In love we rise

Chapter 2

Elio regretted everything. Sitting on the plush sofa, surrounded by the most luxury that he had ever seen, Elio regretted everything. He looked down onto his lap, as he fiddled with his fingers, his hands slipping on his slightly sweaty palms. His mind was all over the place and he couldn’t stop brushing the little spot of light reflected on the back of his hand, near the knuckles. Distractedly, he looked up at the ceiling, squinting as the light from the chandelier glimmered and refracted off the crystals.

His mind was muddled and the remnants of the panic still gripped his heart, making it beat sluggishly, yet, nothing could be as bad as sitting here, in the hotel room of two strange alphas. The worst part however, was that he had no one to blame but himself. Why, oh why had he decided to follow the alpha with the alluring smell? He had no explanation for his own behavior. It was absurd. Preposterous. And completely out of character. What had he even been thinking, following the man into the hotel lobby? Clearly, he had not been thinking! Of course, there was the situation of the big lump of an alpha following him. The only thing that he could come up with to excuse this grave lapse in his judgment. But, still! This was inexcusable. For a second he wished for the earth to swallow him whole. Maybe then he would not have to deal with the repercussions of his own bizarre tendencies and spontaneity. One of these days, it would surely get him in trouble.

Cringing internally, Elio looked away from the chandelier, blinking away the flare spots in his vision. Honestly though, his embarrassment aside, things worked out for the best. ‘I mean, it could have gone much, much worse,’ he thought, a grimace pulling at his lips, the various scenarios leaping over each other in his mind, overwhelming him. He could have been captured. And where would that lead him? Definitely nowhere good. He thought with a shudder.

No, really, this was definitely the lesser of the two evils. Yes, he would never be able to look himself in the eyes. But, honestly, really, if he had to choose been certain misfortune and a healthy dose of embarrassment and self-reproach, he would probably pick the latter, every single time.

Yet, every time his thoughts meandered back to the moment he had burst in through the double doors of the hotel (and yes, he had not noticed it was a hotel, and a very, very fancy one at that), panting and desperate, making all eyes turn to him, what with all the noise he had made with his entrance, he could not help but hide his face in his hands, wishing for his existence to come an end. 

It had been especially embarrassing, when the receptionist had come up to him, and asked him what he wanted, with a decidedly judgmental look on her face. And really, he would have left, and for a moment he had almost turned tail, but, one look over his shoulder and he had gritted his teeth and decided to really grab this situation by the horns and simply roll with it. His pursuers were still loitering outside the door, clearly waiting for him to come out.

“I’m here to meet Angelo,” he had said, mustering all of his confidence, his heart beating alarmingly fast. He had tried to school his features into an appropriately haughty mask, one to hopefully rival the skeptical look on the face of the beta confronting him.

She had simply raised a disbelieving eyebrow and asked him who he meant. And in a moment of complete and utter desperation, he had looked around the lobby, his eyes landing on the said man, as he was about to step into the elevator. For a second he had hesitated, already regretting what he was about to do. But, well, desperate times called for desperate measures, they said, and in Elio’s books (and anyone else’s for that matter) this definitely qualified as one. Therefore, bracing himself with a breath, he had done the unthinkable! The absolute worst thing! Something he would forever count as one of his most embarrassing moments.

He had called out Angelo’s name. Ugh! Let’s be honest, yeah? He had not so much as called his name, as he had bellowed it! f*****g shouted it! Yup, he had shrieked like a banshee, calling out the name of a completely unknown and strange alpha. In the middle of a hotel lobby. A very posh hotel lobby. And honestly, he had no excuse for such preposterous behavior, except that he was under grave duress, and these were extenuating circumstances.

But, he could not begrudge the look of absolute horror that had dawned on the face of the pretty beta woman, as she had looked at him with a gaping mouth.

And yes, he had watched as the alpha himself and his friend had startled and turned around with a look of disbelief. And as Angelo’s eyes had landed on Elio’s face, he had watched as a look of surprise had crossed his features, even as his eyebrows had shot up into his hairline. And for a moment, Elio had been sure that the man would turn around and leave, but there must have been something on his face, that had made him frown, a calculating gaze spearing Elio to the ground.

And just as the receptionist had finally gotten a hold of herself and had started ushering him out, disregarding his pleading looks and desperate entreaties, Angelo had swept in, stopping them with a hand on Elio’s shoulder.

