#9 The Lonely Rogue

Junie

Vivian came out of the room then in a tea length maroon dress and strappy high heels. She scurried over towards me and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Caspian.

“It’s been a month, Junebug, I don’t know what I’m doing.” She whispered desperately, “You two make it look so easy.”

“Really? Have you been paying attention at all?” I laughed, “We’re awkward as hell 99% of the time.” I knew that our quiet whispers were a mute point thanks to werewolf hearing, but I figured I’d humor Viv anyway.

“We just sit in silence. I don’t know what to say and he doesn’t offer many conversation starters.” Viv said.

“You two just need to relax.” I said and she narrowed her eyes at me,

“Oh, is that your expert advice?” She sassed me.

“Do you want my help or not?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. She sighed,

“Yes please.”

Jett came back then and we were all ready to go. Caspian called ahead to the restaurant and adjusted our reservation from a table of two to four. Caspian dismissed his driver, since there wasn’t enough room in his suv for all of us, and he and I sat in the front seats; Jett and Viv settled in the back. The ride to the restaurant was in relative silence.

I kept stealing glances of the duo in the back through the rearview mirror. They were both stiff as a board, sitting as far away from each other as possible. I reached across the seat and took Caspian’s hand, craving his touch suddenly. He smiled at me and squeezed my hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss my knuckles. I looked in the mirror again, this time glaring directly at Jett. I think Caspian caught on to what I was doing, because I saw his eyes darken as he mindlinked Jett.

Jett jumped in his seat and caught my eyes in the mirror. He sighed and a harsh red blush took over his face. I resisted the urge to laugh as I watched his painful interaction with Viv. His hand slowly moved across the seat, inch by inch. By the time he got to her side and was brave enough to finally take her hand, we had pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot.

I rolled my eyes at Jett in the mirror as Caspian shut off the car. Before I knew it, Caspian was opening my door and offering me his hand. I smiled politely at him and settled my hand in his, jumping out of the car. Jett and Viv came up behind us, still holding hands. I tucked my hand around Caspian’s arm as he led the way towards the restaurant.

We were quickly seated at an elegantly prepared table overlooking the beautiful harbor. It was clear that the staff were eager to please Caspian and his guests. I wasn’t sure what Caspian’s human identity was, his excuse for having so much money and attending sophisticated events, but it was obviously a good one. Not to mention humans tended to swoon on his looks alone. The closer Violet and I got to our mates, the more aggressive we became when other women looked in his general direction. Honestly, it was becoming dangerous.

“Do you like it?” Caspian asked me nervously as he helped me scoot in the chair.

“It’s amazing.” I smiled, following him with my eyes as he sat next to me.

Jett pulled out the chair for Vivian and then sat between her and Caspian. The waitress came over quickly with a pitcher of water and a list of wines. Caspian ordered something he thought we would all like and the waitress scurried off. I clutched his hand on the top of the table possessively and he chuckled darkly at me.

“You know I only look at you, dearest.” He said in a low voice. I blushed deeply,

“I’m being irrational, I know.” I scoffed and Caspian laughed again.

“Not at all. I want to murder anyone who looks in your direction.” He shrugged and it was my turn to giggle.

“You two have come a long way.” Jett observed.

“Is the murderous jealousy like a normal thing?” Viv asked at nearly the same time. Jett cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Why?” Jett looked curious but Viv ignored him, looking at me instead.

“Yes, Viv, jealousy is normal, especially for wolves.” I said and Viv nodded slowly.

“Why?” Jett asked again, sounding like a broken record.

“Oh, nothing.” She shrugged. Jett growled low in frustration and I felt Caspian stiffen beside me.

“Viv, you have to be honest with Jett. It’s the only way it works.” I scolded her. Viv sighed loudly, huffing like a chastised school girl.

“Fine,” She turned towards Jett, beating red, “I’ve just noticed some moments.” She said,

“Moments?” Jett asked in confusion.

