Not Strong Enough

Dinner

I stood in front of the mirror, applying the last remaining touches of my makeup. It had been a long and hectic day, everyone from the pack elders to my family and friends had wanted an audience to make sure I was okay. It was overwhelming and also very stressful. It was just around five but I felt I was ready to crash in bed and call it a day. But that wasn't an option considering I was the Alpha. I still had the dinner to go to, with Gabriel and Jessica. Leo had quite enthusiastically agreed to be my date for tonight. So now we would have all the less chances of any kind of real, upfront interaction.

I stared my reflection critically. I had tried to hide any signs of my illness with my makeup. Gabriel was, after all, the Alpha was the neighbouring, bigger and more powerful pack. I could not afford to show any weakness in front of him. I needed to appear at my personal best. Satisfied, I put down the brush and went to get dressed, it was almost time for Leo to come pick me up.

An hour later, Leo and I entered the fancy restaurant where we were supposed to meet up. Gabriel and Jessica were already there. Gabriel stood up when he saw us, me, specifically. I had to bite my lip hard to hold back the smile that threatened to light up my face. Even the smallest of gestures on his part meant so much to me, they made my existence brighter. I wasn't used to this. That was probably the reason I had such a hard time controlling myself in front of him. We reached the table, and shook hands. I introduced Leo, "Alpha Hawke, always a pleasure to meet you. May I present Mr. Leo Fernandez?"

Leo stepped in naturally, as if born for the role of being my escort, "It's an honour to meet you, Alpha Hawke. And of course, the lovely lady." He turned to Jessica, and turned on his charm for she stuttered and blushed under his attention. He took her hand and kissed it, and she giggled.

Gabriel, was meanwhile staring at me, seemed to have missed the entire exchange. "I thought you would be coming by yourself." He said to me.

It made me catch my breath, the burning intensity behind his eyes and the disappointment behind his words. And it made my wolf giddy with pleasure, and she started singing love ballads in my head. I screamed at her to shut up so I could focus on the situation at hand, but she simply told me to get lost and let her be with her mate. Ignored her and smiled politely at Alpha Hawke.

"Well, now that we are all here, please, let's all be seated."

The Dinner went smoothly, with Leo being his charming self and Jessica totally fawning over him. She burst into laughter at almost everything he said, batted her eyelashes and urged and pleaded to him for more. Leo, loving the attention, clearly obliged. Gabriel, meanwhile sat in a stony silence, staring at me pointedly. It was supposed to make me uncomfortable, but I didn't really mind his scrutiny. In fact I quite enjoyed it. I took great pleasure in even the smallest movements, and making idle remarks, knowing that he was watching me. Everything seemed so vital now. I tried to act as the perfect hostess, ordering the best food and the wine and keeping our guests, mostly Jessica entertained. Leo had probably more to do with it than me, but still. I gave it my best shot. I tried making polite dinner conversation with Gabriel which he replied to in monosyllables. So I left him to his feelings and focused on enjoying myself.

Just as dessert arrived, Gabriel swiftly stood up. "I need to talk to you, Alpha Shaw. Alone."

His eyes had a glint of anger or jealousy in them, and there was impatience in his stance, as if he couldn't bear to sit there a moment longer.

I appeared to be totally surprised, "But dessert just arrived! Surely this can wait?"

"No." He said shortly. "It's getting late, and I need to talk to you about matters of the pack. After that, we must be on our way."