Falling into the White (The Ancients Series)

I looked down at the text from Ashley, but I didn’t respond right away. When I got here I slid into my favorite booth near the back, but now I was second guessing my choice of seating.

“Excuse me, may I switch to the table over there?” I asked the waitress who came to take my drink order.

“Sure thing, sweetie. Is it just you today?”

“No, I’m meeting someone. Can I get a water with lemon and some of those Louisiana chips too, please?”

“Yes, ma’am! I’ll be right back.”

I stared at my phone while I waited. I was a few minutes early, as I had planned to be. I wanted to make sure I got to pick my seat out first, and work out what I planned to say beforehand. As I was contemplating that a text came in and I looked at my cell again.

Finally, I decided to stop thinking so much, and responded to Ashley’s text instead. Yes, Ash. I will tell you all about it later, I promise.

In full detail! She responded, and then another text came in. Wait, which one? I smiled, and was about to tell her, but I felt a tingle of power wash over me that had me looking up into the most gorgeous smile I’d ever seen. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a black polo shirt that was stretching the limits of decency as it highlighted every ripple of muscle in his upper arms and torso, and there were black boots too. He strutted over to the table, leaning down to place a quick kiss on my cheek. As he did, a few strands of his black hair came loose to frame his chiseled jawline. Cobalt blue eyes stared down into my own, sending tingles through my whole body. Evan took the seat directly to my right, pulling his chair just a bit closer as he scooted it back in.

“Jess, I’m sorry if I’m running a little late. I was caught up with a delivery issue at the bar.”

“It’s okay, Evan. The waitress hasn’t even brought my water and chips yet.” As if on cue, she came walking up and placed them down on the table, not really paying attention to us at all. She was preoccupied with someone who had just walked in up front.

Evan cleared his throat, “I’ll take a glass of sweet tea and a menu too, please.”

“Yes sir,” she started, and when she looked down and saw who she was talking to, I swear her jaw nearly hit the table. “Um, I will…” apparently the sheer sight of Evan left her speechless. I couldn’t blame her for that. “I’ll be right back, hon.”

“Funny,” I said, “she didn’t seem to have that problem when she was taking my drink order.” I was laughing at him, until I spied the reason the woman had been so preoccupied to begin with. A tall, very handsome man with short brown hair, that was threatening to finally flop over into his eyes if he didn’t get it cut soon, was sauntering toward our table like he owned the place. The smile on his face exuded confidence, as if he were comfortable anywhere he went, and those bright emerald eyes of his were shining like the jewels they mimicked.

“Sorry, I got hung up in the parking lot. The new bike sure does get people talking.” Mikael said as he came in around the opposite side of the table that Evan had. He proceeded to park his ass in the chair to my left. We were not, nor had we ever been, on kissing terms so he never attempted to greet me the way Evan had, thankfully.

Evan’s chair slid back, as if he were preparing to jump across the table at his brother. “What is he doing here?” He breathed through clenched teeth.

“Please, calm down, I thought we could all talk this out like adults.”

Evan noticed that Mikael was not the least bit surprised to be sitting here with the two of us. I had already warned Mikael about the fact that this was going to be a group date so we could get a few things understood between the three of us, before I officially started dating both of them. Not that I wanted to date them both. Their father, Antoine-King of the werewolves, couldn’t order me to bond with his older son; but he did command me to at least date and try getting to know him between now and the summer solstice. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Dating Mikael meant pissing off Evan, but not doing it meant facing untold pain in order to defy Antoine. I know, because I tried.

I called them both here to figure out a way to do this with some kind of rules, so that I wasn’t forced to endure more lectures from Evan, disappointment when I turned Mikael down, or pain when as I disobeyed Antoine. I hadn’t told Evan about the fact that Mikael would be here though. I may be the fated white wolf ruler one day, when I come into my full power, but for now I was still a woman new to the dating scene, and wishing it weren’t this complicated.

“You knew I’d be here?” Evan asked his brother.

“Of course I did. Jess told me she wanted to talk to both of us, to get some things straight so that there were no hard feelings or problems down the road.”

Evan was looking at me in an accusatory manner then. “You never told me about that.” He snapped at me.

“Because every time I tried to suggest it, all last week, you just got angry and ended the conversation or walked away. I figured if we all just showed up at the same place you would…” I wasn’t quite sure how to phrase the rest of what I wanted to say to him, and I tripped over my words as I desperately attempted to come up with a polite way of telling him to just cooperate and stop being an ass.

“That I’d what?” He snapped again, impatiently.

“Have to deal with it. Be an adult. Get over yourself.” Mikael offered helpfully. Well, he did it a little more sarcastically than helpful.

I sighed heavily. “I definitely underestimated your reaction. Please, this is hard enough on me, must you make it worse?” I asked Evan. When Mikael snickered I rounded on him too. “That was meant for you too. You’re both making this beyond difficult for me.”

Evan looked pointedly at Mikael, “it doesn’t have to be. He could be a real man, respect your wishes, and end this madness now.”

