NB: For some reason Wattpad turned this Private so only followers have access to this chapter. Does anyone know how to change it back. It's also Rated R now but I don't mind that. I would have to change it to Rate R soon enough anyways ;) But yeah

:CHAPTER 23:

Danyel's POV

When Tommy said to wait by my window, I hadn't expected him to be planning this. An intervention. I'd been in enough interventions of my own to know one when I saw one. Now that I'd given up my self-destructive behavior, I didn't expect to find myself in one again. To have one lead by Tommy Ackles of all people? That caught me off guard.

He'd come over to the house not long after I'd made it to my room. Not wanting his scent anywhere near my private space, I met him outside when he knocked on the open bedroom door. I knew my wolf must have been bothering him and it was a bitchy thing to do, but I hadn't made any extra effort to shield the animal's presence from him.

The fact that he stayed rooted to that spot to fight for what he thought Richard and I could still have gave him a couple of points in my book. I'd initially threatened to claw him if he didn't leave, but he'd stayed. I could see his underlying fear in his eyes when my clawed hand gripped the door frame near his face. Again, t he remained in place. For that, I let him talk.

Nothing he said made any difference to me, but when I mentioned what happened between me and Richie he froze. He just stood there looking at me as if thinking of a hundred things all at once. Then he got angry. Ordering me to sit at the window and wait, he left the house. I went out of curiosity and nothing else. Tommy was human. He had no power or rank over me. He couldn't actually order me to do anything I didn't want to do.

He was a persuasive bastard. I'd mentally added that to everything else I'd learned about him. I may or may not have looked him up on the internet since meeting him. No one could blame me for being curious. A billionaire with a shitload-and-three-quarters of charm to toss around had followed my mate into the middle of nowhere. I felt knowing something about the guy who aunty was forever inviting over and who was sleeping just next door.

I wanted to see what the big deal was with him. Someone that young with that amount of money had to have some kind of story. Aside from all of that, I knew Asher would have asked me to get a bit of background on the outsider human about to be living in the village for the next few weeks.

It didn't take long to see that this was a terrible move. Reading about Thomas Ackles would give anyone an inferiority complex if they skimmed enough articles or visited his business's website and spotted his net worth.

It wasn't lost on me that I probably now knew more about Tommy than I knew about the Richard who'd come back to visit. I'd made sure I stayed far from any news on Richard. The most I'd accidentally seen was a couple of pictures of the two together and an article mentioning his "impressive almost to the point of being concerning track record with dating."

It didn't take a genius to see that the two had a more-than-friends relationship, but it was a definite turn to see them hanging out together in over a dozen pictures obviously taken by paparazzi. Neither were posing in most of them, but they were a pair of the most photogenic people I'd ever seen. It was always some swank restaurant, or a café that apparently sold champagne in the morning or a trendy club in the city that either attracted the attractive or obviously only allowed certain people in.

I decided that looking up Richard specifically would be an even more terrible idea if looking up Tommy incited that kind of jealousy. That accidental sentence I'd caught about his dating was way more than I needed to know.

I wasn't an ignorant child living in some fantasy. I'd expected him to be dating. A lot for that matter. That line I read just made it sound like a ridiculously high amount of dating. Not that I give him wrong. He had no guardians breathing over his shoulder, full control over his life, he's consenting adult, has college degree, money and good looks. I'll be surprised if he said he wasn't having sex pretty damn regularly too. I'd have abused those perks too if I were him and single...and not aware that I was mated.

Frowning, I fumbled with the broken latch on my window. Richard wouldn't come over now. Maybe not tomorrow either. I'd snubbed him too many times. I could have gone like Tommy said. I didn't. To be honest, I was scared. No. Terrified. I was a future Alpha with adult Chosen scared of me and here I was sitting in my room too chicken to talk to a human.

Rubbing my hands on my shorts, I gave a sigh. Of course, being scared is too easy. I have to be totally nervous too. Awesome. There was no reason to be nervous. I talked to him just fine today. We got along. We'd laughed and things felt so familiar again. It was nice. I hadn't felt so light in a long time. It was like having a weight lifted after getting used to walking around with it.

Tommy seemed to think that talking it all out would help, but I could only see this going two ways; bad and worse. I could talk to Richard and have him clear up everything. We could fix things and fall back into our old ways and we'd be happy and friendly all over again. Then he'll pack up and leave me behind again and I'll be back at square one, broken hearted and picking up the pieces.

