One of Runts

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: Azrael

        My hand strongly grasps Ever's as I pull her along. She doesn't know where I'm dragging her for dinner, and even though I didn't ask her what she'd like to do for dinner, I know she'd like where I'm bringing her.

        I've barely spent any time with her, though I know she'll love it. She seems to love the older style stuff that this pack has. If her reaction to when I first showed her the castle and when we were walking through the "city".

        I slow down as we exit the old stone bridge that the castle has. It leads directly to the main part of the city where the small shops, restaurants, and cafes are. She's walking beside me as I softly pull her with me.

        Her gaze is on all of the shops around us, especially since around this time of day they come alive. Despite her gaze being everywhere, I can tell she's keeping tabs on everything going on around her. Her pale green eyes are sparkling and look like little gemstones.

        "What is this place?" she softly asks me. I look down at her and she's turned her gaze to me. My lips lift in a grin, happy that she seems to love this area so much.

        "We like to call it 'Nighttime Dine'," I tell her, mentally cringing at the name. "It's called that because this whole area lights up during the evening and early night and is covered in wolves looking to eat out or do other activities."

        I gesture in front of us to the increasing crowd of wolves. They're mainly in their human skins, though a lot of the children are chasing each other around in their wolf forms. Ever's lip quirks up as she looks around us, though I am unsure as to if it's because of the pups in front of us or because of the cringe-worthy name we gave this part of the city.

        "It's beautiful," she tells me, turning her gaze to look through the window of an old antique store. She's looking at a small pendant that seems to glow. It looks like a wolf's tooth, though the top of it is a small silver carving of a wolf.

        "Would you like it?" I ask her. She looks up at me and shakes her head.

        "I was just looking," she tells me, her voice soft. I make sure to look at the name of the shop and commit it to memory.

        "C'mon," I tell her. "You must be hungry." Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink and I chuckle. I see a few older mated couples looking at us with knowing looks, though I don't pay attention to them.

        I hold my hand out to her, and with no hesitation, her hand slips into mine. I ignore the urge to grin as I pull her along. We walk past numerous of the shops and cafes and I make sure to tell her some stuff about them.

        A smaller stone brick building with a large wooden sign above it. I point to it. "That place used to be a house, though the old owners decided to turn it into a pub." She looks up at the name.

        "'Lone Wolf Tavern'?" she reads. She tilts her head to the side, a curious look crossing her face.

        I point to a large building that takes the one corner. "This one's my favorite," I tell her, looking at the old store. "It's a books store full of old and used books. I used to come here as a kid every week to buy a new book or to just browse." My voice is soft as I speak, though I can tell Ever won't say anything.

        We walk a little further down the brick-paved road and I grin at the next building. It's on the other corner of the area and has two floors. Half of the top floor is a balcony with tables on it.

        Ever tips her nose into the air and takes in a deep breath. I do the same, smelling the fresh bread and meat cooking in the cafe. I point to it. "And this is our stop," I tell her. "Moonlight Cafe."

        She smiles and I can tell she's hungry. I pull her towards it and the door opens with a chime. The older man behind the counter looks up and a grin spreads across his face. He drops the towel he was using to wipe off the counter and slips off his black apron with green writing on it.

        He opens his arms towards me for a hug. "Oh, Zael! It's nice to see you!" he says, pulling me into a hug. I can tell that he didn't see Ever as she stood slightly behind me. Another voice echoes in the back.

        "Carter, who are you talking to?" the older woman says, walking out of the back room. Her blue eyes light up as she spots me and she immediately pulls me out of Carter's hold and into her own.

        I hug her tightly and she lets me go. "Hey, Rosy." She grins at me and lifts my arms in different ways.

        "Oh, my," Rosy says. "You look so different from when I last saw you!" She continues looking me over and my cheeks start to heat. I glance down at Ever, but she just has a small smile on her lips.

        Rosy's eyes follow mine and her smile widens. "Now, who is this?" she asks, her gaze knowing. I just shake my head at her.

        Before I can say anything, Ever speaks up. "I'm Ever, ma'am. I've come as a tracker to help with the rogues." Her voice is calm and charming, most likely knowing that Rosy is special to me.

        "Oh, have you?" Carter asks. "When did you get in?" Ever thinks about it before speaking again.

        "About two hours ago. Azrael and I were running for two days to get here." Rosy gasps and shakes her head.

        "And when was the last time you've eaten?" Rosy asks, raising an eyebrow and looking at Ever's thin form. Ever's cheeks turn pink as her smile turns sheepish.

        "This morning," she says, making it sound like not that much of a big deal. Rose narrows her eyes and glares at me. I raise my hands up in the universal "I'm innocent!" sign.

        "Don't look at me! We hunted before leaving this morning and didn't have any time to eat otherwise," I tell her quickly, not wanting to experience her wrath. Rose practically raised me as her own, and despite not living with her for long, I've learned that she can change her emotions as quickly as she can flip a pancake. (Which is very fast.)

        She gives me a look and I sigh. "C'mon, Rose," Carter says, coming to my rescue. "Give him a break, he's just got home." Rose sighs and shakes her head.

        "Okay, you two! Go upstairs and find a seat, I'll be right there to take your orders." Ever and I do as the woman says and walk upstairs as swiftly as possible. We sit down on the terrace and Ever raises an eyebrow at me.

        "They were... nice." All I do is chuckle at her statement, handing her a menu to look through.

Author's Note:  Please Read!

Now, I want you all to be honest.  What would you think if I made this a series and in order to read the second installment you would have to pay around $1.00-$1.75 on Amazon to read it?

Would you actually buy it and read it?