Page 32 of Escaping Wildfire

“Have you ever been here before?”

“All the time, it’s my father’s favorite place.” He said, sounding bored.

“I suppose that’s the theme then.”

“The theme?” He raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by my comment.

“Yes, he seems to like to be in control. His choice of wedding colors, his choice of wedding flowers, and his choice of restaurant for this date. He even picked out the last two dresses I’ve worn.” I said, making a sweeping motion over my dress.

He chuckled, “You’re pretty good at reading my father, then.”

“Not really, he’s just…easy to read.”

“Easy to read?” He repeated my words as a question.

“He’s predictable.” I picked up my wine glass and took a drink, grimacing at the taste.

“Is it not to your liking?” He continued talking before I could respond. “No one’s ever called my father predictable before…unhinged, psychotic…even evil, but definitely not predictable.”

“Well, he’s a man who will do anything for power and control. Thus, he will predictably do what gets him the most power.”

“You are probably correct in that assessment of my father.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Will you be psychoanalyzing me as well by the end of this dinner?”

I chuckled back at him, “I think I need more time than that for a more complex person like you.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever been called complex.” He took another drink from his glass.

“Well, your father is the devil incarnate, and you don’t quite seem like you’re following in his footsteps, so in my book, that’s pretty complex.”

Our conversation was interrupted as our food arrived. He looked down at his plate and pushed the food around with his fork before speaking again. “How can you be so sure I’m not following in his footsteps?”

“We’ve had two encounters so far, each of which you’ve pretty much ignored me. You don’t want this.” I said gesturing between the two of us. “You don’t crave power like he does.” I kept talking hoping he couldn’t tell I was talking out of my ass, but I could see his walls slowly crumbling. “You already told me you want your fated mate and not me.”

He clenched his hand, and his eyes glowed gold for half a second before returning to their normal color.

“You’re right, I do want my fated mate. Mates are a gift and should be cherished…that’s something my father knows nothing about.”

We both paused to take a bite of food, and we stayed silent for a few minutes as we ate.

“You talk a big game for someone who’s only seventeen.”

“Do I?” I tilted my head as if contemplating something. “How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-three.”

“Will your father be relinquishing his title to you?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, but don’t get your hopes up about being a Luna anytime soon because Alpha Marek has no plans for retirement.”

I chuckled at his comment, “I’ve never wanted to be a Luna, so no concerns there.”

“A beta then?” He tried.

“Not a beta either.” I shook my head. “What about you, do you want to be Alpha?”

He breathed out a sigh and looked off to the side before responding. “I used to…but now I just want to be happy, maybe even find peace.” He looked down now as if he’d said too much.

We went back to eating. “Here, try the bread.” He pushed the basket of bread my way.