Or I could talk to Richard and have to hear him admit to my face that he'd just gotten tired of me at the time but he wanted fix things now. Those words I would never be prepared for but I needed to know. Especially after what I'd just seen through our windows.

Living with that constant sense of 'what if' would bother me. Of course, maybe it would be better to just be bothered by the thoughts of 'what if' than crushed all over again just when I was starting to move on. I'd been getting so much better. Was it really worth the risk? Was he worth regressing to the way I'd been after he left?

My stomach was in knots, but the wolf pressed against my skin in an attempt to lend support. He was all for going to his mate but he was trying to be considerate. He wouldn't push me. Not after he'd seen how I'd reacted to his pushiness earlier today. I hadn't been ready then.

I felt like I should remind the animal of the shot of aching we'd both felt in our chests when Richie had asked Tommy what he was wearing in that teasing, almost flirty voice. The animal ignored the reminder though it did growl at the memory.

His mind lingered instead on the moment he'd stolen. That touch of a muzzle to Richard's cheek. It had been like a phantom touch against my own cheek. Stubble and skin grazing my own, his scent so different. Amazing. Maddening.

Before that moment, I'd made the conscious effort to keep my distance. I preferred to starve myself of touch where he was concerned. The surprise of it made me drag the animal back out of instinct. It was that same self preserving instinct that made a person pull their hand away from fire after the first touch.

But I liked it. The animal had been a little hurt by me pulling away so soon and his emotions resonated in me, but I was still shocked by how much I missed being close to Richard like that.

It didn't matter. I was not going to accept the mating and the wolf needed reminding of that. Richard was not ours to touch. We had a mating designed to fail; from the difference in ages, to the difference in races, to the difference in dominance, to the difference in geography, to the difference in feelings.

I was with Orion now anyway. I liked him. He was good. He cared. He was safe. Orion didn't see me as a child and he was Chosen and able to handle my dominance. Orion lived here with our Pack and he had feelings for me. He would work. He had to.  That though gave me the strength to make my decision.

Opening the window before I could change my mind, I climbed out onto the tree and made my way to the other side. It wasn't nearly as easy as it used to be when I was smaller. The usual branches I would use had grown higher, leaving far less sturdy ones in their place for me to use.

Richard's window was open as usual. Assuming the old, open-means-invitation rules applied, I clambered in through the window and tripped over the sill and landed on my forehead.

Swearing and rolling onto my back, I wished I was part wildcat instead of wolf. My lack of grace as I'd fallen face first on scratchy carpet had woken Richard. Putting the lamp I'd knocked down back onto the side table, I got to my feet with a groan, "I'm too old for this."

"Nye, is that you?" Richard yawned rubbing his eyes.

I shot him a look, "No, I'm the neighborhood thief. Go back to bed, I'm just here for the stereo."

Really dude. Who the heck else would crawl through your window and make such a racket at this hour? I thought instead of paying any attention to the way my stomach back flipped at the sound of him saying Nye. I don't think I could have handled it if he'd called me anything else.  

I winced when I remembered all the times I'd made the very conscious effort to call him Richard. Even after all this time, I had to remember to call him that in my bitterness. Richie was the name that rolled off my tongue easiest when I didn't think about it. It was all an act of distancing and it helped.

"Nye?" he called again. He squinted in the dark and fumbled for the lamp but it was unplugged now. I plugged it in and turned it on. The light was dim but he seemed to feel better now that he saw it was me. I didn't particularly need much light to see either way.

"What are you doing here?" he yawned again blinking up at me.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Something wrong with the front door?" he raised a brow in a spectacular display of sleepy sass.

"Wouldn't know. I never tried it," I rubbed at my nape, "It is the more logical option in retrospect."

"Old habits die hard," he said propping himself up against the wall to look at me properly, "What did you want to talk about? Gonna bust my balls again?"

"Depends on how this goes," I took a seat in his rolling chair, "Mr. Billion Dollar Man seems to think my personal life is his business. He thinks we should talk."

"Tommy," he groaned into his hand, "Sorry about him. He's...persistent. And delusional. Don't listen to him."

"Well I climbed across that deathtrap of a tree because of him. So," I folded my arms, "here we are."