“You know, like, some moments of jealousy. I wasn’t sure if I was making it up or not.” She shrugged.

Jett seemed thoughtful, not able to come up with a response before the waitress returned with a bottle of sweet red wine. She offered to pour it, but Caspian took the bottle from her hand and did it instead. The waitress, whose name tag read Annie, wouldn’t take her eyes off of Caspian so, in turn, I couldn’t keep my hands off of him, either.

“Are we ready to order?” Annie asked, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder and hovering over Caspian’s shoulder.

“Ladies?” Caspian asked the table. I realized then that I hadn’t even looked at the menu.

“Surprise me.” I smiled flirtatiously at Caspian and he grinned back.

He ordered a steak for himself, medium rare, with sweet potatoes and baked corn. For me, he ordered a large salad with grilled chicken and cranberries and a side order of spiced apples. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he knew my tastes. Jett and Vivian each ordered for themselves.

“Okay, I’ll put that right in.” She said, looking directly at Caspian. A low, threatening growl escaped my mouth before I could stop myself.

“Thank you.” Caspian replied politely, taking Annie’s attention away from my outburst and back towards him. Annie nodded and walked away.

“Junie.” Caspian sighed and I just shrugged innocently.

“The growling, that’s what happened in those moments.” Vivian said.

“Oh, yes, I suppose I am guilty of that.” Jett nodded, looking embarrassed. Caspian laughed and clapped his Beta on the back,

“It’s only natural.” He said, “We do have such beautiful mates, we can’t help ourselves from being possessive.”

“Are you checking out my mate?” Jett snarled. Caspian threw his head back with laughter.

“That’s what I mean.” Vivian sighed and it was obvious that this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“Relax, Jett.” Caspian said in a stern voice and Jett instantly calmed down.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, ducking his head.

“It’s alright, but this is what happens when you deny the bond for so long. You aren’t giving yourself to it, instead you’re going against your natural instincts, so your wolf is even more worked up.” Caspian explained.

“I know.” Jett said.

“Why are you going against your instincts?” Viv asked Jett.

“I just don’t want to scare you by being too aggressive.” Jett admits.

“So, instead you act like you don’t want to be around me at all?” Viv asked genuinely. Jett’s eyes went wide and he frowned,

“I didn’t mean to act like that. Is that what you really think?” He looked sad. Vivian only nodded.

“I’m sorry, that’s not at all what I meant to be like. I want to be around you, that’s literally the only thing I want.” Jett said and Viv’s face lit up.

“You do?” She looked surprised.

“Vivvy,” Jett smiled and took her hand, seeming to surprise her with the new nickname, “I never want to be away from you.” He said and her face broke out into an earth shattering grin.

“Well, you should’ve just said that.” She giggled and Jett’s face lit up.

“I’ll be more open from now on, I promise.” He said and Viv nodded eagerly,

“Me too.”

“Awe, you two are adorable.” I said, breaking the moment. Jett and Viv looked over at us and blushed deeply, seeming to remember that we were still there.

“Oh, uhm….” Jett mumbled and Vivian laughed.

After that, things were much less tense and we were all able to enjoy our time together. Twenty minutes later, Annie the waitress returned with a tray full of food. She handed out the plates with perfect memory and, for a moment, I was too distracted by the delicious looking food to be cross with her. That is, until she really screwed up.

“How does everything look to you?” She asked, putting her hand on Caspian’s shoulder and leaning in towards him. She was clearly only speaking to him and her tone was quite suggestive.

A low, dangerous snarl escaped me, this time on purpose. I saw red as I narrowed in on her hand on his arm.

“Everything is fine, thank you.” Caspian’s voice was stern as he leaned away from her, but Annie didn’t seem to take the hint.

“Excuse you.” I snapped, leaning across the table to physically remove her hand from his arm. I shoved her away and she looked astonished at my boldness, “That is quite unprofessional.” I said.

“Oh, miss, I think you’re overreacting.” Annie scoffed. That nearly had me up and out of my seat. Caspian wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping me still.

