Siren Alpha✔️ [A mmf shifter story]

Chapter Twenty-Six: Dinner With The Mates

Freya

"You mentioned something about the leopard brothers showing up again?" Dustin asked me as the three of us sat at a table.

The restaurant was small and cozy. Low lights and shiny glasses, soft music and murmured conversations. It was a quite a welcomed deviation from the nightlife at Feral. The table we chose was small and square. I sat cross from Riley and Dustin sat between us.

"Uhuh, they came over to the bar the next night. Greg and Felix. Nice guys. Sweet."

Riley and Dustin shared a meaningful look. I raised an eyebrow at them, but they were not forthcoming with an explanation, so I filed it under those things that they did that I was not a part of because they had history with each other which I could only ever dream of being a part of. Which is why I turned my attention to our waiter.

He was tall and had a kind innocent face, broken out with an unfortunate case of acne, but he held a certain charm. "Hello there, hot stuff. Care to give us the specials?" I grinned.

He turned bright red--an endearing look-- and stuttered, looking back and forth between Riley and Dustin.

Very irritating considering I was the one speaking. "'Scuse me. Over here." I waited for him meet my eyes again before I said, "The specials. I'm all ears, love."

"I see what you were talking about," Riley mumbled softly to Dustin, but of course I heard. I was a shifter after all. What were they talking about? I knew it concerned me, and I was not too proud to ask.

The waiter rattled on and I ordered. For myself and the gossiping nancies I would soon be mated to.

When he left, I deliberately sipped my water, looking at Riley and Dustin in turn over the rim of my glass. "Care to share? Or is it one of those inside jokes I'm not a part of."

Riley's first reaction was to smirk mysteriously, but my voice must have given away my true insecurities because his expression sobered up and he reached for my free hand.

Before he could reach it, I tucked it under the table on my lap. I hated being pitied. I hated the comfort that came with being pitied even more.

I ignored the look of dejection on Riley's face and played with my napkin. What could I say? It was beyond me. There was no fixing it. There was nothing to fix. They had done nothing wrong. I was just a little sensitive. I was the one who needed to fix her wayward emotions.

"Freya," Dustin said, tentatively.

"No. Leave it. I should really check my emails. My family could have gotten back to me."I pulled out my phone and scrolled through it, as Riley and Dustin had one of their eye-only conversations.

Jealousy. Such an ugly emotion. I knew they could feel it through our half-formed mate bond. I in turn could sense their trepidation and discomfort.

Minutes went by and the silence only became more awkward and tension-filled.

It was suffocating. "So, Tristan and I were talking about applying to college together."

Their hurt hit me right in the center of my chest, and I cursed myself. Now it seemed like I was throwing Tristan in their faces.

"I meant to talk to you guys about it first, but he brought it up and I had no idea that there as a college two hours away. Please don't look at me like that. I'm not devious, I swear," I mumbled the last part. I felt a bit like Minnie.

They laughed, their faces clearing a touch.

Riley gave me a small smile. "I don't think you have a devious bone in your body, Freya."