“If I thought you were best for Jess, I would, but you’re not. So, I won’t.” Silence greeted his comment. I was staring open mouthed at Mikael, and Evan looked like he was ready to commit murder right here in my favorite restaurant. As if we couldn’t get better timing the waitress came back, nearly drooling all over herself, trying to take Mikael’s order.

“Can I get a...” he paused for a minute eyeing the two of us first, “aw, hell, what do you have on tap?”

The waitress smiled sweetly at him and listed off five different beers they had on tap, including one from a Louisiana brewery.

“I’ll take the Parade Ground, when in a fake Louisiana restaurant might as well drink like it’s the real thing.” I was seriously contemplating ordering one too, or maybe ten. The waitress smiled sweetly, saying, “anytime you want a little bit of Louisiana, you just let me know.”

“Are you from there?”

“Born and breed, sweetheart!” She said with a wink. Then she looked at me, and I’m not quite sure what she saw on my face, but she added, “I’ll be right back with that beer,” and scurried off to another table.

Mikael didn’t miss a beat. “No fair, sweetheart! You brought us together to tell me I don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with you, and then you go scaring off the flirty wait staff. Tsk, tsk.”

Of course he would have to call me out. I don’t even know why Mikael flirting with the waitress bothered me at all. Actually, it wasn’t really me it bothered, but my wolf. She liked Evan, but she also found something appealing about Mikael. Apparently, she was keeping her options open even if I wasn’t. I needed to have a serious talk with my wolf. “Whatever.” My not so clever response was lame, but it was the best I had at the moment. “Listen, this is…”

I stopped because Evan was scooting his chair out and getting up. He stood there and threw a few twenty dollar bills out onto the table. “Lunch is on me, but I’m not sitting here with him through any discussion.” He leaned down, kissed the top of my head, and turned to leave.

“Evan De’ Lune! If you leave me sitting here alone with your brother, he will be the only one I discuss things with from now on!” I was angry. More than that, I was tired of his shit, and thinking that he could keep walking away from me and that I’d be there when he pulled his head out of his ass.

“See you later, Ev!” Mikael added through a snicker. I tossed him a look that I was sure would shut him up, but it only made him break out into full blown laughter. Jerk.

Evan was not happy. He sat back down in a huff. “Fine! Can we get this over with? I have a business to go run.”

“I have abso-fucking-lutely no clue where to start. You two are so freaking difficult to deal with that I completely forgot everything I wanted to say. What is it with your family?”

“I love when you talk dirty.” Mikael had his chin planted firmly on a fist that rode up from the elbow he had on the table. My mom would have smacked my arm out from underneath me for sitting like that at a table. I rolled my eyes at Mikael. Evan growled.

“I am so not talking dirty to you!” Evan was fiddling with his now empty sweet tea glass, and I went to put my hand on his, but he pulled away. I threw my hands up in the air, blew out a giant sigh, and got ready to leave myself. “You know what? Fuck you!” I said to Mikael, because he was a dick I didn’t want to deal with. “And fuck you too!” I said to Evan, because he was being a jerk, and treating me like this was all my choice, my fault, when his father was the one who put us all in this situation. “I’m done with all of this! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. If I am not dating one of you, I don’t have to date the other. I can just go live my happy little life without any of you.” I bent to grab my bag that I had put on the floor beside me, and the look of sheer panic on Mikael’s face when I did stopped me cold in my tracks. “What?”

“You can’t.” He said softly.

“I can, and I will.”

“Did you forget the part where my father threatened to lock you up in a cage? I make light of this situation, because I’m trying to make the best of a bad one. Make no mistake though, Jess, my father will do whatever it takes to make sure his family stays in power. You can’t simply choose to walk away from both of us.”

“You would do that?” Evan looked hurt, not worried. He ignored everything his brother just said, and focused on the fact that I had rejected him too.

“Yes, I would, because you’re being an ass! And he’s already an ass.” I nodded to Mikael. “I can’t do this with you blaming me every few minutes for what has to happen, and him antagonizing everyone. I can’t. I won’t. I don’t even care, at this point, if your father does try to lock me up in a cage. The fact is, he can’t force me to bond with anyone.” Tears were in my eyes. I wasn’t on the verge of crying because I was sad, I was angry. “I’m the one your father tossed in the center of the ring for you to fight over, but guess what? I’m coming out with more wounds than either of you. If you keep this up, there won’t be anything left to think about fighting over, because I will hate you both.” That seemed to do the trick, because they both calmed down and promised to be on their best behavior for the rest of the meal. Our waitress came back and took our orders, but I wasn’t hungry anymore, so I asked for mine to be made to go. Mikael ordered a steak, rare.

“I’ll have that right out for you, doll.”

“Do you not see me sitting here?” I snapped at her.

“Excuse me?” She asked, startled by my tone.

“I’m sitting right here, and you’re flirting openly with someone I’m having lunch with. Do you even expect a tip?”

“I thought you were with that one,” she pointed at Evan.

“I’m with both.” When she looked at me funny, I smiled sweetly, “yeah, both!”