Elias cursed, sweat pooling in his armpits. He knew he forgot something, but deodorant of all things? That was a rookie mistake. Elias once spent a night in Paris seducing a vampiric duchess known as the Black Widow. He got her so drunk and vulnerable, she was weeping for him to never leave her side. In the end, she was so hung over the next day, she missed her sister's graduation and Elias was given a thick wad of cash for a job well done.

Tonight, it shouldn't be so hard to seduce a half fairy that stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to pick up trash and throw it away. And yet, here Elias stood without cologne or deodorant, two different pairs of socks and a pair of pants he thought he dry cleaned, but still had a spaghetti sauce stain from the night before.

He was losing it.

And now, he was faced with another problem. Probably the worse there was: James Connolly. James wore a purple floral-patterned suit over a black shirt and a skinny tie. He was dressed up for a date, at the same place as Elias was supposed to be on his first official date with Peter.

There was no such thing as coincidence.

"What are you doing here?" Elias sharpened his scowl into a knife that might cut James out of this picture entirely. He did not expect this. As a recovered mercenary/bad guy, Elias learned to prepare for disasters such as bullets, freak car accidents, explosions and even the occasional paper cut from receiving his check. Not in all his years, did he prepare to face a terrible thing like a double date.

This wasn't something he could cope with.

"Go home. I don't want you here," Elias demanded as mean as he meant it to sound.

"Uh," James muttered, his feathers thoroughly ruffled. He placed a hand on his hip and waved Elias a warning finger. Here comes the lecture. When they fought, James always spoke like Elias had another thing coming. James stated, "First of all, you can take your attitude and put it back in your car. Second of all, you should be thanking me. I'm doing this for you."

"For me?" Elias crossed his arms.

"Yes," James insisted, matching Elias' stance. It was comical since James was skinny and shorter by quite a few inches. Also, freckles were exactly intimidation fodder. "I'm here for moral support and to keep you from making a fool out of yourself and to fill in the tiny gaps of awkward silence."

He was rambling. Elias stopped paying attention because he already figured out the real reason. James had a tell when he lied. His ears were pink and the sides of his lips trembled. Elias spoke over all the bullshit. "Peter asked you to come."

James stopped mid rant, sucking in his lips.

"Silence is also an admission of guilt."

"Okay," James huffed and dropped his arms. "He did, but it's just because he's nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"I don't know," another voice cut in and Elias' neck hair tickled. "Maybe it's the fact that you've only recently become a decent human being, or it could be the fact that your resting face could curdle milk and your all-around attitude is less than eager."

Instinctively, Elias stood straighter and even wider. He knew he was becoming a wall, something to protect himself against James or Eric, who approached them, slipping out of the crowd. Eric said, "Just a guess."

He was dressed in a maroon suit that complimented James. Between the two of them, they always looked red carpet ready and immediately outshined Elias. A gust washed Eric's thick Alpha pheromones across Elias' face, causing his nose to itch.

Something was going on between them lately. Elias knew it. Eric was more stressed than usual and when he stressed, he over compensated with his Alpha role. He'd take the pups in the pack on weekly hunts and he was renovating a few rooms in the main house. Elias couldn't put his finger on it, but Elias knew Eric was freaking out about something.

James elbowed his husband and snapped, "You're not helping."

"Listen, I don't want to be here as much as you don't want me to be here," Eric explained. Before James could get another hit in, Eric caught James' wrist. Eric's hand slipped up James' palm and raised his fingers to kiss them. Elias rolled his eyes.

"Can you both just pretend you're having a good time." James glared at them and then, he said the magic words that would make Elias melt, "for Peter."

Even Eric softened into a sigh, but that just made Elias' temper twitch. He swallowed his own manufactured anger, trying to brush it off. It was infuriating to think about Eric growing a relationship with Peter while Elias couldn't see him. Elias hated to imagine all the things Eric was saying about him when Elias held no platform to defend himself.

No, he couldn't think about that now.

God, not even a minute into this date and he was consumed with doubt. All his little fears trickled back into the light. They crept up his arms like flees, gnawing at his confidence. He was remembering all the reasons he didn't want to find his mate in the first place.

"Oh, no," Peter spoke up, slightly out of breath. "Am I late?"

Elias turned, feeling Peter's touch on his arm and he released a sigh. The tension in his fingers softened. Peter was the embodiment of the cream wafting through the first cup of coffee in the morning, cutting through Elias' bitterness. Little insecure voices were blown back into the shadows, after one look of Peter's smile. His eyes sparkled when they found him. Peter was happy to see him. That was all that mattered.

