Katya
The caterers in their crisp white uniforms bring the food out, placing plates in front of everyone.
The Alpha of Alphas sits at his table and watches while everyone in the entire stadium tucks into their meals except us.
It feels wrong, just the vibe and how the Alpha keeps watching our table. Andrei pushes his plate aside, and I see him mind-link, who I assume is Sage, as his pack is too far to mind-link with. Mateo also pushes his plate aside, and I don’t even bother looking at my plate. I don’t trust a single person here except my family, and it is clear they have the same vibe as me. Not one of us eats or touches the drinks placed before us.
“Something wrong?” Dominic presses, his voice next to my ear as he leans down beside me, and his hands grip my chair behind my back.
Ezra’s eyes are trained on the man standing behind me, and I know he is getting ready to lurch out of his own chair if needed.
“We ate on the way here,” I reply, not even acknowledging his presence behind me.
Well, that must have pissed the big bad wolf off, as the wood of my chair cracks as Dominic grips it even tighter than before. “Eat!” He orders and Andrei falters as he fights the command.
My brother’s knuckles turn white as he grabs the fork to his right. “No, put it down, Andrei,” I command. Slowly, his hand uncurls from the fork and he puts it back down, everyone gasps at me, overriding Dominic’s command.
His claws slash through the back of my seat, but I know that if he tries to make one move to touch me, Ezra and Mateo will be all over him in a heartbeat, ripping him apart.
Ezra rises from his seat, grabs my plate, and holds it up to the Alpha. “Eat it,” Ezra suggests, and I know he isn’t even using his aura against Dominic. He is just casually saying it.
Ezra’s aura is still pulled close, hidden from those who surround us and wish us harm. Not even one person in this place, aside from our family, knows how strong my mates truly are. To be fair, I’m pretty sure even Dominic has no fucking clue who he is standing in front of.
“I don’t eat Salmon,” Dominic shrugs and casually stalks off to his table. For everyone else, this might seem like quick banter, but I know there is more to it than meets the eye.
It isn’t his pride that holds Dominic back from eating the fucking fish. I bet my left foot and the sock on it that he put something in our food to gain some sort of advantage over us. It is clear Dominic is an angry man who doesn’t love to play by the rules. I had barely spoken more than a few sentences with the man and I could tell he is a snake, so I wouldn’t be surprised if poisoning food is a part of his grand scheme.
He invited me here to “show me my place” and he can’t do that without playing dirty tricks on me.
All eyes are pointed at us, and I can feel Dominic’s eyes boring into my back. Ezra sits down, his eyes trained on the man sitting at the table behind me. I don’t bother looking back, and Andrei nods to me in thanks.
But again, that just proves our point, that something was done to our food. Whether or not he likes Salmon, I am unsure, but to prove a point, he would have accepted the plate, but he didn’t. Ezra waves the caterer over and tells them to clear the table.
My eyes scan the crowd of nervous alphas. Then I look at my father, who is standing guard over Marge and Sage, and the kids. The Lunas stare at him nervously, and it is obvious they think it is odd he is in that section. I also notice no other Beta is here. This meeting is strictly for Alphas and their Lunas. My father, however, is unfazed by their unwanted attention.
For the most part, everyone remains quiet, and the atmosphere is tense. It feels like it takes forever when everyone finishes and I get up to use the bathroom. Andrei follows me and stands outside the bathroom doors.
After I am finished, we make our way back to the table. The plates have been cleared, and everyone is waiting patiently for Dominic to do whatever the heck he is doing. Walking up the aisle, I am near my seat when Dominic speaks up. His voice is loud as he tries to humiliate me.
“Here I was thinking you finally learned your place and went back to Lunas area,” he laughs.
The crowd behind him erupts in laughter, like a pack of miserable sheep, desperate to earn the good graces of the wolf and live another miserable day of their lives. Andrei stops, almost running into my back when I glare at the overbearing, arrogant man.
“My place?” Gosh, what is it with fucking Alphas thinking women are beneath them? I laugh, walking toward his table. “Well, if you want me to take my place, I believe you need to move because you are sitting in my seat,” I tell him, placing my hands on the table.
His growl is more like a roar echoing around the stadium.
“I think your place is over at the first table,” I tell him as I point at the table where my mates and Andrei are sitting, watching me.
He made a mistake by thinking I lay down and bare my neck for him just because I am a woman. All that did was serve to piss me off. And now he’ll get a dose of his own medicine when he is put in his place at my fucking feet.