“I actually thought you wouldn’t agree today, even though Aunt Jennifer said you would definitely go. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, I don’t know what kind of person you are now. I was a bit nervous,” Nicola elegantly sliced her steak on the plate. “But meeting you again, the impression you’ve given me is better than I expected.”
Patrick felt a bit nervous after hearing this. He was afraid Nicola’s next words would be asking him about his feelings towards her.
Fortunately, Nicola just said, “You haven’t given me too much of an alpha’s condescension.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Harry.
Patrick and Harry made eye contact, exchanging a glance. They confirmed each other’s thoughts.
But Nicola spoke before them, “I have something else to say.”
Patrick’s heart once again hung in his throat. He hoped Nicola wouldn’t bring up anything related to a partner.
Nicola said, “About a partner…”
Patrick didn’t know what he was thinking at that moment. He only knew his brain was warning him that for Emma’s sake, he had to immediately mention that he had found a suitable partner, otherwise, it would definitely cause future problems.
“I already have someone I like,” he said.
Nicola looked somewhat surprised, but not entirely unexpected. “I didn’t expect you to say it so soon.”
Patrick hesitated, “You knew?”
“You declined me this afternoon. I know you rarely refuse others, and never explain. If you had made it clear to me that you didn’t want me to misunderstand, I would have understood that there was someone you wanted to pursue. I was just curious,” she rested her chin in her hand, “what kind of girl could make the alpha of the Silver Moon Pack want to pursue her?”
Patrick hesitated; he didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell Nicola that the person he liked enough to forgo waiting for a fated partner was his stepsister.
As he hesitated, his gaze fell outside the window. His eyes suddenly lit up, “Emma!”
Nicola looked at Harry with confusion, then back at Patrick.
Patrick’s worry for Emma finally eased; she was nearby. He opened his phone, the message still unread. He decided to go out now and call out to her.
“I’ll be back in two minutes,” he said before leaving his seat.
Nicola squinted at Harry, “He just called out the name Emma, right?”
Harry looked away, “Let him explain when he comes back. It’s not appropriate for me to explain on his behalf.”
Nicola glared at him, “You say you treat me as a friend, but you won’t tell me the truth.”
Harry had no good answer. He thought to himself, “We only made up this morning. It’s not appropriate to sell out a friend so quickly.” He then moved Nicola’s plate in front of himself, “Let me help you with that.”
Being the gentleman, Nicola couldn’t continue to confront him and just grunted to express her dissatisfaction.
“Emma.”
Emma was walking aimlessly when she heard someone calling her from behind.
It was Patrick.
She waved, “Patrick! What are you doing here?”
Patrick jogged towards her, “An old friend is back. Will you join us for dinner?”
Emma perceptively caught on, “Just the two of us?”
“No, me, my beta, and my friend. The three of us.”
Emma felt like a nagging partner questioning why he hadn’t sought her permission before dining with someone else, “I didn’t mean anything by that, I was just asking.”
Patrick didn’t mind, “Why did you leave home without saying anything? I texted you, but you didn’t reply.”
Emma quickly took out her phone, realizing it had run out of battery long ago. She had been wandering outside all afternoon and hadn’t felt like checking her phone.
“Sorry, my phone died,” she said apologetically.
“Come in with me, are you hungry?” he asked.
Emma shook her head, “Not really.”
When Patrick and Emma arrived, the two people at the table were both wide-eyed.
Nicola whispered, “This girl looks so young, she’s not even an adult, right?”
It was also Harry’s first time seeing this girl. Just as Nicola had said, her face and hands were about the same size, and her features lacked the complexity of an adult. She still seemed as pure as a stream, as if she should be studying at school rather than wandering outside.
“I don’t think she is,” he whispered back.
Patrick had Emma sit down. It was her first time in such an upscale restaurant, and she felt out of place. She felt as if there were thorns on the chair, and she couldn’t sit comfortably.
A waiter brought out a new steak. Emma noticed that even though they were all werewolves, here in herhometown, they would just cut the steak into pieces and eat it with a fork. In this upscale restaurant, they handed her a whole piece to cut herself. Perhaps part of the reason people chose to come to upscale restaurants was to display their etiquette in cutting steak.
She wanted to observe how others were cutting their steaks, but the layout of the restaurant prevented her from making eye contact with other diners.
Nicola pushed her plate of pre-cut steak towards Emma and took Emma’s whole piece for herself, “Harry just cut this for you, and he hasn’t eaten yet. You must be hungry, and this way saves time.”
Emma didn’t know if this was acceptable, so she looked to Patrick for confirmation. When he nodded, she started to eat slowly. With the first bite, she could tell the difference between the local steaks she was used to and the renowned pack’s steaks. Most of the steaks she had eaten before were somewhat processed, with sauce to cover any lack of freshness. But here, every bite was tender and rich in flavor, likely from cattle raised by the pack and cooked from the most delicious part of the animal. Although it didn’t have the juicy tenderness right off the grill, it still made her taste buds dance.
She was starting to like it here; the people were all so friendly. Friendlier than she had imagined.
Patrick watched her take a few bites, realizing he hadn’t introduced her.
“This is Emma, my stepmother’s partner Nelson’s daughter. Sixteen years old, used to be from the Blue Halo Pack, recently moved here.”
Nicola didn’t know about the events that followed Nelson’s arrival, “So, is she your sister?”
If Emma had just arrived, Patrick would have been fine with others assuming she was his sister. But now that he wanted Emma, wanted to spend his life with her, the idea of others thinking she was his sister made him hesitant to acknowledge it.
Harry understood his silence and came to his rescue, “For now, she’s still Patrick’s sister, until she comes of age.”
Nicola didn’t understand why he emphasized the coming of age.
Patrick then gently said to Emma, “Emma, this is Nicola, a friend of mine and Harry’s. This is Harry, my beta, and my best friend. Now you’ve met them.”