With Eyes to See | ✔

|03|

Leora inhaled the smell of caramel, silent as a grave as she took in the man's words.

She was the thing he had been looking for? Or had she misunderstood him? Surely he couldn't have been looking for her, they had never met before.

"I'm sorry, what?"

The confusion permeated off her in a musty odour, leaking from her pores and invading his nostrils. Her innocence was captivating. The mere fact that she couldn't comprehend that she could be so special and needed by another person immediately showed Adam that she was either extremely selfless or humble.

He opened his mouth to reply but the waitress came back, placing down a warm plate with two slices of chocolatey goodness. Leora could smell the brownies and her mouth watered slightly, she was tempted to order a couple for herself though such a thought was stopped in its tracks when Adam pushed the plate to her.

"Eat." His voice was almost commanding and for some reason Leora couldn't help but obey. Her fingers reached across the table, feeling for the plate. After smelling the chocolatey goodness, she knew she couldn't resist the temptation.

Speaking of temptation...

Adam waited until she put the brownie to her lips and took a small bite before he began: "I'm going to tell you a story."

"What kind of story?" Leora interrupted, "You should know I'm a grown 23-year-old woman, I'm a bit old for stories..."

"You're never too old for a story," Adam admonished with a playful tone. "Besides, it's a story about the origins of love."

"Alright, now I'm intrigued." Leora playfully leaned in closer displaying her interest in what Adam had to say. The man in question caught a whiff of her sweet scent and had to fight the sudden urge to bury his face in her neck, to carry her off somewhere and make her his.

He cleared his throat, and his mind of such thoughts, focusing on what he was saying instead. "A very long time ago, when people had several gods there was one man. A king called Lycaon who tried to outsmart the king of gods, Zeus, and for that he was punished."

"Yes, Zeus turned him into a wolf." Leora supplied, taking another bite of her brownie.

"Actually, he turned him into a hybrid. Half man, half beast unable to take either form and like any other curse, it was passed down to all of his descendants thereafter. He mated with a woman who gave him 8 sons, who all went in their own separate directions."

"Hm, I've never heard of that version before." Leora hummed in interest, her free hand rested on the table gently. "What happened to the sons?"

"Well, they roamed the earth for a long time just surviving. It wasn't until the eldest died of extreme loneliness that Artemis, goddess of the moon, decided to do something. Since she was only an underling of Zeus she couldn't revoke the curse, so instead she created one small blessing; Soulmates to ebb the loneliness."

Adam looked directly at her, almost thinking that if he stared long enough he would see the beautiful soul behind her clouded eyes. His hand closed around hers on the table, Leora held in a gasp from the calming warmth she received from him. She would never get used to the fact that his mere touch shot tingles straight to her heart, in fact she was beginning to think that it wasn't a coincidence.

"How sweet!" Leora smiled brightly, her face adopted a thoughtful expression as she thought aloud. "That makes sense, Artemis is the goddess of wild animals... but they weren't really animals, and once they found their mates wouldn't the wolf gene or whatever it is have died out over time?"

Adam chuckled at the onslaught of questions, he loved how bubbly and inquisitive she was. It was something that not only made her beautiful to him, but he could see her intelligence for its potential to help him lead his pack and he would welcome it with open arms.