an Everlasting Pursuit

seventy three

Asra growled, his fingers tightening on my thigh as he glared at the males before us. "What are you doing here?"

The owner of the voice snorted. "Last I checked, this was human territory."

"Yes, it may be so. But I am Continental Alpha now, so it is my land." Asra snarled.

I heard a few gasps come from customers and heard a small apology come from Ella as she slid in beside me and placed my pancakes down. Her worried eyes caught my frightened gaze, flickering up to the towering men surrounding our table. I still refused to look, taking Asra's caution to heart.

"Is there a problem here?" Ella asked, crossing her arms.

"No, no problem here, human." The male tutted.

Ella scoffed. "Derogatory terms are not welcome in this establishment. If you cannot keep civil, I will have no choice but to escort you out."

I could almost imagine the looks she must get from the men and internally cringed in pity for her.

"I understand, Miss." Another spoke. "I will keep him in check."

She tutted. "You better."

I heard the disappearance of her footsteps, but kept my gaze on my melting ice cream. Once she was gone, Asra's knee knocked back into mine, causing my eyes to flicker to his face. It was a hard mask as he set his heavy gaze on whoever's shadows surrounded our table.

"You need to leave." He warned them.

"Why is that? Afraid we will scare your little pet?" The man teased.

I winced, dropping my eyes to Asra's throat. His jaw was tense, muscles working beneath his skin as he clenched it to calm down.

"I own this place. I have the right to kick you out."

"You haven't visited here in years." The lead male scoffed. "I make my deals in here. It's a fancy place, no one even realises."

Deals?

"You should be careful who you mess with, Theo." Asra snapped.

"Please, you?" The man, Theo, chortled. "I am surprised you even got the Continental Alpha spot after your father went bat shit crazy and tore down your original pack."

Original pack?

"Leave." His jaw ticked, claws brushing the bare skin on my thigh.

Asra growled and Theo huffed, the shuffle of clothing coming from his direction.

"We were leaving anyway." Theo's other friend grunted. "Let's not start anything, Theo."

"But he never introduced us to his pet," Theo faux-whined. "Didn't know you were into humans, Alpha? Isn't that the whole reason you lost your parents?"

Asra shot up from his seat, causing me to lose my composure as his claws dug into my flesh. My head shot down to watch as blood trickled from a barely felt wound.

Wow, his claws were damn sharp.

My head fuzzy with wine, I turned to find what the commotion was. My eyes immediately locked onto a medium-sized male, one who I guessed was wolf going by the conversation. Asra didn't like him, so I knew to keep myself guarded.

His brown eyes met mine, a smirk similar to one of Blake. His hair was dark black, skin rather tan, yet the large scar the ran across his neck had my mind whirling with a million thoughts. It looked like someone had slit his throat.

"Ah, such a unique colouring." He cocked his head, studying me.

Asra's arm came to block me, pushing my body into the sofa as he snarled. I fell willingly, a small grunt of disapproval escaping my lips as my face smacked into the leather. Everything felt fuzzy and jellylike, and I gripped onto Asra's trouser leg and the sofa as he guarded me.