Dylan
I had anticipated the food tasting of ash or cardboard as I picked it up to put in my mouth, but to my surprise, it was actually delicious. Maybe that's not the right word, maybe it's more like I wished that's what it would have tasted like.
Keeping hold of my emotions had taking my full attention and strength, but with the taste of the food came a sudden rush of tears. Thankfully, biting my tongue helped to keep them from fully forming though.
I recalled everything that had happened before they put me to sleep earlier, and I didn't want to give them any reasons to have to do that again. Yet the story that Tristan had told was something I never could have imagined.
Thoughts and images were racing through my mind and while I could feel Rae there, I didn't want her help right now. Memories of my past, ones that hurt to look at and ones that didn't, were rushing through my mind like a slideshow.
Lies. Had my whole childhood truly been one big lie? Or was it a multitude of small lies? I wasn't sure what to believe and I had no idea how to find out the truth. Tristan may know things that I didn't, but he won't know what Rogan does.
Nico had heaped tons of food on the plate that had been shoved in front of me, and Micah had brought a tray table with multiple types of drinks atop it to. Too bad that as my mind flew through my past, the harder it became to focus on what was in front of me.
An orphan with no family. A pack who didn't want the daughter of traitors. An alpha who tried to keep me safe so that no one would hurt me. What bullsh*t! I was a fool. A complete and utter fool.
With those thoughts, the food finally had the desired taste in my mouth that I deserved. How had I just so blindly listened to every single thing that came out of that man's mouth?
To think that I had once looked up to him. No, not just looked up to but cherished him and all of the time that he had spent with me. The food had gone from tasting of ash to feeling like it was sludge slipping down my throat.
No one really noticed when I had pushed my food to the side. I focused on their conversations and small talk and tried to keep the nausea at bay by taking deep breaths through my nose.
That choice both helped and didn't. While I was able to settle my stomach a bit, I was now picking up all kinds of scents both in and around the room. Some were pleasing and comforting, but there were others that brought me unwanted thoughts and feelings. I had just tried to keep them all at bay.
Micah was not very talkative, but I could see that he was very observant. He jumped into the conversations at the right times to clarify things, or to change topics if things seemed too uncomfortable.
While I didn't know him well at all, I had a feeling that I was going to really like him. He seemed a little dark and broody, but there was just something about him that seemed genuine and sweet.
Lecia and Nico were actively participating in the conversation, but I thought that there were a few times they both came off a little too harsh. Even though Lecia kept looking at me, I was a little bothered that she stayed at the table with Nico, but I wouldn't push it.
Tristan was completely different than what I had expected, but it was my old boss that seemed to be uncomfortable, or at least I assumed he was. Mr. Winters was just sitting there eating and listening to everyone with little participation on his part.
When everyone had left, Tristan had stayed with me. And even though he had been animatedly talking mere moments before, he seemed to become shy and bashful. Honestly, I felt a little awkward and nervous too, but I wasn't sure if we were feeling the same things.
I asked him to come sit with me on the bed and made room for him beside my pillow fort. We both sat with our backs to the headboard and when his scent wrapped around me, I inhaled a bit deeper to let it soak in.
Tristan said he had a storage unit that had quite a number of things he had salvaged over the years that he wanted to show me when I was ready for it. After a minute, he decided to tell me about our pack's history.
A few times I caught him just staring at me. When I finally asked him what was wrong, his cheeks flamed just like mine always do and when he answered, I didn't think that my heart was going to handle it.
"I just can't believe how much you look like our mother!"
No one had ever told me that I looked like my parents. Well, since those people hadn't actually been my parents, I guess that's why, but still. The way he looked at me could not be faked and it made my heart ache and swell.
We talked long into the night and well into the next day, but somewhere in all that time I had started to doze off. Tristan had eased me down on to the bed and left, but he didn't go too far because I could still feel and smell him.