Neither of us said anything after that. I wasn't sure if I should talk or let him start. He was the one who'd wanted to talk to me all this time after all. I didn't know what there was left for me to say. We were only in this position because he had decided he didn't want what we had before.

"You know, I get why you're mad but this is kind of out of control," he frowned. Of all the things I'd expected him to say, it definitely wasn't that. My temper spiked but I didn't say anything. "It's okay to feel pissed off. I understand that. But there's no need to be so damn hostile about it," he went on and it was at that that point where my jaw dropped because how dare this bastard even say that after all he'd put me and my wolf through? If I hadn't been to the temple earlier today I'd have strangled him right then with his stupid, superhero sheets, Ahmose help me.

Fists clenched, I resisted the urge to invite him to go fuck himself. Instead I listened on. I wanted all the fury and ammunition I'd need before I really let him have it and then told him to go fuck himself.

"Look, I know how it came across when I called you. I shouldn't have yelled. But I was pissed off and I was scared and worried," he rubbed at his temples, "I mean Asher called me as a last resort thinking I'd already known about the crap you were pulling." I quieted my tapping foot.

I had long forgiven him for that. I got why he'd yelled at me. I would have done it too if I were him. There was no reason for him to apologize for that.

It had been the earlier days of the Chosen serial murders and kids were being kidnapped; carted off to be killed and their bodies returned. And there I was running around with a group of delinquent punks getting drunk and high and disappearing into the forest and town without ever telling anyone.

He had every reason to be scared and angry that I had been so reckless. If it were the other way around, I'd have still been giving him a piece of my mind up to this day.

"I forgave you," was all I said.

"No you didn't!" he sighed, "I've been running an emotional marathon trying to get you to stop being so pissy."

"You don't understand. I mean I forgave you for that."

"What? I'm confused. If it's not about me siding with Asher over you, then what's with you? I haven't spoken to you since then. There's literally nothing else you could be this angry over."

"Oh really? Nothing at all?" I folded my arms again narrowing my eyes at him.

"Yes, nothing. I tried to call you after that and you refused to answer your phone."

"I remember that," I nodded, "I was angry with you for siding with Asher back then so I didn't pick up."

"Yeah, I know," he said sounded huffy about it, "I gave up after a while. Figured you'd call me when you were ready."

"Which I did. I called you back once I'd gotten my head out of my backside enough to understand where you were coming from. You just didn't answer the calls."

"Whoa there! No. That is not what happened. I didn't get a single call from you. Trust me, I'd have noticed if you'd gotten in contact."

"Really? You want me to believe that after months of trying to call you, you never noticed a single missed call?"

"I didn't. Nothing ever showed up. And it can't be my phone's fault because I switched phones and still never got a call."

What I was about to say died on my tongue. I didn't expect that bit of news. I'd called only one number over the last couple of years whenever I tried to get in contact with him.

He seemed to calm at bit at my silence. Between his brows wrinkled in his confusion. I never backed down from any quarrel. It was probably really weird to see me cool off this quickly.

"I didn't know you switched phones. You never told me," I unfolded my arms and leaned closer.

"But I did. I sent all of my other contacts one message with my new number and you got one specifically. I-I'd apologized again in it. You didn't get it?"

"No. I've only called one number for you."

"Oh. Wow. Your message didn't send? I probably typed in the wrong number by accident or something," he frowned, "But that doesn't make sense."

"It does though," I shook my head, "My calls just went to the other phone."

"Exactly! Your calls should have still worked and gone to Jillian," he said and added at my confused stare, "Jillian's the girl I sold my old phone to. I'd just gotten paid and wanted a touch screen phone like Tommy's so I sold my old one to Jillian and used the new one. New number, new network, everything."

"You and Jillian close?"

"No," he scoffed, "She's just a chick from one of my courses. She had the cash so she got the phone. Why?"

"Because she's a bitch. Probably the bitchiest bitch to ever have the supreme honor of bitching."

"Nye!" he looked almost scandalized. It occurred to me that this was probably the first time he'd ever heard me swear. I didn't pay him any mind. He'd get used to it.

"She told me that you were tired of me and that's why you were ignoring me. Said for me to run along and play with my kid friends because you were busy with your college buds."

"She did what?" the scowl seemed etched into his face, "Please tell me you're joking. When was this?"

