Chapter 9

As I headed into the kitchen, I walked into Helga, Ingrid, and Freya all tossing bags around while they argued about who was getting what. I shook my head watching them and laughed, food in this house was one of the things worth fighting over.

            “When did you guys order take out?” I asked.

            “Um, Mama, this was that hottie.” Helga pointed into the living room speaking low.

            “Oh, I’ll explain that later.” I said walking towards Lex.

“I don’t know if Kilian is going to be okay with you being here with them. I was thinking you would just keep an eye on them from outside.” I explained in a whisper.

            “I have no problem with it, in fact I suggested it.” Kilian said from behind me.

He was wearing a black button-down shirt and light jeans. His cologne filled the room as he walked in.

“Girls, there are a lot of things changing. I want you to know that your mother and I love you all very much, as well as each other. However,” He paused to grin.

“This is her mate, Alexander, the one that brought the food from Aunt Sylvi’s.”

I stood there frozen. How can he just drop all that then walk out the door?

“What is wrong with you? First you come down smelling like Macy’s. Now this?” I pursed my lips.

“Mama, its fine,” Freya started, “we aren’t exactly a normal house, as long as you and Dad are happy, that is all we are.” She looked at her sisters and they nodded.

“But Dad, you do stink, maybe you should take a shower.” She giggled.

Kilian walked over and started tickling Freya, “I stink for a reason, we will explain more of that later. I just need to overpower any “clues” that may give us away.” He said smiling.

“Oh,” I started, I really needed to get used to this whole, just accept it and keep going thing, “Well since you guys already have everything figured out, we should get going. I don’t want to be late.”

“You girls can call me Lex,” he put an arm around my shoulder, “I am great at answering questions.”

The girls looked at each other confused. He looked at Kilian before mirroring the earlier grin.

“I am a werewolf.” Lex stated.

Ingrid was taking a bite of her food that was now sitting on the counter because her jaw dropped so fast. Helga was looking at him trying to decide if it was a joke or true. Freya’s eye lit up and she was the first to speak.

“Oh my gawd! Are you serious? Can I be a wolf too? I can kick some serious ass!”

“FREYA! Language! You need to speak like a lady, even if you refuse to act like one!” I scolded her.

“Lex, really?” I turned to him.

“Sorry princess, Kilian and I discussed it before you came down”, he shrugged.

“He and I figured you have enough going on right now.”

He bent down to whisper in my ear, his lips barley touching my ear.

“I hear there is a room ready for us. It was nice of him to sound-proof it. It’ll be a fun challenge.” He bit my earlobe, and I felt a gush come from my body. The effect this man had on me was insane.

“Don’t do that,” I slapped him on his chest, pushing myself from his grasp, without success. He picked me up and pushed his head into my neck inhaling my scent.

“But I LOVE when you do that…” He groaned.

Kilian tried to cover his chuckle with a cough, unsuccessfully.

“Well now that our daughters are going to be supernatural experts by the time we get back, we should get going.” He held his arm out.

I threw my arms around Lex, kissing his cheek.

“Just so you know, payback is a bitch.” I said leaving his arms and taking Kilian’s.

“We should be back by 9, please keep the details to a minimum. I assume Kilian told all adults about the fire.”

“Girls, thank you for always surprising me, but please don’t embarrass me.” I said with a wink.

We arrived at Sylvi’s place. Pulling in we could see Joseph on the bench. I had a bad feeling about this man. I was trying my hardest to be calm.

I briefly introduced Kilian to Joseph on our way in. They shook hands and followed. We were greeted by the hostess, Kristen, with a squeal and she hugged me.

“HIIIIIIIIIII,” Kristen said, “Sylvi said you were coming for dinner tonight, I have missed you the last few times you were in…” She looked over at Joseph and stiffened.

“Who is that?” She looked at Joseph, “I am sorry sir that was rude. I just haven’t seen you around before, Astrid is my favorite customer.”

She winked at me, “Well it’s not like you’re some serial killer or anything, please let me stop blabbing and set you guys up.”

“Sylvi wanted to make sure you guys weren’t seated with all the families since it’s an adult dinner.” She continued walking and talking pointing towards the side of the establishment filled with families.

Joseph just smiled and sat down at the table like he was watching us more than interacting. Kilian made small talk for a moment with the hostess then handed her a $20 and she bounced away to greet the next group walking in the door.