Sometime late the following day when I had woken up, Tristan gave me a tour of his suite. He had on dark blue jogging pants and a white shirt that had a logo on the front with a saying something about showing his if they show him theirs. I had no idea what it meant.
He had come into my room, or his room I guess, bare footed and with his messy hair hanging over his eyes. But it was the smile that he greeted me with that left me speechless.
It was almost unreal that someone that looked like him physically could have this soft and fragile side. He brought clothes for me, showed me where his massive bathroom was, and waited in the restaurant-style kitchen for me to shower and wash up.
A part of me had moved robotically and gone through the motions of washing and cleaning myself, but when I walked out of the shower and put on clothes that not only didn't belong to me but didn't smell like anything I was familiar with. It hit me then that I had really gotten out.
Just as that thought had sunk in, a pang in my chest thrummed painfully because there had been a cost for that, and I still wasn't ready to deal with it.
I dressed without looking in the mirror and walked out with a towel wrapped around my hair that I piled on the top of my head. I wouldn't break just yet and I repeated that over and over in my head as I walked towards the kitchen.
Tristan was sitting on the counter with a large coffee cup in his hand that said, "Don't talk to me until I've finished this mug." It was hard not to laugh since the mug was twice the size of any of the ones I owned, and it was bright pink.
I noticed immediately that he had cooked an enormous amount of food. He led me over to the large white dining table on the opposite side of the kitchen. It was so large, and it looked as if it had never been used before.
Tristan smiled when I reached out and snatched a piece of bacon before plopping down on the seat that he had pulled out for me. I noticed that there was a large coffee maker on the table with a small tray beside it with all kinds of coffees and creamers in it.
Tristan heaped tons of eggs, bacon, and sausage on his plate that already had a heaping scoop of some roasted potatoes on it. I had to admit that everything smelled good, and I didn't realize what I had said until it was already out of my mouth.
"Did you do all this for me, or do you usually cook like this?" Tristan's eyes met mine instantly and again, the red color seeped quickly into his cheeks. I couldn't keep the giggle in and wondered if that was what I looked like to the others.
He responded and quickly looked away once he did. "This is our first breakfast together, and I wanted to make it special for you." This time I knew that my cheeks were flaming just as much as his were.
Tristan and I spent about an hour eating and talking. Well, he had done most of the talking again. I was not ready to talk about my past and all the things I had endured at Blood Mist just yet and I had a feeling he knew that.
After we finished almost all of the food, he told me what floor that Lecia and Nico were on and even told me that I had a floor to myself, but I wasn't ready to be alone like that just yet.
I mean, I knew that I could ask Lecia and Nico to stay with me, but I was not ready to do that either in case they didn't wish to. Tristan explained that this building only had three inhabitants and that they had built it with only them in mind.
I found it odd that such a large building was built for three men, but to each their own, I guess. Tristan explained to me about his job and his relationship with the Silver Moon Pack.
Apparently, Alpha Rogan, I mean Rogan, I really need to get used to that. Rogan had attacked the sister of the twin alphas who ran the pack now and they were just as anxious to destroy him as Tristan and now myself were.
While I had let Tristan do most of the talking, there were a few times that I did find myself curious about things that I couldn't help but ask him to elaborate on. It was obvious that he liked it when I did that, but I hated to interrupt him.
When Tristan took me off his floor, we went to the roof, and he showed me the pool and fire pits up there. Next, he took me to the lobby where he introduced me to the many, many guards that were there.
It was strange meeting so many new people and being able to immediately tell which of them were humans and which were wolves. I noticed that all of the wolves seemed to give off a spicy scent that reminded me of pepper.
The wolves among the guards also carried themselves a bit differently than the human guards did and bowed much lower to me when greeting me. When he had introduced me, I saw the pride that showed on his face.
"This is Dylan. She is my little sister, and she is the most important person in this compound. You will do as she asks and protect her at all costs." The guards all agreed with no hesitation, and I noticed that the pepper scent that the other wolves gave off started to have a sort of burned sugar scent now, but I had no idea what it meant.