"A couple of years ago. I was trying to call to tell you that I'd shifted for the first time," I said with a laugh that came out more bitter that I'd expected. I'd meant for it to lighten things.

His eyes softened at that, but there was a pained expression lingering behind them too. Damn. He honestly had no idea all along. No wonder when I'd mentioned what happened to Tommy, he'd gotten so adamant about me talking to him. He'd known.

Hell, the poor guy had been waiting all this time hoping that I'd forgive him for something I'd long forgiven him for. Instead I was punishing him for something he had nothing to do with. I had years of misplaced hate and bitterness aimed at him when he wasn't at fault. How was he to know that the Jillian girl would be so cruel for the sake of being cruel.

Maybe she thought she was doing him a favor. People tended not to get our friendship. Most of them seemed to think he was humoring me. She must have taken one look at the picture of the kid that popped up every time I called and thought the same. It didn't matter. It was still a horrible thing to do to a kid.

"I can't believe she told you that," he shook his head, "And at that time too. That...it was supposed to be a special day for you. I would have been so freakin' happy for you, if I'd known."

"Yeah man. I know," I sighed at the look on his face.

It was like he was so used to getting the worst from me, that he didn't want to believe that we were okay so soon. I didn't like that he looked at me as if expecting to get kicked down again.

"It was just a misunderstanding," I offered a smile, "We'll get past it."

"I can't believe you believed her though. You know me."

"I knew you. When you were home and mine. My friend, I mean," I added before he could question it, "It wasn't the best time for me and my wolf then."

"But didn't you question it a little?"

"It seemed like you were ignoring me at the time. It just felt like confirmation when she said it. She made it look like you were all in the same room together laughing about it."

"I could never do that to you."

I nodded. I believed him. He'd have to be a world class actor and first rate liar to pull this off. It seemed ridiculous now that I thought of it. No friend that looked at you like this − like you were the most important person in his life − would treat you that way.

His head snapped up without warning. His eyes grew wide and I could almost see his thoughts racing. "Oh God. The wolf," he breathed, "The animal believed it too, didn't he?" I didn't want to lie to him any more than I already planned to where the mating was concerned. It was about time some things were out in the open at least. "Yeah. He did. He - uh - didn't take it too well," I said remembering the semi-destroyed apartment bedroom.

Motioning for me to come over, he scooted over to sit at the edge of the bed. I got off the chair and walked over to him, only realizing what he wanted once he rose to his feet and looked down at me standing toe to toe.

I tensed. My wolf had touched him earlier and, after being away from him since realizing how I felt about him, I hadn't touched him skin to skin once yet.

I couldn't pretend his hug would be some short, half assed thing. When this man hugged, he did it as if he was trying to fix every broken piece and hold you together. He hugged like Pack. That amount of contact was too much too soon.

But I wouldn't deny him it. I'd rejected him so many times since he's been here and he didn't deserve more. I'd punished him enough.

At this proximity, all he had to do was reach around me. I felt one hand wrap almost entirely around my waist and another wrap its way around my shoulders. He held on tight like he'd been as starved for contact as I've been. Every line of his body aligned to my own.

It wasn't overwhelming like I'd thought it would be. In fact, it was calming. It felt safe. Like coming home after a four year road trip. He was warm and strong, muscles locking me to him. His head rest against mine and he took a deep breath, relaxing into it. Tension I hadn't realized I was walking around with melted away. This was what I'd craved from the moment he left.

"Shit, I missed you Richie," my fingers curled into his t-shirt.

"Missed you too, Nye," he chuckled, his voice a whisper in my ear.

"Don't ever let this happen again."

"Okay." I don't think I'd ever heard a word hold so many promises but I didn't doubt that he'd keep them.

Still, I didn't let go. I'd gone long enough without this. A little longer wouldn't hurt. Taking a breath, I closed my eyes. Ahmose, he smelt amazing. It was like a blend designed specific for me; cocoa, some luxury cologne and him. His underlying scent had never changed even in age.

The wolf rose to the surface, wanting attention too. He nuzzled at him and we felt the rumble of his laugh. "That tickles, guys," he said but didn't move away. He was aware that the animal needed this as much as the human side of me did. Richie stayed in place and leaned into the touch of the wolf.

