My Childhood Friend is a Werewolf

Chapter Nineteen

"Hi Emil," she said awkwardly, turning to find him looking as dazzling as he normally was. He was wearing a mauve-coloured suit, slim fit to his figure and making him appear even more like a model than he normal, like he had just stepped off the runway with perfectly tousled platinum blonde locks and wide, almond-shaped blue eyes. While his figure was lankier than Dren's, no one could deny that he was devastatingly attractive; a pretty boy carved from marble.

There was someone standing behind him, a woman with similar platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. Her face was hauntingly beautiful, a pointed chin and high cheekbones denoting her diamond-shaped face. Emma knew this person, not very well, but when you dated someone for four years you tended to get to know members of their family. Emma hadn't met Emil's parents ever in the entirety of their four year relationship, but she had met his sister; Cecilie.

Cecilie was holding her brother's arm, her eyes staring passively ahead of her. A well-constructed cane was in her left hand, displaying her status as a person without sight. Her disability never seemed to plague her much, though, as she seemed more graceful than even the most skilled ballerina.

"It's a surprise to see you here," Emil said, his usual smile on his face but his eyes displaying a great sadness. "I confess I've countlessly imagined you here, but the circumstances are quite... different from what I imagined." Emma's smile was tight as she tried not to show any kind of shock or awkwardness. He basically admitted to wanting to be the man who brought her here on his arm, right? How on earth was she supposed to respond to that? Luckily she didn't have to when Yoko came back, this time with Dren and Cyrus having joined her at some point.

The tension in the air immediately rose as Dren brushed between them, his arm coming possessively around Emma's waist, nudging her flush to his side. Emil's eyes greyed over, the longing and sorrow hidden behind a wall of impassivity and curt politeness. He nodded to Cyrus and Dren.

"Alphas Cyrus and Dren. It is good to see you again," he said with seemingly no malice in his tone. It was amazing to see how reserved Dren and Emil had become, given just a few weeks ago they looked ready to murder the other. This treaty must be a really big thing if Dren was being forced to play nice with someone he really didn't like.

"You as well, Lord Ostrem, Lady Ostrem." Cyrus said, his joviality toned down but not quite gone. Cecilie didn't seem to react at all to his greeting, but Emil nodded his head at Cyrus. Yoko stood quietly next to him, holding two plates of cake as she took in the tense atmosphere. Cyrus gestured at her. "You remember my mate, Yoko?"

Yoko curtsied while holding the two plates of cake, smiling demurely. "It's good to see you again, Lord Ostrem." The tenseness in the air subsided a bit while the pleasantries were being exchanged. Emma was being nuzzled by Dren, his nose in her hair and his body basically pulling her into him for a hug. If there weren't so many people around, she was pretty sure he would have picked her up and carried her away to a more private location.

Emil was obviously engaged in conversation with Cyrus and Yoko, but something in his body language told her that he was very, very concentrated on the PDA that Dren was showering onto her. It wasn't like Dren was being discreet either while he was nuzzling her hair. She tried to make him stop before he ruined her updo and all her hard work getting it perfect, but he was ignoring her.

"Dren stop," she hissed at him, unintentionally giving Emil an opening to jump in.

"While I understand the soulmate bond keeps you affectionate, I think it may be better to act with more decorum in an event such as this, Alpha Dren," he said, cutting his conversation with Cyrus and Yoko. Dren seemed entirely unfazed, still nuzzling her hair as he responded.

"If you understand the soulmate bond," his hand swept up to Emma's neck, wrapping it completely in his hand to tilt her face up to him, staring into her eyes with dark desire, "then you should know I'm scent-marking her." He then pinned Emil with a quietly furious stare. "I certainly can't have anyone in this event thinking my mate is up for grabs."