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 allst 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 arge ss. He ces the
ss 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 toe 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 cest
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 Bemy 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 Bemy 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 fromst 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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“So, how did your date gost night?” he asks, his tone is teasing but the question is serious.
“It wasn’t a date.” I insist.
“Does Alpha Kane know that?”
“The evening ended with me yelling at Bemy and mming the door in his face. So you can take
from that what you will.” Darrien shrugs.
“It was definitely a date, and half your conversations with Alpha Kane end in you fighting. So I don’t
ce a lot of weight on it. But I’m still going to ask, what were you arguing about?” I roll my eyes.
“Whether I should let guys into my home. Well, to be more urate, whether he should be allowed to
tell me if I can or cannot let guys into my home.” Darrien starts tough.
“I told you it would be an issue.” He manages to get out between bursts ofughter, I re at him.
“Just stop. Besides, the argument was resolved so it doesn’t matter.” Darrien grins.
“You caved.” he states. I frown.
“I did NOT cave. Wepromised.” I insist. Darrien raises an eyebrow.
“Really? How interesting. I guess he really can’t boss you around. Alpha or not.” I shrug. I remember
our discussions about dominance. I ry it to Darrien and tell him about my experiment with Shaun the
night before. He is unsurprised.
“And you want to test it against me now? You can if you want but I don’t see much point. I already know
that you will be more dominant. Alpha Kane is more dominant than me after all.” He reminds me. I roll
my eyes.
“Whatever, lets try anyway.” Darrien 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 make this actually feel like apetition.. Darriensts about ten seconds
before he drops his eyes to the floor. His eyes stay down for.
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36- Caffeine and contests
about thirty seconds and I don’t think I’ve ever felt as powerful as I do right now. When he looks back
up he gives me a wry smile.
“Told you so.” He deres, Iugh.
“I guess you did. I’m still not convinced that it’s not just my freaky eyes making people ufortable
though.” Darrien shakes his head at me.
“You’re stubborn. Your eyes didn’t make me ufortable at all. Just pressured to submit, and only
because you were staring right at me.” He rifies. I shrug.
“If you say so.” I answer, doubt clear in my tone. Darrien rolls his eyes.
that we
“Stubborn.” He repeats, but he gives me a fond smile. Darrien is much betterpany now
ve know each other’s secrets. He’s less formal and treats me as a friend rather than as an obligation.
Talking with Darrien feels like how I always imagined having an older brother would be. He’s nosy and
laughs at me way too much, but he is also friendly, protective and makes me feelfortable. Oddly
enough I also find that I want to try and protect him too. I’m not saying I want to be 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 Bemy
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 Bemy, or even if she would be willing to. As close as I feel
to her, I’ve not known her that long and Bemy 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 I told Bemy that Harrison was more like a brother to me than anything else, but at
the same time I could never really see him that way. As an Incubus, his general manner has always
been too sly, and held too many attempts at seductions to provide thefort and rxed feeling I
always hoped to enjoy. I stand up from where I’m sitting. My mood is already significantly improved,
perhaps from my considerations of Darrien, or maybe just because the caffeine is kicking in, but I feel
far more
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36- Caffeine and contests
prepared to face everyone and to put on a smile for Megan as she prepares for her party.
“Do you think the meeting might be almost over? I’m suddenly eager to make a start on whatever
Megan has nned.” I announce to Darrien. He shrugs.
“Possibly. They’re meeting in Alpha Kane’s study at the end of the hall. We can go check on
them if you like?” he offers. I grin.
“Awesome, let’s do that.” I’m moving towards the door before Darrien has even made it to his
feet.
“You’re eager all of a his
sudden. But eager to see which Kane I wonder?” Darrienments. tone teasing. I actively ignore
him. The hallway is empty although the door to Bemy’s study is slightly ajar. I can hear voices
through the door. I nce up at Darrien, a silent
question.
‘Should we be listening to this?” he shrugs, a silent answer.
Probably not but it’s not like there’s anyone to stop us.‘ I give him a smile before turning my attention to
the voices. Straining to hear every word.