The wolf was pleased to know that his mate hadn't rejected him. He was happier to see that Richie was accepting his touch as well as mine. It was important to him that our mate didn't see only the human, but cared about him − the animal − too. I reminded him not to get too attached like that. He growled at me.

Richie finally pulled away and met my eyes. He stared long and hard. "I'm really sorry that you two had to go through this," he said. I nodded. He didn't need more than that, happy with just the acknowledgement. It wasn't really his fault. "I'm sorry I treated you the way I did. You didn't deserve it," I told him. He nodded. I didn't need more than that either.

"We still Pack?" he nudged me, "Even though you have a real one now?"

"You'll always be Pack, Richie."

"You sure?"

"Promise."

He grinned at me like the gigantic child he was, all dimples and crinkles at the corners of his eyes. How on earth did I last more than ten seconds hating him? "Good," he said cupping my face, "Because you did say we'd always be Pack." I nodded. I remembered that. Tilting my face up with a push of his thumb, his eyes grew serious and his voice lowered, "We'll make this right before I leave again, okay?" I nodded as best as I could in his hold.

I half expected it, but there was no way to prepare for the way he lowered his mouth to mine. Taking my lips in as possessive a touch as his hold now drifting to cup my neck, his lips were way warmer than I remembered. And so much softer. And Ahmose, so sinful.  It felt like a natural reflex to part my lips for more. To be greedy. My body had no qualms about responding to my mate.

Luckily, he pulled away before I could open my mouth for anything deeper than he was offering. In retrospect I was grateful that I hadn't moved my hands from my sides. I didn't want to imagine where I would wind up putting them or how hard I'd grip onto him. My chest felt tight but the animal was over the moon.

"I see you two finally kissed and made up," Orion said from behind me. I flinched at the voice.

"Yep," Richie grinned once he spotted the boy in the doorway.

"Yeah. Uh − yes, yeah," I nodded.

There was no reason to feel bad about it. The kiss was platonic. A Packmate's kiss at most. No one needed to know how much I enjoyed it. Certainly not my oldest, best friend and most definitely not my boyfriend.

"Is that what you're wearing?" Orion eyed my shorts and beat up tee.

"Wearing to wh−?" I stopped myself when his eyes narrowed, "Date! That's tonight, isn't it?"

"I didn't get all dressed up for Crowley," he said and added to Richie, "No offense."

"None taken," he held up his hands.

"Sorry about that. Uh − give me a few minutes," I said and turned to Richie, "I've got to go. I'm glad we talked this out though."

"Same," he nodded and reached out to ruffle my hair, "Have fun, kiddo. Be safe."

Nodding, I lead the way downstairs and over to my house. I took a quick shower and sprayed on a bit of Orion's favorite cologne. Picking out a pair of dark jeans that made my ass look all kinds of amazing and a deep purple button down shirt Orion seemed to like best, I was dressed in record time. It didn't take long to find shoes and the watch I'd gotten from him on my last birthday.

To put it simply, I dressed up to suck up. It took him less than three seconds to figure that out once I came downstairs. He looked me up and down before saying, "I'm still annoyed...but I like it." Flashing my sweetest, please-don't-be-mad-at-me smile I just stood there waiting. "Don't give me that look," he glared. I kept it up and bat my lashes. "You are a horrible boyfriend and I hate you," he sighed in the resigned tone I liked to think of as the Danyel Won Again Tone.

He took my hand and left with me in tow either way. "Shut up. You love me," I beamed and got into the passenger side of Asher's ride. Orion took the wheel and drove us out of the forest. We'd had reservations for the past two weeks to go here. I still have no idea how on earth I'd forgotten. We'd been talking about trying out this place for the longest time.

"I really am sorry, Ri," I took his free hand and gave it a squeeze. He glanced over at me and squeezed back. I took that to mean I was forgiven. He didn't say anything until we finally left the forest. "So you and Richard are good again I see. Pack kisses and all," he said. I smiled and settled into the seat further.

"Things are good. We're in a good place now. Just a misunderstanding. Miscommunication more like," I looked out of the open window, "We only needed to talk it out."

"I'm happy for you. Losing your best friend is bad enough but your animal losing his best friend too is worse. I know it's been hard on you."

"Yeah."

The restaurant wasn't too far from the forest − the only reason Asher allowed this date. We got there in a few minutes and Orion gave me a moment to collect myself before we entered.