A giant glass wall that reminded me of the building I had visited when I came to Aspen all those weeks ago covered one entire side of the lobby. As we walked over to see the beautiful garden behind it, Tristan showed me a secret door.
Surprised at how easy it was to miss the door, I followed him as we walked into a fairytale garden. There was a stone path that led through the garden and straight to a lovely pond full of fish that I had never seen before.
There were flowers and bushes that filled the massive private garden. Being there was almost unreal and made everything that has happened in the past few days seem like a dream.
As I had wandered around the little stone path, I took in all the different colored flowers. Some that I knew the names of, but most were completely new to me. I followed the path all the way through the entire garden and found Tristan waiting for me at the secret door.
"You can come anytime you like; this place is a great place to get lost in." He winked at me before sliding the door open and gesturing for me to walk in front of him.
A scent hit me as soon as Tristan had closed the door and, while it wasn't completely unpleasant, it burned the inside of my nostrils a bit. Reaching up, I covered my nose and mouth with my hand and Tristan was immediately on alert.
I watched as his eyes had the shimmer that let me know he was linking with someone, but I also noticed that the amber color seemed to deepen and darken to a dark honey.
He had also stepped closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I realized two things just then. One was how much larger my brother was than me, and the other was that I hadn't flinched away from his touch but welcomed it.
As Tristan pulled me to his side, he also led me towards the elevator. I noticed that more guards were now filling the lobby than before we had gone outside. But before we made it to the elevator, Tristan's grip loosened a bit as he huffed out a very colorful and explicit slur of curses.
"F*cking mother f*cking a**holes." I had to admit, I was both impressed and shocked, but I couldn't keep the snort from escaping my mouth even with my hand still covering it.
"Sorry," he mumbled quickly, but I used my free hand to pat his hand softly, "don't worry, it's funny." And for the third time today, his cheeks were almost as red as his hair.
"Ezra and Blane are here, that's why you feel like that right now," he said apologetically. "It's because they are not only from another pack, but they are also alphas and powerful ones at that."
Nodding at him, we walked into the elevator, and I noticed that this time we went down instead of heading back up. As soon as the doors had closed and we were moving, I was able to uncover my mouth and asked, "where are we going?"
"To see Micah, of course. His floor was a basement level floor, but I found it suited him well." There was an easy smile on Tristan's face as we rode the elevator down and it wasn't the first time, I had thought that maybe there was something more between him and Micah beside friendship, but I decided to keep that quiet for now.
Micah was waiting for us because when the door slid open, he was leaning against the wall of the foyer of his floor. He had invited us in, and I was momentarily shocked at the beauty that was his suite.
It looked like royalty lived here, so lavish that I was a bit scared to touch anything. He led us to a large bar-style counter with lovely plush stools to sit on. He had trays of food out as well and I knew that he had definitely been expecting us.
As I sat, I made sure to eat as carefully as possible, so I didn't make any messes. I listened to him, and Tristan talk about a dinner meeting and something about myself, but I had been so focused on my cleanliness I had somehow missed that part.
To my surprise, Micah informed me that it was already late in the evening, but it was his question that had caught me short, not just what time it was now. I guess we had spent much more time in the garden than I had thought.
"Dylan, would you like to meet with Ezra and Blane, the alphas of Silver Moon. You have actually already met Blane, but this meeting will be much different than that one."
Tristan watched me and I knew that they were leaving this completely up to me, but I didn't think that I was ready for something like that just yet. "No. Is that okay?"
"Of course," Tristan blurted out quickly. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. It is completely up to you and every decision you make we will support." Micah nodded at me in agreement, and I couldn't help the tears that filled my eyes.
"What's wrong? You don't ever have to meet them, I swear," Tristan blurted out quickly, but I watched as Micah held up a hand towards him. "I don't think she is used to making any decision for herself," he said while looking at me but speaking to him.
