Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 7

I decided that I wanted pasta, mostly because I loved the richness of the dish, but also because it was simple and came with delicious bread. Kieran motioned for the waiter, letting him know we were ready to place our orders.

The waiter walked over to me first, a sly grin on his face.

"Hello beautiful, what can I get for a pretty face like yours?" He asked.

Kieran growled lowly at the man.

"You can get me a new waiter. Preferably a waitress, goodbye." Kieran said as he stood up and motioned for the young man to leave.

"Kieran, relax. Don't ruin this for me, please." I said and gripped his hand, pulling him back down into his chair. I wanted to have a nice night with some food I could never afford. Was that too much to ask?

The man recoiled when he heard me say Kieran's name.

"K-Kieran. Alpha Kieran. I-Im sorry, I'll send someone over right away. My apologies." The guy said and took off.

Kieran chuckled deeply and took his seat next to me, offering me a glass of wine he poured which I happily took before he poured his own.

I couldn't help but laugh, part of me almost wanting to glance over to where he had stood to make sure there wasn't a puddle on the floor. I knew Kieran could be cold, but for certain people he made exceptions and I think I was slowly becoming one of the few.

I guess you could say we were becoming friends. I sipped my wine as an older waitress joined us again, Alina and I grinning as we sampled the few bottles on the table. I had never had wine before, but as I tasted lightly it's bittersweet and earthy flavors began to grow on me and I understood the appeal after a few different taste test. I was beginning to feel the effects of it too, my body feel less tense and I felt almost giddy. Elise had said the wine was specifically made with our kind in mind, our extremely high tolerance usually causing us to go unaffected by alcohol, but this was definitely making my head feel uplifted and my thoughts were flowing.

"Charlotte, I ordered you your pasta since you were zoned out once again." I heard in Kieran's amused voice.

"Well its not my fault you're use to mean girls who don't have the mental capacity to have thoughts of their own." I said and Alina squealed as she grinned at her brother from across the table, nearly spurting wine as she brought her linen napkin to her mouth.

He smirked at my sass as he bent closer to me as he spoke in my ear.

"You're my marked, so you're the only one I'll ever let talk that way to me. So, enjoy it darling." He said deeply, the low timbre of his voice causing a chill to run across my skin.

I chuckled, but I knew he wasn't kidding. If I were anyone else's I'd most likely be dead, so I relished in that and took another sip with a humored grin. 

I was about to speak when a tall white haired man came in with a gorgeous white haired woman by his side. Despite their hair, they hardly seemed older than myself, but I knew they were aged as they grew closer but it was in an ethereal way where they still held a youthfulness in their skin and eyes. They were both beautiful more than anything and had a slight accent.

"Ah, Kieran. Its been too long." Said the man who approached Kieran as if they were long lost friends.

"Pierre, good to see you old friend." Kieran said as he rose and hugged the man.

Kieran turned toward me, hand extended and he helped me rise from my chair.

"I heard you claimed a female. I thought it only rumor." Pierre said with a grin as his topaz eyes pierced into mine.

"This is Charlotte, my Luna." Kieran said, his voice swelling with pride as he helped me from my seat. He had never called me that and it had me taken aback for a moment as I heard it cross his lips.

I smiled and held out my hand in greeting.

"Che bellezza." Pierre spoke, taking my hand and placing a light kiss on my knuckles.

I gasped at the temperature of his skin, it was much lower than my own. The eyes, looks, temperature. It dawned on me and I grinned.

"I've never met a night walker. Pleased to meet you." I said. Vampires usually lived secluded lives, and although they were dubbed as night walkers, they did indeed come out during the day despite contrary belief, and there were also strict laws about feeding on humans so their diets mostly consisted of animals.

Pierre smiled and turned toward Kieran as if in approval.

"She's intriguing. A woman who speaks her mind is a woman who can lead. She'll be a fantastic Luna." Pierre said with a smile.

"I agree." Kieran said.

Pierre said his goodbyes and wished us well and then he was gone, his mate Giselle giving me her number and requesting we all meet again soon.

I sat down quietly, letting myself think on the word that meant so much. Luna.

It was what we called the Alpha female. I would lead an entire pack alongside Kieran. That's if we even finished the mating process, we're just barely getting to know each other and I know he's definitely not going to open up and bare the depths of his soul to me all in one night, but I thought of longevity for a moment. What would come of us? And was Kieran even capable of something close to love? Alina had told me he had hate in his heart and I could see it more often than not, but it was the not that had me enraptured. He seemed like he was the sweetest man at one point.

I blinked away the thoughts when a plate was set in front of me.  I picked up my fork and Kieran gave me a curt nod of encouragement to try the cuisine. I twirled the fettuccine on my fork and took a bite, relishing in the flavored as I chewed. It was delicious and as I took another bite, I opted to sip wine after opted see how the flavors would pair.

I cleared my throat, feeling it begin to itch a bit. I set my fork down as my throat began to feel as if it were getting tighter and my oxygen began to slowly be cut off.

I gripped Kieran's forearm as I realized it was swelling, clutching my throat with my right hand.

I pushed back from the table as my throat closed and the world around me began to blur.

I forced my fingers down my throat, causing myself to gag and the contents of my stomach came up and I spewed onto the floor in front of me.

I could feel the toxin in my blood as it coursed through my veins already and my body began to weaken. It was in that moment that I realized I had been given something that caused this. Someone had done this and it was only happening to me. I could feel Kieran's hands on me as he lifted me, but I could barely see him. His hazel orbs were huge and trained on me as he shook me, trying to keep me awake as concern and fear overtook him.

I just wanted to sleep, and so I did.