This was a human establishment. I needed to reign in and shield my animal before I set foot into the place. They'd feel his strength anyways, but it wouldn't be so much that they'd have that panicked fight or flight response most people got.

Asher, Orion and Richie seemed to be the only ones immune. Asher was Alpha, Orion was my Second and Richie was my mate. They had fixed roles in my life so it seemed as if my dominance levels wouldn't debilitate them. It was uncomfortable, but they could ignore it.

Once Orion saw that I was set, we walked in together. A lady came to us and checked our names before leading us to sit at the back. No one else was here in this section, making it extremely private. We could relax and unshield our animals in this spot. I knew we'd been given this spot to ensure the other patrons stayed. Humans had a nasty habit of leaving when Chosen patrons entered.

Out of sight, out of mind.

I didn't care. It was better in the back. Keeping up the shielding was like holding weights over your head with your arms straight up. Sure it got easier the more you used those muscles, but it did get tiring for everyone eventually. I'd been working on those muscles with Asher for years and I still could only do it for maybe an hour or so.

We flipped through the menus we'd been given once we were seated. Orion picked out something quickly enough but I was a picky eater and took my time to look over the options again and again.

Orion looked up at the sound of low, angry voices. Our hearing could pick up on the words anyway. One guy looked as if he'd just arrived to work and had a backpack on his shoulder and was out of uniform. The other was in uniform but his tie was a different color to the others we'd seen on our way back here.

"Why can't you do it?" asked the supervisor.

"I'm supposed to get to help chef tonight with his new sauce. I don't know when next I'll get the chance," the boy with the backpack hissed.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get another shot. It's just a sauce."

"But−."

"You're new here. I wouldn't pick a fight with your superiors if I were you."

"I don't have my waiter's uniform with me tonight. I carried my kitchen clothes."

"It's okay. You'll be waiting on the backroom tonight so I'll allow it. Maybe if you finish quickly, you can help chef."

"Fine. Whatever," the boy muttered.

"Oh and your pay will have to be cut since you're out of uniform. That way, you'll remember to always bring your waiter's uniform and not only the kitchen's one."

I found myself glaring at the supervisor but there was nothing to do for it. We were all taught never to attack or put ourselves in the way of humans when our tempers were up. One split second of lost control could mean manslaughter. We stayed where we were though I heard Orion mutter, "What a dick."

The guy came over to our table and we finally saw him close up.  Wow. This dude's got hair almost as flawless as Tommy's. It wasn't very long but it fell into a pair of green eyes that were kind of awesome for a human.

"Good night, I'll be your server for tonight," he said rummaging in his pocket. Finally finding it, he flipped open a tiny notepad with the restaurant logo on the cover. "I apologize for not being in uniform but there was a small schedule mix up. I hope you don't mind." His words sounded rehearsed but there was no doubting the sincerity behind them.

It was only when he looked up for the first time that he seemed to be shocked. His eyes roved from me to Orion and back again. I half expected it. You didn't come across Chosen people in the town very often.

"I-I um," he mumbled.

"It's cool," Orion offered him a smile, "You can't always predict what some dick of a supervisor will do, can you?"

"You heard that." It wasn't a question.

"Hard not to with ears like these," I shrugged with a grin.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," he returned our smiles.

"Not your fault he's afraid of a pair of wolves," I said and did a partial shift so that my teeth took on the shape of the animal as I aimed a grin at the passing supervisor. His eyes widened and he hurried away, not bothering to return my wave.

"How rude," Orion tsked.

"Very very rude," the waiter laughed glancing behind him and back at us, "Thanks for that. It made my night."

"No worries," I said, "You know, seeing as it's only us you have to deal with tonight you can help chef with the sauce while you wait for our meals to cook."

"So are you ordering the dish with the new sauce then?" his eyes lit up in a way it hadn't all night.

"Yes. I'll take that," I decided, "Whatever 'that' is. Now go on and try it out."

He took Orion's order as well as our drinks and disappeared. "We should leave him a really nice tip. Seeing as he's probably only getting a tip from us tonight," Orion suggested, "What d'you think?"