An actual angel, Peter wore a pair of dark jeans and a cream cable knit sweater. While the annoying married couple matched, so did Elias and Peter.

"You're perfect," Elias said before he had time to think. He leaned down and kissed Peter, earning a little surprised jump from him, which was so adorable Elias might just personally throw Eric and James out of the restaurant. No. They could stay. Elias and Peter could go. Elias wanted to be perfectly alone with Peter. The people on the street, inside the restaurant and especially James and Eric added a level of pressure for Elias to perform.

"Shall we?" Eric spoke up and Elias' scowl slid over to the Alpha, watching him turn for the restaurant. He opened the door for them all, following a single file line. Eric waved at the hostess and greeted her, "Hello, Olivia, right? We spoke on the phone. I'm Eric Silva, a table for four."

Olivia brightened. "Yes! I remember you. You can follow me."

Elias sighed right up to James ear, which earned him a punch to the gut that felt more like the tickle of a feather. Eric walked into this date as the expert. He walked in, setting the bar high and Elias was now tasked with just reaching it with his fingertips. Not only that, he also had to prove Eric wrong. He was a good match for Peter. Peter was his mate.

Eric worked his way to the front easily, placing his hand at the small of James' back. He chatted with the hostess, bringing back topics from their earlier phone conversation. Such a show off. Glancing over his shoulder, Elias reached for Peter to guide him too.

"Have you been here before?" Peter asked suddenly, looking Eric right in the eye. Peter's eyes were full. Full of excitement, full of shine and full of expectations. Elias started sweating.

"Uh..." Elias thought about it. He had been here before with a Witch that wanted information about a fling from the 70s. The time before that, Elias was trapped in a sick game of roulette. Three glasses of whine were laid between him and a vengeful husband. Elias helped his wife claim the man's title, all his money and the family dog. Both Elias and the husband chose a glass to drink. Two glasses were poisoned. What the husband didn't realize was Elias built a tolerance to most poisons. Elias left the husband to drown inside the soup of the day.

"Never." Elias finally landed on. "You?" He asked as they arrived at the table.

The restaurant was famous for its seafood dishes and excellent service. This place was quick, friendly and efficient. The laughter pounced off this place like fallen coins. The lights were also dim enough to trick people into thinking they had more privacy than they did.

"I chose the restaurant actually," Peter said just as Elias remembered it, but Peter just laughed it off nervously. "I've been here a few times and no matter what happens the food is always great-"

Freezing, Peter wasn't quite standing, but he wasn't sitting either. The words caught inside Peter's throat. He choked on them when he realized what he was saying. Elias understood. This was Peter's go-to when picking out a date venue. While Elias lived in oblivion, not knowing Peter existed, Peter lived his life. This restaurant was not new. It was not fresh. This restaurant held an index of all the people Peter attempted to fall in love with.

Chapter Five: Peter and probably someone way more gentle and kind than Elias.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Peter and probably someone that knew how to dress for a date.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Peter and someone with a less sinister past.

The more Peter spoke, the redder and redder his face became. It was like watching a man already on fire jump into a vat of gasoline. "N-not that I take all my dates here! Oh, uh 'all my dates' sounds bad." He muttered and glanced at Elias, the table, the guests and even the hostess. "I don't go on like a thousand dates here- I mean-! I don't go on a thousand dates period-"

"It's okay, Peter," James raised his hand, coating Peter to finally take a seat. "We know."

Sighing, Peter sat with his hands in his lap and closed his eyes, kicking himself. Sitting beside him, Elias could feel it all too. His chest clenched, and he itched like mad to reach out and smooth the tension away like a wrinkle in fabric, but the moment was fleeting and Elias just sat there dumb and mute.

With a tight smile, the hostess asked, "Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'm not sure," Eric spoke up, glancing through the menu. He smirked at Peter, prodding him. "Do you have any suggestions Peter?"

The look James gave him could have wilted fresh flowers while Peter opened his eyes. His shoulders sagged, not angry. Just slightly annoyed, the way you love your little brother but you'd be more than happy to strangle the life out of him to get him to shut up.

"What?" Eric chuckled, feigning innocence. "I'm kidding."

"When are you going to learn you're not funny?" Elias asked.

"Like you're taking away comedy awards."

"Bring us an expensive red and the comedian is gonna pay for it," James told the hostess, but just as she turned, he added, "A big one. Let's change the subject," he insisted as he sat forward. He broke off some bread before handing it to Peter like muscle memory. "How was your day? How's the flower business?"

