Rafe surveyed from the shadows as Liesel made her way into the homely café. There he watched as she was enveloped in the arms of an incredibly handsome looking man. Raphael's jaw clenched involuntarily, his fists balling up as he felt his canines sharpening dramatically, his pupils dilating as his wolf reared to be free of its confines. How dare that insolent, idiotic human touch his woman!
A fierce, bloodthirsty growl erupted from his chest, and just before his wolf could fully take control of him, the man who had his arm slung casually over Liesel's shoulder turned into the light.
Raphael's beast retreated instantly in confusion; the man was like a mirror image of his beloved, if of course she'd been born a male. They were identical, and yet in so many ways not. Where her complexion was a pale alabaster, his was subtly tanned as though he'd spent a lot of time out doors. His mussed, darker blonde hair was tinted with paler shades, and he sported the same thickly lashed, violet eyes as the woman beside him. Why, he even bore the barely visible cleft in her chin!
Twins, he remembered in surprise.
They sat to the back of the café, ordering coffee for each of them as they converged themselves in light conversation. He envied the man opposite her. And once more felt the burn of shame at his inability to approach her after their little run-in at the ball.
He blessed the Moon that night that his sisters had dragged him, unwillingly of course, to the prestigious event. He'd dreaded having to make an appearance at the Grand hotel's biggest event of the year, but still Nizhoni and Kateri had insisted he come and join the celebrations.
"You need to lighten up!" he recalled the older of the two, Nizhoni, saying to him as she sported one of her pups in her brown arms. Her mate, and not to mention his best friend, Chetan, stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on top of her head.
"You've been stuck in doors whining constantly about that human ever since you got back from the city. It's getting ridiculous! We're all tired of your complaints, so you're coming out with us to relax and have fun whether you like it or not."
He'd stared imploringly at Chetan, begging him to stand up for him on his behalf, but all he'd done was shrug his shoulders, a wide grin settling over his features as if to say, 'What can I do? The wife has spoken.'
Feeling betrayed and miserable, he'd whirled around and stalked off to his quarters, slamming the door childishly in the process, only to have his younger sister Kateri skip happily into his room.
"Nizzy says you're going to come to the ball with us!" she'd exclaimed happily, her bright eyes sparkling. He'd stared down grouchily at his 9-year-old sibling, his eyes grudgingly softening at her joyous innocence.
"Only if you promise me a dance." He'd chuckled to her, brushing a strand of long, raven hair behind her ears.
She'd twirled around happily, grinning from ear to ear as she squealed in excitement, only stopping to exclaim in her ecstatic, lisping voice, "Nizzy is taking me out shopping today for a dress! Please come Rafe! Please!"
He'd been unable to refuse her adorable pleading, letting his baby sister drag him from shop to shop with a smug looking Nizhoni in tow.
He couldn't believe his senses when he'd picked up the scent of her. That intoxicating, feminine aroma that drove him mad with desire. But there she'd been, cowering in a secluded corner of the ball room as an aroused looking Angel leered over her. He'd been able to pick up the smell of Angel's erected desire from where he'd stood, making his body convulse in rage as his eyes glazed over in fury. The only thing stopping him from ripping that disgusting, trespassing leech into pieces was his concern for Liesel, who had looked like she was about to fall to pieces herself.