 I couldn't agree more. It was unfair that he was being pulled off kitchen duty just to deal with us and then get a crappy tip on top of it. It wasn't his fault that his boss was a bigoted, sorry excuse for a human being who couldn't handle two Chosen guys out on a date. I knew as well as anyone what it was like with your first job or three.

I used to be in that odd middle place where I wasn't human but neither was I quite Chosen. People didn't know how to react to me for a long time. I could relate to the guy. Getting pushed around and not having much power sucked.

The guy came back drinks and later returned with our plates in hand beaming when he announced that chef let him try his signature sauce on his own. It was weird feeling proud of someone I barely knew but even my wolf seemed happy to see him beaming.

While he put our food in front of us, Orion glanced down at the waiter's hands and I did the same. Tattoos across his knuckles and the back of his hands. Where his shirt was rolled up to his elbows, his forearms were inked too. He unrolled both sleeves and gave a sheepish smile,

"Sorry. I should have done that in the back."

"It's cool," I shrugged it off.

"Yeah. It's fine," Orion said, "They're kind of awesome."

"Oh. Management has a thing about tattoos and piercings. And most people who come here don't like 'em much either."

"Well we don't mind them," Orion smiled, "We won't mention it."

"Shame the Chosen can't get tats," I eyes the flames crawling up his wrist, "We heal too fast for it to make much sense.

"I didn't know you wanted a tattoo," Orion turned his focus on me.

The waiter glanced between us and excused himself. We continued our dinner trying to outdo each other on who could come up with the cooler tattoo idea. After a while the talk died down because wow the food in this place was great.

Oh man and the sauce. That signature sauce was so good. If I could swim in a bucket of the stuff I would. It was the sort of sweet and sour type of thing that would go great on chicken, but also really amazing on everything from potato chips to a human leg you were forced to cook after getting stuck on an island for a really long time. It was like the new hot sauce.

I took advantage of us being in an isolated part of the restaurant to shamelessly sop up every bit of sauce on the plate with the garlic bread and wipe up the remainder with my finger. Orion laughed and looked to the ceiling for strength. "Ahmose, what am I going to do with him?" he asked.

The waiter came back to clear the plates and I couldn't stop going on and on about the sauce. He turned pink in the cheeks but he seemed pretty pleased all the same.

He came back with the check and dinner mints not long after. The bill was as high as I'd expected and we split it as well as the tip. He came back a final time to wish us a good night before we left and collect what he needed. My wolf sniffed at him happily before Orion and I left to get back.

Full and content, I fell asleep on the ride back home. Orion had to wake me up when I got back. "Damn I'm tired," I murmured when Orion pressed a kiss to my cheek and another deeper one to my lips, "Gonna sleep so hard the bed won't know what hit it." He laughed and kicked me out before watching me drag my tired backside into the house. I ignored his chuckles when I walked into the doorframe.

Too sleepy to care, I pulled off my shoes and pants and flopped onto the sheets still wearing my shirt. Just as I found the perfect spot to sleep in, my phone chimed. "God damn it, Ri," I groaned but I squinted at the too bright screen all the same. The message wasn't from Orion.

Figured you should have finally have my new number -Richie"

I re-read it more times than it was necessary to. It had been so long since I'd gotten a message from him. It felt so weird but I had to admit that I really missed it. I bit my lip wondering what to say. Lying on my back, I stared at the blank message box I had open. Smiling through the butterflies I'd deny until my dying day, I typed back "It's about damn time. Been waiting years for that thing."

"Lol my bad. So come on, tell me about your date. How was it? What did you two do?"

"You were always a nosy lil bastard."

"Hells yeah. Now come on. I've got a lot to catch up on. I mean seriously? You and Orion? That's a story I wanna hear."

Grinning in spite of myself, I pushed down the tiredness and curled up next to my pillow for what was about to become a night of marathon texting. My eyes burned but I settled down with my phone in my hand and I glanced over to see a soft light over in Richie's bedroom from his own phone. It was strange but still so familiar. My wolf nosed at me to continue the conversation before he licked my face and settled to sleep.

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Finally! After months of writers' block and picking up the pieces of the stories and work I lost, I FINALLY get to give you guys that double upload. Sweet Ahmose, yes! *hip thrusts* awww yisss. And FYI, I did a triple upload for the other story this week so that book is done. That means I only need to worry about this story (and college but when am I not worrying about that crap). Rolls around in bed. Yessssssssssssssssssss