At the breakfast table, the only ones sitting already were Anna, who was quietly munching on a cookie silently as she gazed at the table, and Jason who stare at her uncomfortably as she hadn’t said much of anything except, ‘good morning’, ‘ nice meal’ and ‘mmh’.
This only made Jason wish he didn’t have to deal with it.
The door into the dining hall opened, allowing Hope and Harley to step into the room.
Hope quickly patted against her dress as she tried to flatten it out whisky walking behind Harley to the dining table.
Harley’s eyes instantly fell onto Anna who immediately looked away once they made eye contact. She felt her cheeks flush at the sight of him and dropped her eyes to the ground, clearly not wanting to meet him after the incident the previous day.
A frown made its way to his lips as he sat down across from her, starting to feel the guilt he didn’t know he was holding in. Hope sat next to Harley, since he was sitting across from Anna, she didn’t want them both to get too close to each other. Just like Harley was afraid that she might leave him for Ace, she was afraid that he might leave her for Anna.
Hope glanced towards Harley who shifted his eyes from Anna to the plate in front of him, clearly looking guilty for betraying her without a second thought after he promised to be her mate.
Hope turned her gaze to Anna, also noticing how uncomfortable she was and yet she still seemed to show a bit of admiration for him. Hope knew a little too well that she still liked Harley.
She sighed out eventually and began to serve her portions of toast, bacon, eggs and milk scones. She pouted herself some juice and took a long sip, trying to wash away her slight irritation.
“So, how were your nights?” Jason asked as he swirled the coffee in his mug, staring at Hope and Harley as a nervous smile creeped onto his face.
“it was okay.” Hope nodded slowly as Anna shifted her gaze from the ground to her with furrowed brows. “how about yours?”
“I slept fine.” Jason nodded back with a chuckle before shipping onto his coffee and glancing around. “so, today is the ceremony, for the alpha position.”
“Are you competing?” Hope asked as she raised her brows in question, getting him to clear his throat and shake his head in denial.
“like I said yesterday, I won’t.” Jason smiled before glancing into his mug uncomfortably when Harley shot him a curious gaze.
“Why not?” Harley asked with a slight frown. “being alpha would make your responsibility easier for you.” He said, getting Jason to chock on the coffee instantly. Hope glanced towards Harley with raised brows, trying to ask him, through her eyes, what he meant by it.
Harley brushed off her stare and furrowed his brows towards Jason instead.
Despite not wanting to be part of the situation and the problem all together, Harley couldn’t stand that Kelvin had to put up with it to even raise the child for someone who is still alive and pretending not to be the biological father. Kelvin is highly unpredictable and somewhat annoying, but he still needed someone who cared about him to spend his entire life time with, than a woman who didn’t care what he felt.
Before Harley could say more or before Jason could point out his side, the dining doors opened revealing Ace, Kelvin and Emily, the remaining piece of the puzzle.
Harley instantly sealed his lips the moment he saw Ace’s tall frame come through the doors. Jason, on the other hand froze entirely at the sight of both Kelvin and Emily.
Kelvin shifted his gaze towards Harley and grinned out as he walked towards the table with his hands in his grey shorts. Ace on the other hand searched the entire room only to meet Hope’s gaze. She felt her cheeks flush and instantly looked away uncomfortably as Ace pulled on a grin with a small chuckle at Hope’s adorable shyness.
Emily sighed out shakily, knowing too well her only seat was next to Jason as Kelvin sat next to Harley and Ace next to Hope. Clearly eating up all the spots she would avoid sitting next to Jason.
She nervously sat on the seat next to Jason and awkwardly smiled at him as a greeting before grabbing a jag of orange juice and pouring it into her tumbler before chugging it down within seconds.
“I bet you missed me already.” Ace chuckled as he whispered into Hope’s ear, getting her to press her lips together nervously as she laced her fingers together, clearly failing to tell him about Harley. “I thought of sleeping in your room last night but I kind of just died the moment I landed on my bed.” He chuckled and leaned from her with a smile. “why are you so quiet today?” he chuckled before reached out for her chin and pulling her to him quickly, landing a small short and soft kiss on her lips before she could even realize it.
She jerked back once he let go and shot him a shocked glance and covered her lips with her fingers. Ace chuckled out before leaning back on his chair and starting to stuff his plate with food.
Harley glanced down at his clenched fingers, feeling the slight jealousy and fear he had earlier creep into his body as he watched Hope from the corner of his eye kiss Ace with hardly any resistance.
Feeling Harley’s tension radiate from his skin forced her to glance towards him in worry, but since she couldn’t say much at that time from the fear and nervousness, she instead simply reached for his hand under the table, only to feel his fist. She bit onto her lower lip as she gently stroked his knuckles just to assure him somehow.
He ended up softening his fists, letting her lace their fingers together as she released a sigh of relief.
Kelvin, noticing the sudden change in Harley’s expression glanced towards Hope who wasn’t looking at anyone but at the plate in front of her. He then shifted his gaze towards Harley who clenched his jaw and sighed out in defeat.
Just like a moth drawn to a flame, he was easily calmed down just by the touch of Hope’s hand. Which made him feel angry with himself.