The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

39: Aurelia

Talia had been human, once, but she didn't like us associating with humans and it had been a long time since I had been able to count a human as a friend.

When my father was Emperor, wolves had lived among humans, but never revealed our secret. For many years we lived as far from humans as possible, traveling as Nomads in packs more like our wild counterparts before eventually settling in territories as far from the human world as practical.

Things had changed quickly, even in Robin's lifetime. It was no longer possible to remain so separated from humans, and Robin seemed to be more comfortable around humans than he was with other wolves.

I didn't think he would be comfortable with me bringing my childhood up, but in many ways he had been raised the same way that I had.

Things had changed beyond measure in the years since Caius died, but he had been reborn into a world that had shifted closer to the one he had known. A world where our kind lived among humans.

Humans with, in most cases, no idea about werewolves. Humans who didn't know how dangerous it was to insult a woman like Saga or to provoke a man like Robin.

I pulled up at a set of red traffic lights, and Robin reached over from the passenger's side and squeezed my thigh affectionately as he continued his casual argument with the man everybody seemed to dislike.

"I'm just saying, people have been talking about why you f****d off the way you did. There's no smoke without fire, you know?"

The man was drunk, but his vague accusation of Robin bothered me.

"I haven't heard any rumors," the blonde man Saga was sitting close to interrupted hastily.

The atmosphere was suddenly tense, and I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Oh, f**k off, Felix. You're the one who thinks he's gay."

I nearly choked trying to stifle a laugh.

"It's not that I would have had a problem with it if you were," Felix murmured sheepishly.

"Why would I need to take a break if you were right about that? It's nothing to be ashamed about."

There was another awkward silence before Felix responded.

"You left a lot of people short handed with barely any notice, Robin. That isn't like you. I guess I was just trying to rationalize it. I should have known there was a beautiful young woman behind this, I suppose."

"I didn't take a break because of Aurelia. I'll be taking longer than expected now I have her to think of though."

"You don't think you would like spending your nights backstage in dingy bars?" Felix looked at me in the mirror.

"Felix," Saga nudged him hard in the ribs.

"No, I don't think I would like that. I'm not a fan of crowds or loud music. I know Robin is talented but-"

"-no need to start with that s**t, you already got his attention," the unpleasant one spoke again.

"I wasn't...I mean..."

Robin stroked my knee gently again, and the feeling that I owed the man an explanation melted away.

"You two better behave if you want Aurelia to get you back to the city tomorrow. The whole macho standoff thing isn't impressing anyone." Thank f**k Saga had interrupted them before the angry little man made a challenge he was not prepared for.

As soon as we pulled into the drive it was obvious that Talia had taken advantage of the fact everyone else was gone.

"Maybe bringing everyone home is a bad idea," I murmured as I parked the car, as if we could get away with just leaving now.

Saga didn't say anything. She was staring blankly at the back of my seat, and ignoring the way Felix was watching her.

Robin didn't seem to realize Talia was with my father. He certainly didn't think it might cause an argument, or hurt his sister's feelings.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to treat you like a proper lady," Robin murmured, pulling me aside while the others went inside. "We can sit by the pool or something for a while, or-"

"-I think I just want to go to bed."

In another house. On another continent.

"Is everything OK?"

Robin sounded concerned, and I tried to force a smile as I followed the others into the hallway.

"I'm just tired, that's all; you wore me out."

It wasn't true, but I didn't want to seem like a boring buzz kill in front of his friends.

Saga didn't make a snide comment as I had expected her to, and her uncharacteristic silence meant I looked at her again more closely.

She wasn't annoyed or angry, she was genuinely hurt; I felt rather bad for her.

"Are you sure? Perhaps you should lie down, I'll get you some water and-"

"-have you always been this much of a p***y, Eddowes? First woman to get her claws into you, and you're running around after her like a little dog. I thought you had more self respect than that."

I rolled my eyes. The obnoxious man was still trying to prove himself. My father would probably have questioned why Robin allowed the man to speak to him like that, but I understood; the human wasn't worth his time.

"I'll be upstairs," I smiled wearily, noting the way Robin was glancing between me and his sister. He had finally realized she was upset.

"Are you sure you feel OK?" he murmured, taking my hands and pulling me gently to the side. An illusion of privacy, because Saga could hear everything and she was capable of reading my thoughts if she wanted.

