The Alpha's Favour

XX

It was awkward.

I mean, I expected it to be awkward but I hadn't really grasped just how awkward it would be.

We sat at the dining table.

I sat beside Tristan directly opposite Aunt Sarah and Uncle Victor.

Aunt Sarah kept fussing with the place mats on the table and kept rearranging and arranging the flowers in the vase before her.

Uncle Victor sat very still and was very quiet as he studied Tristan too intently.

Bridgette and May stood at attention behind us as if they were bodyguards.

I really wished that they would sit down because I could just imagine Bridgette staring daggers into the back of my head, silently blaming me for this. It made me more nervous than I already was.

"So..." I begun, deciding to break the ice.

I stopped, realising I actually didn't know what to say.

I looked at Tristan but he just stayed silent instead of helping me.

Sure I had told him I would do all the talking but since when did he actually get good at listening to me?

I looked back at Uncle Victor and he was still studying Tristan, probably imagining all the ways he could get away with murdering the alpha. Aunt Sarah looked about ready to start reorganising all the furniture.

How could this possibly be any more awkward?

Bridgette leaned forward and whispered something in Tristan's ear.

I looked at them wanting to be in on whatever they were talking about.

Anything other than being on the spot here.

I had a feeling that this little connection they had would get annoying quickly. But I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to come off as jealous.

This was simply a temporary arrangement and I wasn't planning on making things complicated.

Tristan cleared his throat and sat up straight, I didn't know whether to be more nervous or relieved.

I wanted Aunt Sarah and Uncle Victor to like him not just to accept him because he was their alpha.

But let's face it, Tristan didn't exactly come off as the most open person. He was likeable enough around the pack but that's mostly because people admired his strength and the fact that he had grown up among them.

He was social enough.

I know that because I had seen him at public social gatherings and I had seen him converse with people.

But I feel like that's only because he had to. No one really ever got to know him.

They knew alpha Tristan, their leader but they didn't know him as a person.

Now that I think about it, I didn't really know Tristan as a person either.

Our interactions had been kept at a minimum. Me calling him when I needed something and him showing up irritated.

Other than that, he respected my wishes and kept his distance.

To be honest, in the years I had known him, I had been watching from afar or hearing what other people had to say.

People knew him and seemed to like him. They just didn't seem to know him.

I was ashamed to admit it but I didn't know the man sitting next to me as well as I would have liked to either.