"Good," Peter nodded and smiled a little. The relief cooled the blush melting his face off. James to the rescue. Elias didn't know how to love gently like that. There wasn't nothing effortless to Elias' existence. Even now, he was deeply aware of his posture, the rate of his breathing, the way he could hear Peter's heart pounding and he was hyper aware of the entire room. He couldn't turn any of it off.

Peter said, "It wasn't busy, which is nice sometimes. I got to sneak away and talk to my mom." He looked at Elias. "Um, I'm Fae on my mom's side and usually, I can only communicate with her through the flowers. It's actually funny, she planted me in my dad's backyard and he came home one day to a crying baby in his tulip bed. It really freaked him out."

"It's interesting tulips aren't your favorite flower," Elias smirked, nudging Peter underneath the table. Peter squeezed his lips to keep from grinning. It was a habit of his to try to hide that smile, which made Elias grin.

"No, sunflowers just make me happy. Sunflowers, all shades of blue and cookie dough ice-cream."

"You made a list for me?"

"A wolf like you, I expect you to remember them."

"Considered myself trained."

"And you?" He pressed his knee to Elias'. It was a familiar warmth. It felt like there was hope for Elias.

"Hm?"

"I wanna know your favorites."

"Oh, uh," Elias scratched the back of his neck and glanced at the interested James and Eric. James leaned closer as if he was going to start taking notes. Elias shrugged, wincing at his own stupidity. "Anything's fine, I guess."

Peter frowned.

All the easy-goingness abruptly halted and Elias felt like he ran face first into a brick wall. Apparently, James saw the crash coming and was ready to deploy an airbag. James asked, "So, your mom is doing well?"

"She's fine. It's almost the end of the summer so she's preparing for cold weather. Elias," Peter quickly turned back to Elias. It was like he was out for blood. Lucky for Elias he had been interrogated under worse conditions than the smell of sea food and uncomfortable dining room chairs. Peter asked, "Do you still talk to your parents?"

"Not really," Elias muttered and took a sip of his water. Even his evasions were lies. It wasn't "Not really". It was another simple "no". He eyed Eric, who had asked him the same question and heard almost everyone ask that same question. Eric could also recite the answer for Elias.

"Okay. Are you from around here?"

"No" was all Elias said, followed by a longer pause than anyone wanted. God, even the people in the back of the restaurant must feel how awkward this was. Peter had these hungry green eyes that wanted more from Elias. He came close. Closer than anyone had ever come to stealing a peak inside of Elias' locked away soul. It was like Peter's fingers pried at Elias' sealed lips, but Elias wouldn't budge. He glued his lips down a long time ago and they were cemented by now.

The sigh that escaped Eric's mouth could have blown the whole house down. The table turned their eyes on Eric, who rubbed his eyes. His sigh sounded more like nails scraping a chalk board right against Elias' ears. All the hair on the back of Elias' neck stood, the irritation festering in the back of his head and creeping down his body and tensing his muscles. Elias needed to keep his cool. He needed to hold his tongue.

Tonight, was about not scaring Peter away.

"What?" Elias huffed, resisting the urge to kick Eric underneath the table.

"What do you mean what? Come on Elias," Eric just gestured to all of Elias, like it was impossible to pinpoint the exact problem. "Talking to you is like pulling teeth."

"Eric," James touched his husband's arm. "It's fine. Leave him alone."

"Fine? I'm just having trouble seeing how these two even work. If you can't be open with your mate, what's the point? It's so painful!"

"I don't mean to torture you. Damn Silva, I didn't even want you to come in the first place!" Elias threw up his hands, colliding his fingers with a hard tray. Several things happened at once as Elias' instincts kicked in. A shout flew out of the server's mouth, chorused by gasps from other tables. Elias reached out and snatched something, something cold and heavy. Things crashed to floor and splintered in sharp pieces. In Elias' hands, his object slowly became less and less heavy as what appeared to be wine dumped from the lip of the bottle onto Peter's head.

Peter's shoulders had jumped as he raised his hands in incredulous surrender. The red wine drenched his hair and his bangs fell into his forehead like he was got in gory rain. His shoulders and collar were soaked through and the stain was only growing.

With a shocked curse, Elias flipped the bottle and slammed it on the table. "Shit! Peter! I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Are you okay?" James jumped up, hovering over Peter. "Hurry, let's go to the bathroom. Maybe we can do some damage control."

Peter smiled weakly. "I'm fine. Really. It's just a little wine."

