Chapter nine
Liliana
Silently, I followed Tabitha down to breakfast, talking about the pack house decor with raised brows and maybe a bit of intrigue.
The place was gloomy but in an endearing way that just made sense for the kind of people that lived here.
Gerald's pack was different from every other pack.
Not only was he one of a kind in leadership as an Alpha, but also his pack's trade of choice was unusual.
Where other packs sold oil, weapons, and even slaves, he sold a service. One that always delivered. I was an anomaly.
Paintings lined every wall. Some of a family in ancient clothing all seated. Something about the painting called to me.
Some of the paintings were more abstract, and others were of Gerald. He looked regal but rugged at the same time.
As we stepped into the dining room, I was surprised at how carefree everyone looked.
The men that had abducted me were all seated in different parts of the dining room, eating and laughing at each other.
A dagger whooshed past my cheek, slicing through the air with a hiss before embedding itself in the wall behind me.
Half an inch to the right, and it would've buried itself between my eyes-dead center.
The entire room froze when everyone noticed me.
The chatter ceased and the laughter stopped. All eyes panned to look at me like I was an elephant in the room.
Technically, I was. I was supposed to be a dead elephant, but here I was. It didn't help that I was wearing a flowy dress while everyone else was dressed in leather or dark clothing.
"Hey everyone."
I waved awkwardly.
Silence.
I winced internally as the awkwardness seemed to intensify. All of a sudden, I hated Tabitha back. I had known her for a total of one hour, but she was so comforting and welcoming.
Trying to be as discreet as possible, I scanned the breakfast room.
I counted about eight people at the table.
One of them was Max, the guy that had been at the shed with Landen. He had an eye patch on his left eye today. And then three other men that I had seen two days ago and two other women I had never seen before.
Every single one of them stared at me like I was not supposed to be there. In retrospect, I wasn't, but couldn't they at least pretend or something?
The air tightened with palpable tension. until one of the women suddenly stood and dragged out a chair.
"Come, have a seat with us and eat."
She gestured at the chair, a welcoming smile on her face.
I stared at her uncertainly and tentatively walked towards her.
I half expected them to play one kind of prank on me, but when I sat down and nothing happened, I relaxed just a little.
"You're very pretty." The redhead with freckles complimented with a soft smile.
"Thank you," I smiled at her, feeling a sense of relief at her warmness. "So, are you? What's your name?"
"Selene. You can call me Sel."
"Sel," I tested the beam. "Nice to meet you." I said carefully.
She smiled at me, her supposed enemy, warm and inviting.
"Well, are the rest of you going to introduce yourselves?"
She demanded in a way that made me think of her as the strict disciplinarian mom of the house.
A number of them pouted, while the rest rolled their eyes.
"I'm Max." Max was the first to introduce himself. He looked bored, almost like he didn't want to be here or be introducing himself.
I nodded. Even though I already knew who he was.
"Dalia." A dark-skinned, strikingly beautiful woman with short curly hair seated beside him said, She didn't smile. She wore a leather jacket and a shirt dress, showing her slim but hourglass figure.
"Hello, I'm Cain," a long-haired blonde big man said. His eyes were wide, a striking blue, and his lips were full. Almost as full as mine.
"Dante," Another man with a buzz cut waved. He was just as striking as the other men.
"I'm Don, and that's my twin Dan." A brown-haired guy said. I glanced between them. and his brother was surprised by their resemblance. The only noticeable difference was that Don has a mole just below his eyebrows and Dan doesn't.
"I'm Coco and the owner of the dagger that almost killed you. My bad." The last girl shrugged sheepishly. I laughed at her ironic name. She was literally pasty-white-skinned.
"Nice to meet you all." I smiled, surprised at how nice they seemed.
I was expecting someone to have tried to kill me by now.
I had a feeling Gerald was a huge factor as to why they were being civil.
I still didn't understand why he'd saved me, but whatever it was, I was grateful for now.
"You too, princess." Cain winked.
I could already tell he was a flirt. He was holding Coco's waist like she belonged to him and was winking at me.
"Don't start," Sel scolded him.
"Start what? I was only saying how pleasurable it is to meet her, being polite."
"Right... Stop it, Cain."
Sel rolled her eyes, and I couldn't help but feel just a bit at ease and safe around her.
"Damn. We can't have any fun around here." Cain whispered. Coco rolled her eyes at him and practically slapped his hand away from her waist and stormed off.
"Damn, baby, it was a joke," he yelled after her.
I chuckled.
"Ignore them.' Sel said. I chuckled, albeit nervously. "Pretend like they are not there. Everyone does."
The whole table laughed out loud.
Max passed me a plate of steak. "Dig in... I'm sure you must be hungry."
"Starving," I said and began to eat.
The steak was delicious and juicy. The burst of flavor sent me to cloud nine.
I was laughing throughout breakfast. Everyone was so easygoing. I couldn't believe I was seated with assassins and laughing like I had known them for years. I almost thought I had dreamt of the drama of the past week.
They were all making inside jokes and attempting to explain them to me.
I felt comfortable. Even Kyra, my wolf, was comfortable.
When we were done with breakfast.
I stood and began to gather the plate.
"What are you doing?" Sel asked with a frown.
"Oh, gathering the dishes to wash."
"Oh, that's not necessary. One of the maids will do it."
"No, no. I don't mind. It's the least I could do."
"Nonsense!" Sel said.
"Please. It's not like I have anything to do anyway."
She stared at me for long before sighing in defeat.
"Fine, but just this once."
I smiled and took the plates to the sink.
"I'll help out," Max suddenly said.
I stared at him, surprised.
"Suit yourself, Max," Sel shrugged, making her way out.
"You wash and I'll rinse," Max said.
"You don't have to do that."
"I know. I'm doing it because I want to."
I nodded and began to wash.
"Glad that you're not dead, by the way."
He suddenly said,
"You are?"
I frowned.
"Yeah. Alpha was worried you'd get yourself killed. He was ready to wage war on Damon-Henry even."
"Why? Wasn't he paid to kill me? Why the sudden change?"
I asked, hoping he'd have an answer to my burning question.
"No clue." He shrugged. "This is a first for him. My guess is that he sees something in you. Still very odd."
"Something in me?" I asked as I passed him another plate to rinse.
"Yes... Gerald never does anything with reason. Whatever her reason is, it's probably valid."
I nodded, falling silent.
"Sorry about trying to kill you, by the way."
I passed another plate to him.
Our hands grazed each other, and I quickly retracted my hand.
Before I could open my mouth to tell him it was okay, the door to the kitchen burst open and Gerald stormed in, his eyes unreadable.
He pulled the plate from Max's hand.
"Alpha?"
"Leave," he sneered, and Max hurriedly turned and walked away, not even questioning why he was asked to leave.
Gerald turned to me, and I shrank when I saw the look in his eyes, dark and unreadable. Something in his expression chilled me to the bone.
Had he finally decided to kill me?