"It takes a lot of energy to keep you satisfied."

"You're growing an entire person right now, baby. If I'm really wearing you out I will find another outlet."

I laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips. "You're too sweet, but I'm fine. I've been insatiable lately, I don't think ignoring that would be an option, even if I wanted to."

He smiled, brushing my hair away from my face and kissing me softly. "Saga's mom says that's usually a sign the baby is powerful. I hated her telling me that when I was younger, because she's probably speaking from experience and the thought of that really grosses me out, but if she's right we're going to have a little force of nature on our hands."

"She's not wrong. I've seen it more times than I can count; Alpha pups never come as a surprise, they like to make themselves known. It's a little early to tell, but I think this one is sending us a message already."

I smiled, but he rested one of his hands on the back of my neck and he looked slightly concerned rather than flattered as he stared into my eyes.

"You think so? That's a bit different to powerful, you know... this could end up taking a toll on you if you're right."

"Everybody else might underestimate you, but I don't; our baby has Alpha blood on both sides. I'm only looking for signs so soon because I know it's a possibility."

He still looked afraid, but his hand dropped to his side and he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I hadn't realized you were worried about this; I don't want to leave you on your own if you're not feeling well. I'll let the others know we're going to bed, and be up in a second."

"I'm not worried about it. You should enjoy spending some time with your friends."

I glanced in the direction the others had gone in, but I had already made up my mind. I wasn't going to be socializing with humans.

We were interrupted by a loud noise in the courtyard. The obnoxious one was outrageously drunk, and Saga wasn't in the mood for him to insult her now she knew my parents weren't completely over each other.

She had pushed him into the pool, which was probably a far less brutal response than he deserved, and he was screaming obscenities at her like a foolish drunkard.

"I should intervene before she decides to humiliate him," Robin muttered.

It clearly wasn't the first time something like that had happened.

"He sees himself as your equal. Perhaps a little humiliation would do him good?"

"He doesn't see me as his equal," Robin responded abruptly, with unexpected venom in his voice. "I'm mixed race, he's never going to see someone like me as his equal. To be honest, I'm surprised that hasn't been an issue for your parents; I guess my other shortcomings eclipse the fact I'm not white."

My chest tightened and I rested my hands on his waist.

"The Rome I grew up in was filled with people from across the empire. They don't care about the color of your skin, and I hope you don't think that stupid human man is justified."

Another loud crash, and the unmistakable sound of a heavy glass topped table smashing against the tiles beside the pool, was accompanied by Saga screaming things that needed no translation in Swedish.

Robin sighed, and I followed him cautiously as the stench of human blood made my stomach churn.

His sister looked formidable and her eyes seemed to glow subtly when she was so filled with rage, as if there was a real fire burning in her. This was the side of her my father respected. Despite her steely blue eyes, my mother had given many people that same terrifying look, and I understood why she was so bothered by Saga immediately.

"I'm not sorry," she insisted before stepping over the human, carefully avoiding the shattered glass, and the blood that was slowly spreading and beginning to drip into the pool.

"Another mess for someone else to clean up?" Robin asked, bitterly. "What did he say this time? I'm going to have to take him to the hospital Saga, you know that, right? Was this worth it?"

She wasn't interested in facing what she had done, and she had already gone back inside with her friend trailing after her. He didn't find her outburst off-putting.

Robin sighed again, and went over to see how badly Saga had injured the other human.

It seemed like she had put him through the table when he climbed out of the pool.

There was blood, and the man was groaning, but he wasn't fatally injured.

"You're going to need an ambulance," Robin said as he crouched beside him.

"I know," the human mumbled.

I expected him to start arranging that, but he remained where he was and locked eyes with the man.

"Why did she do this?"

"She's crazy. I didn't say anything."

He didn't have to say anything to insult her, but Robin couldn't tell a human that Saga could read minds.

Robin shook his head and stood up, pulling out his phone to ring for an ambulance.

He panicked when the call was answered, and thrust the phone in my direction, because he hadn't thought about the fact he would need to explain the situation in a language he could barely comprehend.

I gave the address, and tried to explain the situation without it sounding like a bar fight. They told me we needed to take him to the hospital, but they weren't going to send an ambulance, and I sighed deeply before I hung up.

"Come on. I didn't want to spend my night as a taxi service but we need to get him to the hospital."