The Alpha Twins and their Runaway Witch

68

After what felt like hours, but had truly only been a scant twenty minutes since Binh left their room, there was a knock. Accompanied by the scent that lured Alex and August to trip and stumble over each other to be both at the door as it opened.

Ariel was looking fresh and recovered from her motion sickness. Her hair was damp from her shower, braided and twined around the crown of her head, the hidden red highlights peaking out in the twisted locks of hair behind her ears. Wearing a simple tanktop and jeans that hugged her body. She was still thin, but almost every day she seemed to become healthier and less angular.

She smiled, her eyes and face darting to try and spend equal time meeting both of their gazes. Smiling the whole time as she looked up through her eyelashes. "Ready for dinner?" She asked, almost like she was shy. Rocking her feet side to side.

"We are!" August called out, tripping over Alex[s foot to get his shoe back on. "Starved, ready to eat!" Alex echoed doing a little better to remain balanced as he too got his shoes on. Alex and August spilled out into the hallway, Binh doing slightly better to hide his amusement as how awkward and clumsy Ariel made the tall, strong proud wolves become.

Truth was, he liked seeing them head over heels for her. Their adoration bolstered his confidence that he would be able to break away once Ariel was safe at Golden Green. Disappear into the ether again, where he hoped he would be able to stay outside of the council's radar and notice for a long, long time.

Alex and August flanked Ariel as they walked down the hallway, Binh following at the rear. Watching the three of them. Awkward, anxious and unsure one and all, but all determined to figure out how to make things work between them. Binh could see Ariel as she leaned towards whichever twin was speaking. How she looked up at each of them, studied the way they moved their lips as they spoke, watched their eyes.

He was watching her fall in love. It wasn't a dream, it wasn't made up. This was reality, and Binh had never felt such privilege as he felt with every new experience Ariel shared with him. Openly or just by being herself in his presence. He was glad they would still have the ability to meet safely in the dream world, he was going to miss her deeply when he left her.

The unlikely group made their way to the restaurant, only to find that there was only a single table. Soft over head lights lit the white table cloth covered table, while the edges of the room were darkened, only flickering floor candelabra lighting the far sides of the room. A diminutive woman with unusually long eye brows with long flowing tails was sat in a corner of the room, lit only by candle light as she played a harp to fill the space with ethereal music.

The four guests approached the table and sat down, a waiter appeared from the shadows, a glass water decanter at the ready in his hands. "Hello, my name is Cory and I will be your server tonight, Trey has prepared his finest for your enjoyment tonight, we hope you enjoy." Cory began to carefully and expertly fill each glass with ice water, before asking if anyone required a cocktail or drink from the bar.

Feeling like they were in for a fancier meal, Alex ordered whiskey on the rocks, like his father Holland always enjoyed along side a good meal. August asked for the same. Ariel requested a Rose wine spritzer and Binh demurred that he needed nothing. With a nod Cory was off to prepare the drinks and alert the chef and owner of the hotel that his guests had arrived for dinner.

Trey was another Baku. One The Council had not yet found. Like Binh's dinner, Trey's hotel was more a secret refuge than a legit business. Only those invited, or those in need would ever come to enter the lobby seeking a room.

Swiftly, the drinks arrived at the table, giving the still awkward dinner participants a new focus for their attention. Hardly a moment after the drinks were placed, Cory reappeared with the first course. Ginger and lime dressed tuna tartare with avocado and crispy fried wonton chips.

Ariel hadn't ever seen food that looked like this before in her entire life. Her head cocked to the side as she watched Alex and August both enthusiastically reach for the crispy fried wonton chips and scoop some of the raw looking tuna and cubed avocado up and into their mouths.

The twins were reaching for their third or fourth chips before they noticed that Ariel was still looking at the plate confused. Both met her eyes, August gestured for her to take a bite. "Its raw?" She countered. She had eaten raw and under cooked meat enough to know no matter how hungry she was, eating bad meat was only asking for trouble.

"It is meant to be." Alex offered. "Some things like pork and poultry need to be cooked to a certain temp to prevent food borne illness." Alex picked up the most perfect wonton in the bowl. "Some meats, however, when they are handled correctly can be safely enjoyed raw." Alex carefully loaded the choice wonton with perfect portions of tuna and avocado. Making sure there was a little of garnish and dressing on the bite. "This is sushi grade tuna, an expensive delicacy that has been handled with careful consideration before reaching our plate." Alex finished the perfectly constructed bite, and placed it on the small plate resting on the table in front of Ariel.

Ariel still felt suspicious. She had thought many times that she was going to eat something good only to be left horrified and confused after a single bite. Ariel vehemently did not want her past to define any part of her future. She did not want to be a distrustful person, she really didn't. She just happened to know to steep price that too much trust could cost.

Ariel looked towards Binh who nodded. Three Hours Past Midnight was also in Ariel's head confirming all was well and he would like some tuna very much thank you. Overriding her own urge to avoid the carefully prepared and presented bite of food, Ariel picked it up. Sniffed over it once, it smelled of lime and ginger and salt. Nothing offensive or off. Already knowing everyone was looking at her too hard, Ariel munched her way through getting the entire prepared chip bite. The salty, greasy crisp fried wonton, buttery smooth tuna, the hit of lime and ginger with the fresh green onion all danced like fireworks over her palet

It was heavenly and Ariel did not need to be invited to take a second chip and grab more of the amazing food. The rest of the meal was just as good. Every new dish that was presented had needed to be explained to Ariel when she didn't know what it was, and in more than one case, wasn't even certain how to eat what was presented. How was she supposed to know that one leaf that was used to hold marinated and grilled meat with various other little add ons to all be eaten together was different from a leaf that had been wrapped around stuff that had been steamed where the leaf was supposed to be removed before eating.

Ariel was enjoying herself too much to feel frustrated by all she did not know. Alex and August were good at keeping conversation light. Alex was gifted at being able to explain the food in more detail without making Ariel feel stupid. Binh was here, helping to make Ariel remember that she was safe here. By the third course, a pedestal was added to the dining room, just in time for Three Hours Past Midnight to fly in from the direction of the kitchen. Cawing loudly asking for a bite of the food.

"Seems your familiar has charmed another into giving into his will." Binh commented. Making Ariel smile while Alex and August shuffled nervously. It was still strange to know the bird was linked to Ariel. Though now that they watched another dining room be invaded by the raven, they no longer felt so strange that they had done the exact same when the pushy bird had come calling at their door.

Ariel was sharing some of her last bites from the most recent course, when the bird seemed to give her a rebuke or some kind of chastisement. August watched as Ariel made a stern face at her raven, and shooting a matching one towards Binh. Giving August the impression that the demon and bird were in agreement with each other. "His name is Three Hours Past Midnight, he believes you might stick around and should know how to address him." Ariel told her mates as the raven glared at them from his current location on her shoulder. A clear warning that if they failed to keep Ariel happy, the raven was certain to try and ruin their lives for it.

Papa Aspen always warned all the Greenrivers children to never upset a corvid. For the first time, Alex and August both decided that their father had not been giving them an idle warning. Having lived while underestimating the threat a bird could pose to a werewolf, Three Hours Past Midnight had them reassessing their previous assumptions as he glared at them with purpose and intent from his perch.