"There's something I can do. All we need is some salt and-" Elias stood up too, his heart pounding. He was losing this. He could feel his control slip through his fingers like soft sand.

Without anyone realizing it, Eric made it to the other side behind Elias. He crouched on the ground and helped the waiter pick up the bigger pieces of glass, dropping them on his tray. "Why don't we all calm down? I always carry an extra shirt in my car. Peter can change into that."

Elias rolled his eyes. "Of course, you do."

"I'm just trying to help."

"I'm trying to help-"

Peter took to his feet, slicking back his drenched hair. He raised his hands, asking for silence. Elias swallowed, feeling dread snake his way into his chest. It was suffocating. Rejection was coming. It would be the only thing that would cause his inner wolf to whimper. Elias deserved to be sent home with his tail between his legs.

"Tell me what I need," Peter looked straigh at Elias as if it was only them. His focus was cunning and distracted Elias from everyone else.

Elias spoke just as commanded, "I need a clean cloth, salt and boiling water."

Taking a deep breath, Peter's brow furrowed. "Tell me why you know that?" He said in the hardest voice that ever came out of him. "Tell me right now. The truth. Now."

Elias cracked a smile and leaned closer. He only wanted to share this with Peter. He only wanted to hand him the key. "I've had my share of glasses of wine thrown at me."

This weaseled a smile from Peter too. His edges were softening. "Just wine? How good are you with food stains?"

"I could get wine out of your shirt, food, ink and I could..." Elias held his breath. "I could get blood out of your shirt too."

And since the world was strange and new and impossible things like Elias having a mate could happen, Peter didn't lose his smile. Peter even took Elias' hand and gave it a squeeze. "You said we needed salt, right? Well, I have plenty of that at my apartment."

As Peter maneuvered around the mess, James did a double take. He asked what Elias was wondering too, but Elias was too surprised to struggle. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah," Peter nodded. "I think it was a bad idea to have a double date so soon. We'll do it again later..." He leaned over and gave James a careful hug to avoid staining him too. "Thanks anyways. You guys stay. You guys have been stressed. We can all tell," he said and Elias nodded to back him up. It was good to know Elias wasn't the only one being driven mad by the dumb married couple. "So just enjoy each other a little and relax."

Peter hugged Eric too, whose eyes bulged a little. Eric was not a hugger by any means of the word. He even looked at Elias for help. "Eric," Peter said, "I know you worry. I know it's mostly about Elias, but don't worry too much. I'm gonna take care of him."

He said, I'm gonna take care of him. No one has ever promised to do that for Elias. No one ever thought he needed to be spoiled in such a way.

"I just want what's best for you." Eric shrugged, noticing Elias' shocked expression. "I've been worried ever since you joined my pack."

"What?" Elias blinked. "That can't be true."

"Elias, meet Eric," James spoke up "my husband is terrible at sharing his feelings."

"If I didn't care, you wouldn't be my Beta," Eric said.

Elias stared at Eric a little longer. He thought about all the times Eric had roped Elias into mundane things, forcing him to interact with the pack and the entire Silva family. He thought about all the jobs that led Elias to finding out about Peter. Elias thought about being without it all and his chest constricted.

"Come on," Peter tugged on Elias' hand. "We've got work to do. My apartment isn't very far..." Peter insisted, but Elias knew he was just being kind. He was being Peter.

A lovely thought dawned on Elias as he imaginedhimself being let inside Peter's house, where he lived day to day. It was alsothe place he slept. With a bed. Peter tugged on his arm, which also took Eliasfrom his daze. There wasn't any need to daydream, he was going to see the realthing.     

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Author's Note

Alright! This part became SO LONG that I needed to cut it in half. So I hope you enjoyed one of the worst dates in history and I hope you enjoy it becoming one of the best ;) I waited to have them up at the same time because I just NEEDED this to be finished, haha. (I'm telling you it bothers me when stuff isn't finished). 

I cannot fully describe to you the work that went into making sure I said Eric and Elias in all the right spots XD I will kill the me from the past that made these guys have E name! LOL. Feel free to tell me when I've done it, tho! 

So! I'd love to know your thoughts and feelings! What did you think about a nervous Elias? And what do you think is stressing Eric and James so much?? They're driving us all crazy, haha. How do you think Peter will react to Elias' dark past?

If you'd like to support my writing, you can here:

ko-fi.com/missbonnett

And if you like this story! Be sure to check out my other stories like Somewhere (that's completed) or Star Chasers (An adventurous Young Adult book)!