The Glorious Flame (#2)

Chapter 34

Rouhem

     Rouhem gulped down the beer as all eyes were set upon his form. Around sat eight curious brothers, and a pair of more curious parents. 

     Edwin finally cut into the lack of conversation, "I'm just gonna say it, Prince Rouhem, I am a huge fan of yours. I mean the stories had set such a great ex-ow!" His cheeks flushed when Ira had obviously stomped on his foot. The table shook, knocking over the bread. 

     Rouhem tipped his beer at each of them. "Please, call me Rouhem. If I wanted to be a snobby jackass, I'd bring over Brexon." 

     Terrance seemed to lose his cool for a second. "Brexon, as in King Brexon? I fucking can't believe this." He looked to Jones who was at a loss for words. 

     Rouhem was flattered at how speechless they were. "You don't have to act all weird," he commented, "now while you may not be familiar with who I am as a person, I can assure you that I am still the person which you have granted stay." 

    Kittrix snorted. He had clearly had more than a few drinks. "Yeah, except now you're a fucking prince, not only that, but our favorite of all time! We're supposed to act normal? Pshh, yeah okay!" 

      Rouhem frowned. "Strange, I recall hearing stories about the pack. I was awestruck at first, but I got over it." 

     "Hold on!" the louder blonde twin Kollin, butted in, "people still think we're wild? Man, those were our young days of stupidity. You should've seen us a year ago. We were unstoppable!" All the brothers cheered instinctively. This made Rouhem grin. 

     Rouhem nodded along. "Can we go back to the other weird thing? This shit gets old real quick." 

     "Sure," Terrance swallowed the rest of his drink, "we'll act like you aren't a celebrity if you promise to give us a tour of your palace one day?" His serious expression slipped into eagerness. 

      Rouhem nodded his head. 

     He immediately straightened his back when the seat next to his became occupied by Inferno. Her hair was drying and her skin was ruddy from steam. She smelled fresh, and in a hoodie and sweats, she couldn't have been more beautiful. 

     Rouhem couldn't contain his grin, so he hid it with a sip of beer. He placed it on the table, but it was swiped by Inferno who chugged the rest of it. He watched her with curiosity, in fact, they all did. 

     She burped. Then she took the plate before her and dug in. Taking it as a warning, the rest of them got back to eating. 

     Rouhem looked around and was surprised at the silence. 

     Who would break first? 

     Inferno poured herself a glass of water and gulped most of it. He gazed at her throat in satisfaction, and nearly laughed when he saw a light mark just under her jaw. It was a mark he would most likely be punished for later that night, but at that moment, it was worth it. 

     "Inferno," Leon cleared his throat as he spoke up, "I would just like to apologize. I was the reason that prisoner escaped from his cell before all this craziness went down. That was on me. I must have fallen asleep-"  

     Inferno snorted, spitting out her water. She laughed. It was a genuine laugh. Everyone, including Rouhem, was confused. "If you are going to apologize, don't include a lie." 

     Leon gazed at the rest of his brothers. His wild locks were braided back into a bun. He was as handsome as he was primal. "No, it really was me-"