Strings of Fate

36- Caffeine and contests

Now that we are under a proper light rather than the shadowy front hall, Darrien notices how tired I am.

“You look dead on your feet. Did you sleep at all last night?” he questions. I shrug.

“I slept a little, but I don’t really feel like I did. My head is killing me.” I groan. He turns and rummages through a cupboard that is high enough that I would have to climb on a bench to reach it. He then grabe

a bottle of coke from the

fridge and pours a large glass. He places the

glass and a little box in front of me.

“Take two of these and finish the drink. Painkillers and caffeine. You should feel a bit better once they kick in.” I gratefully down the pills and start on the drink.

“Thanks, I definitely need it.” We sit in silence for a minute or two as I finish up the coke. I can already feel the sugar and caffeine perking me up a little.

“So, what’s the meeting for? Megan told me to come this morning, she didn’t mention any meeting.” Hopefully this isn’t some super secret Shifter thing that I’m nosing into. I hate. when people tell me to butt out.

“You, sort of. Alpha Kane has been tracking down the Shifters who were hovering about your place last night. He’s called a meeting with the other Alpha’s to discuss it. He believes it may be the Canine Alpha who sent the Vampires and that it may be his men who are hovering.”

“Oh, how did Bellamy find out? And when? The day is barely started.” Darrien shrugs.

“I’m not sure how he found out. But he was out and about all night looking into it. He hasn’t actually slept yet. Hopefully he will find time to catch a nap before the… party tonight.” Darrien looks irritated at the mention of Megan’s engagement party, which is fair enough I

suppose. So Bellamy has been up all night trying to find out who ordered the attack on us? Any remaining irritation or frustration at him that might have been lingering from last night fades away. My headache is fading and I feel far more lively than I did ten minutes ago. Darrien must have decided that he is no longer at risk of being killed due to my grumpiness because he decides now is the time to pry.

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36- Caffeine and contests

asks, his tone is teasing

wasn’t a date.” I

Alpha Kane

yelling at Bellamy and slamming the door in his face. So you can take from

your conversations with Alpha Kane end in you fighting. So I don’t place a lot of weight on it. But I’m still going to ask, what were you arguing about?” I roll my

more accurate, whether he should be allowed to tell me if I can or

to get out

argument was resolved so it doesn’t matter.” Darrien

he

We compromised.” I insist. Darrien raises

I guess he really can’t boss you around. Alpha or not.” I shrug. I remember our discussions about dominance. I

You can if you want but I don’t see much point. I already know that you will be

nods and without a word, meets my eyes. Darrien holds. my gaze and unlike when I tested this with Shaun, I feel pressured to look away, but not enough to force me to give in. Just enough to

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36- Caffeine and contests

seconds and I don’t think I’ve ever felt as powerful as I do right now. When he looks back up

so.” He declares, I

I’m still not convinced that it’s not just my freaky eyes making people uncomfortable though.” Darrien shakes his head

all. Just pressured to submit,

clear

that we

He repeats, but he gives me a fond smile. Darrien is much

older brother would be. He’s nosy and laughs at me way too much, but he is also friendly, protective and makes me feel comfortable. Oddly enough I also find that I want to try and protect him too. I’m not saying I want to become a ninja and fight my way through his enemies or anything. that would be crazy, if entertaining. More like I want to make sure he is happy and to protect that happiness. I wonder if this is what Megan meant when she said that Shifter women could be quite protective too, just in a different way to the men. But I’m not a Shifter, so it’s not like that for me. Or is it? It’s not like I actually know what I am, I could have protective instincts that I’m not aware of. I certainly feel protective of Maggie and Logan. Not to mention how I got involved in all this drama because I wanted to protect Megan. I could argue that I’m protecting Bellamy by not telling him about our thread. But I might also be protecting me. Or maybe both of us? Discussing everything with Darrien has left me so confused. What I really want to do is talk to Megan about it, but I don’t know if she could keep it secret from Bellamy, or even if she would be willing to. As close as I feel to her, I’ve not known her that long and Bellamy is her brother whom she is very close to. I don’t want to force her to keep secrets. It might create a bit of distance between us now but one day it won’t matter anymore. Still, despite my confusion, I think I rather like having a brother–like figure in my life. I wasn’t lying when