“I think you should excuse yourself as you’re upsetting my girlfriend.” His voice was dangerous and dark, a voice only an Alpha King could possess.

Annie, even though she was human, still felt compelled to submit to his voice and bow her head. She stumbled away and never came back.

“Woah, Junebug, you looked like you wanted to kill that girl.” Viv laughed.

“That’s ’cause I did.” I confessed with an innocent shrug, unfolding my cloth napkin and laying it across my lap.

I could feel Caspian’s lustful gaze on me. I looked up at him through my dark eyelashes and felt Violet making herself known as my eyes swirled between hazel and black.

“You’re actually dangerous, aren’t you, Junebug?” Viv looked at me and it was like she was seeing me for the first time.

“I can be.” I smirked devilishly, viscously stabbing my salad with the fork. Viv laughed and started seasoning her pasta.

“Jett said that you’re like his boss.” Viv said and Jett gave her the side eye.

“I didn’t say that exactly.” He said.

“Oh, but isn’t it true?” I teased him and Jett huffed in frustration while Caspian nearly choked on his sip of wine.

“If he’s the king, won’t you be the queen?” Viv ignored us.

“She will be, yes.” Caspian answered for me, knowing I was still uncomfortable with that particular topic, “And you’ll be the Beta female.” He added.

“Oh, because Jett’s your Beta?” Viv asked.

“Precisely. You’ll both have a home in the castle when you’re ready.” Caspian nodded.

My head snapped in his direction as I realized for the first time that Viv would actually be moving to the realm with me. I hadn’t thought about it before and I felt myself automatically begin to relax knowing that my best friend would continue to live with me. Caspian gave me a puzzled expression but I just smiled and shook my head.

“Jett never wants to talk about moving to….what do you call it, the realm?” Viv said, not looking at Jett.

“I just don’t want to rush you.” Jett said again.

“It’s okay, Viv, I hate talking about it so Caspian never brings it up either.” I said.

“I’m not so worried about that, especially since you’ll be there.” Viv shrugged, a contempt look on her face.

“Wait, really?” Jett looked at her in surprise.

“Sure, I always knew that I didn’t want to stay here.” She said,

“Oh, I guess I shouldn’t assume anything.” Jett said, mostly to himself.

“Why are you so worried about it, Junie?” Viv asked and it suddenly felt like a cat had my tongue.

All the reasons I had for being afraid seemed stupid when Viv, a human who knew nothing of our world a few weeks ago, was so casual about moving to the werewolf realm. I could sense Caspian watching me closely, waiting for a response. Before I could say anything, he jumped out of his chair.

“Caspian?” I gasped. Jett followed him quickly, on high alert.

Caspian gripped my shoulders, hovering protectively behind me.

“What’s wrong?” I tried again.

“There are rogues here.” He said, sniffing the air.

“Reid and my father?” I asked nervously.

“I don’t recognize their scent.” Jett replies, shaking his head.

“I’ll stay with Viv, you two go check it out.” I said. Caspian looked down at me with a worried expression,

“I don’t want to leave you alone.” He replied sternly.

“I can protect us, trust me, Caspian.” I said and he made a frustrated sound.

He bent down and kissed the top of my head, cupping my face and leveling his gaze with mine.

“Be careful and stay here.” He said and I nodded.

“Promise.” I smirked and he kissed my cheek before grabbing Jett and leaving the restaurant in a hurry.

I moved my chair closer to Viv and looked around the room, Violet’s senses on high alert. Since accepting Caspian, Violet has slowly gotten stronger. The fact that she’s the future Queen Luna has filled her with pride and power, and Jess’s confidence in her has boosted her ego. She was stronger now than before, her senses sharper and her bite, so to speak, was more lethal.

“Are they okay?” Viv looked worried.

“They’ll be fine. There isn’t anyone more trained or qualified than them.” I said confidently, but, deep down, I was just as worried for my mate as she was.