Shocked, Elio had looked up at the man, but, there had been an unreadable look in his eyes, even as he had assured the flustered receptionist that yes, indeed, Elio was here with him, and that he was very sorry for the inconvenience, he should have informed the reception about sending him up, and that they would now be leaving and that he very much appreciated the patience and service, but there was really nothing to worry about.

Elio had watched in a daze as Angelo had smoothly handled the situation that he had himself created and dragged the man into. So close to the alpha, the fire and musk smell was even more prominent and had enveloped him in a cocoon, lulling Elio into a strange sense of comfort and trust. He had stared at the patrician features of the alpha’s face, as his eyes had slid over to him every so often during his conversation with the beta woman. Elio registered distantly that his eyes were a startling grey, piercing in their intensity, even as he was steered away from the lobby and into the waiting elevator.

It was only when he had been situated firmly in the corner of the elevator, with two questioning, calculating gazes fixed on him, that he had snapped out of the headspace that he had fallen into, the world rushing back in, the reality of the situation that he was in, hitting him full force. And as the events of the past few minutes had seeped into his consciousness, his eyes had widened, and he had found himself floundering, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he looked alternately between the two alphas with him in the elevator, unsure about what to say and how to get out of this situation.

Now that he was out of the immediate crisis, he had realized that he had very potentially found himself in another dangerous situation. After all, these were unknown alphas with unknown agendas. And as his mind had galloped ahead of himself, Elio had wondered with a sinking heart that in the heat of the moment, he had not even questioned the intentions of Angelo for helping him. Could he really trust his gut? He felt at an instinctual level, that he could trust these alphas, but, could he really trust his own instincts? After all his ‘instincts’ were the reason he was in this mess to begin with, no?

“Don’t worry, you’re safe.” Angelo had said suddenly, making Elio gulp and look down. Perhaps his scent had soured. Well, that was embarrassing. Normally, he had more control of his own pheromones. But then, normally, he would not even be here, so.

“I’m not sure what you want, but you had seemed desperate for help. I’m sorry if I assumed wrong. Although, that begs the question of how you know my name,” Angelo had continued unaffected, making Elio gulp and look up.

There was a dangerous glint to Angelo’s eyes. “Because, there could be only so many explanations for your behavior. If your intent is malicious, I’m sure you can now envisage what will happen next.” Briefly, he looked at his friend who was reclined against the elevator wall, his posture, misleading. For in that moment Elio knew that if he were to try something, he would not get out of the situation unscathed. “But, if indeed, your intentions are firmly above board, rest assured, you shall not be harmed.” Angelo had assured.

 But, to Elio, in that moment, it had felt like the least assuring thing. He could feel the sweat gather at the small of his back, and his hands grow clammy with sweat, as he had clenched his fists and dug his nails into his palm in an attempt to ground himself, so as not to give into the panic that was roiling in his gut.

 The elevator had dinged open to a penthouse suite, and the three had stepped out into the lounge (well, ushered more than anything in the case of Elio), and made their way to the seating arrangement beside the floor to ceiling glass wall on the left side of the room.

In any other scenario, Elio would have been gawking at his surroundings, unused as he was to such blatant displays of wealth. But, in that moment, he had been able to do only as much as find his way to the couch and sit himself gingerly at the very edge, when he was directed to do so.

What had followed was one of the most difficult ten minutes of his life, as he had been grilled to death, and when he had confessed as to how he knew Angelo’s name, he had stuttered and blushed his way through the explanation. From the periphery of his vision, he had caught the slight upturning of the alpha’s lips as he had admitted to overhearing his name when his friend had called out to him. Of course, he had blurred over the details of why he had been eavesdropping in the first place. He did have some sense of self-preservation after all. And admitting something like that to the alpha would compound his embarrassment. He could not do it.

Yet, when he had relayed to the two men how he had come to be in front of the hotel at that time, he had watched as identical frowns had formed on the faces of the two alphas, and before he could have said anything, Angelo’s friend, who had introduced himself as Raphael, had got up and left the way they had come.

Unnerved by his sudden departure, Elio had stopped short and looked back to Angelo, who had seemed unbothered by the actions of his friend. He had simply stared at Elio, his gaze intense and unwavering, making Elio squirm in his seat.

Five minutes of this, and Elio had been ready to throw himself off the building. But, just as he had been getting desperate, the elevator had dinged open, and Raphael had stepped through with Elio’s lost bag in hand. He had handed the bag over to Elio, who had taken it with a shocked gasp and trembling hands.

Then the two alphas had simply left, leaving behind a confused and befuddled Elio, sitting on their sofa, in their luxury suite, in one of the swankiest hotels in town.