed as she grinned along with me. “Wow, how did your parents even come with the names ‘Africa’ and ‘Eden”.”
She took a deep breath before tucking a curl behind her ear. “Well, my mom’s name is Eve and she always liked the name Eden because it’s related to the biblical story; she always wanted to name her firstborn daughter Eden.”
“And your name?” I urged her to continue.
“After my mom and her first husband divorced, she moved to Africa and took a six-month vacation there. Coincidentally, my father happened to be there for work purposes and they met and fell in love. So my name is Africa because I represent their love that had blossomed in the continent, Africa.”
“That’s actually very sentimental,” I said impressed. I honestly thought her parents just thought the name sounded pretty.
“Yep,” She said before pursing her lips and peeking up at me through her lashed. She looked as if she wanted to ask me something but doesn’t know how.
“Alright, your turn to ask a question,” I crossed my ankle over my knee and stared expectantly at her.
Her eyes widened at my sudden statement. “Oh um…” She trailed off. “What about your name? Why did your parents name you Roman?”
“Well my name origin isn’t like yours, my parents didn’t meet and fall in love in Rome,” I chuckled. “But they named me Roman because they liked what it meant; strong and powerful. Also, there’s the fact that the first two letters are the same as my mother’s.”
She nodded as she traced her fingers over her knees. She still hadn’t pulled her knees away from her chest. “It suits you, your name I mean.”
“Thanks,” I gave her a half-smile. “What a coincidence that we’re both named after countries. Well, continent in your case.”
She blushed as she nuzzled her chin into her knees. “Yeah.”
I leaned forward on the couch, about to say something but the intrusion of someone mind-linking me broke my train of thought. “We’re back Ro,” Jen suddenly mind-linked me. My ears picked up on the sound of them coming through the back door. It’s about time.
“Good, prepare the tea like we planned” I instructed her before mind-linking my sister. “Roxy, you and your friends come and keep Africa company, she’s concerned about where you all went.”
“Whatever you say Alpha,” Roxy replied. I could hear the sarcasm in her voice.
Soon they all, minus Jen, came back into the room, thankfully not looking disheveled or anything. I watched Africa’s face lit up as she finally pulled her knees away from her chest to stand up and greet her friends. My eyes bore into her now standing body. Her back was to me and the swell of her ass from those shorts was making me feel aroused. Dear Lord, the things that this girl does to me!
“You’re back!” She beamed at them. “I thought you guys got lost or something.?”
“Sorry about that Fee,” Roxy apologized. “We just remembered something important for school that we had to finish.”
“It’s fine,” She gave them a small smile. “Besides, you guys weren’t gone that long anyway.”
They hadn’t taken thirty minutes but they were still gone for at least fifteen.
“Roman didn’t pester you did he?” Roxy peered around her to glare harshly at me. I glared just as severely back at her. Annoying little cock-block.
“No, no he was good company,” Africa quickly dissuaded Roxy’s question. “He was very friendly.”
I gave Roxy a smug look as she looked at me in shock. “That’s right Roxy, Africa and I are friends now, aren’t we Africa.”
“Ye-Yeah we are,” She turned around to look at me while blushing.
“Hmmm, anyways” Roxy narrowed her eyes at me before turning to Africa. “It’s nearly 3 AM Fee, are you tired, do you want to go to bed now?”
She was tired, I could see it in her eyes and her posture, not to mention she yawned a few times during our conversation. “Um, yeah I do feel a bit tired.”
“We’re tired too,” The brunette spoke up. “Some rest would do us all well.”
“I’m glad you all said that because I just made some tea,” Jen said as she suddenly walked into the living room with a tray full of tea. Perfect timing!
She set the tray onto the coffee table and began issuing out a cup to everyone. I watched as Africa reluctantly accepted her tea. I could smell the wolfsbane from the teacup; albeit it was faint. I tightly gripped the armrest as I intently watched in anxiety for her to take the first sip. It doesn’t seem like she smells the wolfsbane.
Jen handed me a cup also, but I didn’t dare drink it as yet, the same was for the girls because the four of them also stared intensely at Africa who was now stirring the tea.
“DRINK!” I alpha commanded them via mind link and they all immediately began taking sips of their tea. Africa would become suspicious if they’re all staring at her.
Finally, she brought the cup to her lips and took a long sip. Her eyes closed, she licked her lips and she loudly exhaled. Did she feel an effect? I looked at Jen but she just stared back at me in confusion, so did the girls.
“This is really good,” She suddenly said before taking another sip. “What kind of tea is this?”
No reaction?
Then I guess our suspicions were confirmed, she was just a normal human.
“Uhh,” Jen stammered as she was suddenly put on the spot. “It’s a blend of different plants.”
“Oh,” Africa said before sitting back down onto the couch and took another sip. “Well, it is making me feel relaxed.”
“Just…relaxed?” Roxy asked as she stared at her friend in confusion.
Africa looked at her in confusion at her question. “Uh, yeah, just relaxed. Should I feel something else?”
“No, no!” Roxy quickly tried to dissuade her question. “Just wondering how it made you feel is all.”
“Well for me, it’s relaxed and sleepy,” She chuckled. “My bed is calling me.”
“Sure as soon as you’re done, we can all go to bed,” Roxy smiled at her before walking closer to me.
Roxy looked at me and sighed in disappointment as she sat beside me. I just shook my head at her as I took I sip of my own tea.
This only further complicated everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know that Wolfsbane in poisonous to humans in real life, but for the sake of my story we’re all going to pretend that it has absolutely no effects on humans, okay? ^_^
I didn’t really like this chapter, I felt that I was missing something but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Anyways, we’re gonna be back with Fi-Fi’s POV in the next chapter so be prepared.
See you guys later!
ns 15.158.61.51da2
