Prey of Fate (bxb)

Chapter 14 - Good Different

Even though it wasn't very warm outside, Lily still managed to beg Tobias to buy her some ice cream. And so we were currently in the ice cream shop, as Tobias had compromised with her that she would get the ice cream in a bowl and have to eat it inside. Lily didn't protest and happily ate her ice cream while Tobias and I had coffee.

It was quite nice to sit at the same table with them like that. What wasn't nice, however, were the images my wolf was putting in my head. After all, wolves were family-oriented creatures, and the desire for a large family was in our genes.

"Everything okay?" Tobias asked me, and it was only then that I realized I was subconsciously frowning as I tried to push away my wolf's thoughts.

I cleared my throat and turned my full attention to him, unable to resist a smile when I saw his caring eyes the colour of hickory on me. "I was just lost in thought. Sorry."

Tobias returned my smile even though he didn't seem to believe me completely, but he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he turned to his niece, who was scooping ever larger chunks of ice cream onto her spoon. "Slow down, Princess Lily, or your brain will freeze."

Lily giggled, her eyes shifting from Tobias to me. "Like Uncle Cole's."

Even though they were the words of a child, I couldn't stop the blush that rose to my face, especially when Tobias chuckled at her response. It seemed like the entire Raekan family knew how to make me blush.

"You're really Annie's daughter," I eventually declared, shaking my head, and taking a sip of my coffee, covering my face with the cup.

"Mommy's the best," Lily replied with a wide smile, and then immediately turned her attention back to her ice cream, once again scooping so much ice cream onto her spoon that it was a miracle, she hadn't dropped it yet.

"You have no idea." Tobias's words were directed at my previous statement and made me wonder. At first glance, he and Annie already had an extraordinary relationship, but the more I got to know them, the more I knew that the Raekan siblings were much closer than they seemed.

"What about her dad?" I dared to ask. I knew that family was a touchy subject for Tobias, but he had no problem talking about Lily and Annie, so I hoped that Rob would fall into the same category. "Annie said they have different personalities."

Before Tobias could answer me, though, Lily did, "Daddy's great too."

I laughed and Tobias joined in, reaching out to Lily so he could stroke her hair in a tender gesture. "He is," he confirmed, and Lily's smile widened at his words.

"Rob and Annie met eight years ago. They couldn't stand each other at first, being so different, but they eventually grew on each other. Rob moved here with his brother, and he quickly bonded with Annie's friend Josie, so Rob and Annie were forced to double date and eventually they hit it off," Tobias explained.

"That's cute," was the first thing I said. I really liked love stories like that. Especially with the wolves, it was interesting to see how mate bond brought together two people who at first didn't fit together at all, but later found out they were really made for each other. It didn't always work that way, but 99 percent of the time it did.

"It is," Tobias confirmed. "Although it was pretty interesting to watch. Especially whenever Annie would barge into my room at whatever hour to start complaining about Rob, and before I could answer or advise her, she'd angrily march back to her room and slam the door." He chuckled and I immediately joined in. I could imagine it almost perfectly.

"What about you?" I dared to ask. When Tobias turned to me in confusion, I added. "Any relationships you've been slamming doors over?"

"Not really." He shook his head, his gaze dropping to the ground for a moment. It looked like I'd found another touchy subject, but before I could change the subject, Tobias continued. "I wasn't exactly the social type in high school, and then I was looking for work rather than relationships. I wasn't exactly the type to let people close."