“That was kind of you, she was… over the top.” Joseph stated still watching the hostess.   

“She is a hard-worker,” I defended.

“She has grown into a beautiful woman. I remember when she would babysit our daughters.”

“Poor thing lost her father young; she tries to help her mother when she can.” Pride filled my voice.

“It’s nice that she had such luck in life.” He replied.

I looked at him for a few moments confused and Kilian picked up the conversation. I was happy he was used to speaking with strange people. He was the perfect contractor for those ‘tough jobs.’

Our waitress came over with our bottle of wine and glasses. While we waited for the food Joseph asked us questions about our lives. We expected him to fish for information, we gave no important details. Around 8:15 PM we were finished eating and Sylvi was headed over with a carafe of coffee and mugs. I smiled as she took a seat in the empty chair and began to pour.

“Hi Joseph, my name is Sylvi. I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight, when Astrid called to tell me she was bringing a lost family member to dinner I was ecstatic. Where are you from?” Sylvi was such a great actress.

“Nice to meet you, you have a nice establishment here. I am from Europe. I will be in town for a few days.” He barley offered.

“That is a little vague, but I am not one to pry.” She said calling him out. This is why she is my best friend.

“Dinner is on me tonight, tip your waitress!” She said with a wink leaving.

“She is quite the little spit fire, isn’t she?” Joseph asked.

“It was nice of you to meet on such short notice. I have plans tomorrow but maybe Monday we can do lunch?” The question seemed to be directed towards me. My bones told me not to accept gracefully.

“I am sorry, Monday is impossible.” I responded.

“When are you leaving? Tuesday, I have some time in the morning. We could meet for breakfast?” I was hoping the alternative option would keep suspicions away.

“That sounds wonderful, I plan to leave Tuesday afternoon so a good breakfast before I travel will be acceptable.” He stood and nodded to both of us before walking out.

“Well that was beyond weird, you were awesome.” Kilian said with a smile.

He stood up and set $40 down on the table.

“What, we didn’t pay for the food, we might as well make sure we pay it forward.” He shrugged but couldn’t deny the grin he held.

“Okay high roller, let’s get back to the house for our truth fire with the scooby gang.” I joked.

We pulled up to the house and we could see the fire was blazing in the back yard. We went into straight out back from the driveway.

Freya was roasting a marshmallow in front of a chair covered in Hershey wrappers. Ingrid was sitting on a blanket reading, while Helga was setting up a table that had a few bottles of whisky and some cups, next to it was a big ice bin with various sodas and beer. They all smiled at us.

“Where is Lex, did you guys scare him off?” I giggled.

“Seriously though, why are you out here? I don’t want you three to worry too much but it’s not exactly safe.” I was trying to be gentle but firm.

Lex popped his head around from the other side of the fire.

“We are fine princess. I have wolves around your borders, nothing will get past them. But I appreciate the concern for my whereabouts…” He wiggled his eyebrows.

We chatted for a few minutes and the girls expressed their excitement that they would be able to shift into wolves. Helga being almost 18 would be able to shift soon.

Kilian was taking it all so well, his face never faltered the whole time. He really was okay with everything.

Sylvi arrived with Luke. I could see the mate bond between them. The love that they share is infinite. I know they always wanted to have children; they would have been amazing parents.

Sylvi was in a bad accident when she was 15 and that choice was taken from her. I know she cared for my children like they were her own, she was the best godmother you could hope for. Luke was of course upset, but his love for her never faded.

I stiffened when I saw 2 men walking up. One was taller, around 6’3 with brown hair and brown eyes. He was nice-looking, with only one scar on his right arm. It looked like a burn as if his skin were on fire. I shivered and tried not to stare.

The other man was short 5’8 with brown hair and green eyes. They both looked in their late 20’s. I could sense that they were wolves. Instantly I went into a defensive position.

“Calm down princess, they are with me.” Lex laughed.

“Hey guys, Tristan and Shane you know Sylvi and Luke. This is Astrid and this is her husband Kilian.” Lex introduced everyone.

He wrapped his arms around me. The guys both smiling looked at me and bowed their heads. They each shook Kilian’s arm.

“Everyone, please get your drink and take a seat. It is going to be a long night and we are going to take turns.”

“Alright Kilian and Lex, I don’t care which of you wants to do the honors but let us start with your morning tea disappearance.”