Fated | The Heir of the She-Wolf

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

[Eleanor]

“You are Eleanor, right?”

I turned and saw the girl from the reception standing right next to my booth.

“For a second I thought you ran away, nobody can see you sitting here from the entrance. May I?”, she asked and smiled at me.

“Sure. You want a glass?”, I smiled back at her and lifted my hand towards the bartender for another glass. He brought it, and I sipped some whiskey for the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Jia. Nice to meet you. And thanks.”, Jia lifted her glass and we toasted to the horrible rainy evening.

“It’s on the King.”, I laughed weakly. “So Jia, tell me something.”

My head was pleasantly dizzy from the whiskey and the pain aching in my chest was softer now. I wondered how I would feel in the morning but that was tomorrow’s problem.

“Ask me anything.”

“What is it like… growing up in a settlement, I mean?”

My fingers were clicking on the glass in front of me and curiosity got the best of me, I wanted and needed to know more about the life I could have had.

“Well, it can be good and bad. Which one do you want me to start first with?”, Jia laughed and I relaxed even more in her presence as she seemed to be the first person today who did not stare at me as if I was an alien.

“The bad.”

“Hm… It can be a bit boring. And intimidating.”

“How do you mean?”, I asked even more curious now. I had not noticed any dividement between males and females in the Tower.

“Imagine being the child of two Triads – both my mom and dad are a good example of strong, powerful Triads and they keep telling me “Jia, a respected Triad should do this, and that, and this, and that”. And it gets even worse when they start giving my brother for example any time I f**k up.”, Jia rolled her eyes and continued.

“And then there is the pressure from everyone else. Because in the end, you grow up surrounded by your own kind but most of them are already adults and have found their way around things – transforming quicker, controlling their thirst and so on. And when you are still struggling with these things, it can make you question your worth just because you see others doing it so easily.”

I stayed silent for a second trying to let Jia’s words settle in. I could see her point but needed more.

“And the good things?”, I asked her while she was taking another sip of her whiskey.

“Well, you grow up surrounded by the very same people, obviously. But you have them to teach you and show you everything. We all live a normal life for the most part, I guess you’ve noticed that. We go out to dine, we work to make our living whether that is a bakery or a hotel. We take care of our village and the nature around us and we are all close like a big family. From time to time a new Triad arrives and settles in and we welcome him too, trying to make him part of our community, part of us.”

I smiled at Jia’s words and could picture what she was saying clearly in my head.

“There you are, I was looking everywhere for you!”, a voice interrupted us and looking up, I found Austin standing in front of us. “Am I interrupting something?”, he smiled and sat next to me.

Jia shot us a weird look as he hugged me around the waist and gave me a kiss on the cheek. His body was warm despite the cold weather outside. Was it just me who felt shivers and ice cold spikes any time I was outside?

“Austin, this is Jia. Jia, Austin.”, I introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you and I would love to hang, but I have to go back to work.”, Jia sighed and stood up.

“Don’t you… sleep?”, I asked realizing she was at the reception this morning when I came in, and then again in the late afternoon.

“I have a bed in the room between the reception and the bar. I take naps and only get up to welcome the guests. But don’t tell my dad that, although he probably already knows.”, she laughed and waved us goodbye before disappearing and leaving Austin and I alone in the bar.

I turned to look at him which only reminded me of the events earlier this evening. Tears started forming in the corners of my mind but he took my face in his hands and looked at me.

“We will find out what happened to them.”, he assured me although I was not sure why I was crying.

“I feel so… conflicted! I am both happy to know after all these years that they are alive but also terrified that they attacked innocent people. I just keep asking myself why!”, I exclaimed and reached for my glass again.

Austin did not say anything and I could understand why. He was trying to understand how I was feeling but couldn’t, not fully at least. So he chose to be quiet and just comfort me which I really appreciated and was what I needed right now.

In a few minutes he broke the silence and told me we had to go check on the two children in the infirmary.

“But we can do it in the morning, if you want. They are in a good condition so if you are not feeling up for it right now, that’s okay.”

“No, let’s go now.”, I said and got up. I put on my jacket and walked past the reception which was empty – I guessed Jia was sleeping.  Austin followed me outside where we were met by Valerio who was just coming in.

“Sir.”, Austin nodded at him while all I did was look at Valerio with emptiness. “Eleanor and I are heading for the infirmary just now. Would you be joining us?”

“Yes, but later. Eleanor, did you manage to get your own room?”, Valerio turned to me and I realized I hadn’t told Austin about staying in Valerio’s suite.

“Um… No.”, I gulped, feeling anxious as I could see Austin turning to me with a hint of surprise and annoyance in his eyes. “But I can stay with Austin tonight. Thank you again for allowing me to stay in your room and get some rest.”

I was trying to sound as diplomatic and neutral as possible but Valerio ruined everything when he curved the corner of his lips in a seductive smile.

“You are welcome. Just come to take your bags later. And Austin, make sure to shower before her. She literally takes ages in there.”