Admitting it out loud was too hard so I only nodded, but I watched as Micah's face filled with understanding and Tristan's flashed with anger and then sorrow before quickly changing the subject.
After eating so much of the delicious meats, cheeses, crackers, and jellies, I started to feel a bit tired. Micah came with us on our trip up to Tristan's suite and the moment that we got there; I made it only as far as the bright red sofa.
-
I knew that I was sleeping only because I felt something pull me out of the restful peace that I had been in. Rae spoke to me softly as if coaxing me out of my sleep as well.
"It's okay little one, what you are feeling is a call from your friend. You can go to him if you'd like. He needs someone right now and it would be nice if it was you."
Rae's words were soft, but I knew who it was without her telling me somehow. As I sat up, I saw that I had been asleep on the sofa and was covered by a large plush red blanket.
It seemed that this was a favorite color of Tristan because as I looked around the room, I saw him asleep on the other end of the sectional sofa with a matching red blanket to my own.
Standing, I was about to go to the room and find the shoes I had worn earlier, but that pulling sensation had turned into a sharp pressure and knew I needed to get to Nico as soon as possible.
Looking around the suite, I found a black silky robe thrown on the back of the couch and threw it over my shoulders before I ran from the room. There were guards outside in the hall, but they just nodded at me when I told them I was going to the lobby.
These elevators were really fast, and I was in it and had reached the lobby in mere minutes. When I hit the lobby, I saw that there were armed guards this time and that it was either the middle of the night or the early hours of morning.
The pull in my chest was leading me this way and when I focused on it, it was almost like a thread that was leading me to my destination. Turning towards the glass window wall, I knew immediately where he was.
I ran towards the secret door and the second I slid it open, I smelled his apple pie and woodsy scent, but it was mixed with something else. A scent that I didn't like or wish to dwell too much on.
Quickening my steps, I began to run down the stone path and as I came towards the pond, I saw him kneeling there in nothing but black silky sleeping pants that matched the robe I was wearing.
Nico looked so young and innocent. The moonlight made his light brown hair look blonde and, for a moment, he looked just like Cruz. That same lump formed in my throat, but I pushed it aside as I reached out to him as I asked, "are you okay?"
He turned to me with so much surprise and sorrow on his face that it took everything in me to keep from throwing my arms around him and crying with him. I knew that his pain was different than my own, but I wished to share his with him.
"I'm okay, I'm just watching the fish," he had replied, and I couldn't help my immediate response, "do you always cry when you watch fish swim." I wiped away the tears and wished that I could wipe away his sorrow in just the same way.
It wasn't long before I had him by the hand and was bringing him inside to my suite or Tristan's suite so that we could get some food and talk. His hand was cold when I grabbed it, but I could feel it warm the longer I held it.
When we were at the elevator he asked, "what made you go out for a walk so late at night?" Unsure how to answer him, I decided to go with the truth. "What do you mean, Nico? I went out there to get you because you called for me."
His eyes had gone wide, and he turned away from me when the slight blush rose on his cheeks. As the doors opened to the suite I was met by Tristan. He looked a little worried, but not angry.
I smiled at him before asking, "would it be okay if we get some food right now?" Tristan's answer was immediate, "of course." Quickly he reached into his pocket and called in a massive breakfast order before leading us inside.
Leading Nico to the couch, I handed him the blanket that I had just been sleeping under as I watched Tristan walk to the room. He came back quickly and tossed a black shirt with a picture of a gun and a rose on it to Nico.
Nico took it and laughed before slipping it over his head. Tristan was already in the kitchen messing with the coffee pot when Nico asked, "after breakfast, can we talk about what the next part of your plan is. I'd like to help in any way I can."
That was not what I was expecting to hear, but there was a fire in his eyes that hadn't been there for a while now and I would not dim it. No, I wanted to experience that same fire and when Tristan responded, "breakfast then plotting. that is the order of things," I couldn't help but match the smile that spread across Nico's face.