Ever Cynical

Chapter 11- Guessing Her Age

Anais POV

Helga was looking at me oddly as she held out a French vanilla latte. This woman is a saint, I swear. I smiled and she smiled back.

"Thank you, Helga." I nodded in approval after taking a sip. Creamy, vanilla-y goodness infused with enough caffeine to keep me moving. Being able to sleep was now causing me quite a bit of grogginess, as my body desperately wanted to make up for lost sleep!

"Anytime, Lu-Anais." Poor thing. It was hard for pack wolves to leave out honorifics most of the time. It reminded me so much of my time in Japan, South Korea, and China. Though, South Korea had gone by a completely different name back then. Respect was still an important part of all three cultures at that time, and it'd made a huge impression on me.

The problem was, outside that one nasty bloodsucker, I was nearly everyone's senior, with a few other exceptions. It was hard to accept being treated disrespectfully, and it was how I ended up pissing people off at the worst times.

As I walked back to my equipment storage, my mind was reeling. Kieran is my mate! Despite the fact that I hadn't scented him and all that fun official stuff, I knew it and Claire knew it. Suddenly his odd behavior made sense. s**t! I'd accidentally like, half-rejected him! No wonder he seemed annoyed. I smacked my forehead. He'd seemed okay today, but now I got his gigantic smile when I asked to stay indefinitely. And why he smelled so f*****g good.

I just wanted to sniff him when he was within ten feet of me. Like a crazed addict or something!

Yeah, you were already scenting him, silly. Claire cooed. They're the best, really. I can't wait to come out and meet Ri'dubh in person.

Claire I have to tell him before I can accept him, I insisted, suddenly overcome by an urge to find a corner to huddle in and bawl.

Don't worry ma Cherie, he is made for you, it will all be fine, Claire said, trying her best to soother my worries away. I appreciated it, but the flip side was... what if he really couldn't accept me? Then I couldn't even seek refuge here in good conscience, could I? Not to mention it was clear rejection would absolutely devastate me.

Listen, Claire, I appreciate your positivity, but the world has not been kind to me. My shoulders sagged, thinking that maybe he didn't or wouldn't want me. Sure, he seemed like a pretty nice guy, but there are limits to that.

Before you did not have your mate, or me to help you. Trust me, she said, before cozying up in the back of my mind, purring to try and calm me further.

I sighed heavily, dragging the small cart with Kieran's computer behind me, latte in hand. As I approached Kieran's office, Lugh was leaving. He held the door but looked as if he would burst because of whatever thoughts he was trying to hold back. The man was the very picture of being beside himself. I felt Kieran would totally get why that thought made me want to giggle out of nowhere.

Kieran looked up, and I tilted my head towards Lugh, still standing and looking very lost in the doorway.

"I'll be right back, but Lugh looks like he needs a word, okay?" Kieran lifted a brow at Lugh, his eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he nodded. "Come with me for a minute, Lugh." He followed me to the empty office next to Kieran's... the Luna's? Well, mine I guess? Whatever. I looked at the tall man shifting like a little kid in front of me. Well, he probably was a kid to me. "What is it, Gamma?" I spoke gently, because Lugh was a very genuine person and I knew his concern was entirely honest. He looked up in shock, his face pale.

"You know?" He whispered. I sighed.

"I didn't at first, but I do now. Don't worry, I will do my best not to make your life more difficult, but I can't make any promises." We both laughed, but he stopped looking very serious. It was still difficult to imagine Kieran's team as the men they actually were, rather than sweet and innocent young boys. It was just the impression that they gave me.

"Tell me how you..." He started. I lifted a hand and shook my head. I only wanted to do this once. Repeating myself is not something I enjoy. I hate the spotlight most of the time, anyway.

"Let's go talk to all of you together. Don't you think Kieran deserves to know things first?" He blushed and nodded. I understood his overwhelming need to care for his Luna. It was his job, his purpose, and after waiting who knows how long, given that even a year is too long for most gammas, as it adds this layer of stress they just can't shake, and I was finally here. The only one that would typically be less patient was the alpha. I understood Kieran must be extremely well-controlled to have not forced a claim yet. We walked back into Kieran's office, and I sighed, feeling the weight of what I had to share.

Kieran looked up, concerned. Sean and Geoff watched me cautiously before they began to get up. I held up a hand, signaling them to stop. I really wasn't looking forward to this, not at all.

"No, stay. All of you. We need to discuss many things, and it's better to do it now and all together. Do you mind if I set up equipment and talk? It will help me feel less awkward." They nodded, Sean and Geoff resettled on the love seat, and as Lugh made his way to where they were, I stopped him. "Please, Lugh, sit in the chair because I hate to tell you guys this but that furniture isn't meant for three people. I won't be able to be serious if you all sit there." They blinked at me, then glared at the alpha, who held up his hands. "Don't blame him." I gently scolded them. "Let's get started."

I opened the box and pulled everything onto the desk before tossing the box aside. Cardboard boxes were noisy, so I said nothing while it was dealt with. I sighed and rolled my shoulders.

"How old do you guys think I am?" I asked them. They all froze. "It's a trick question, but I'd like to hear your guesses." I could not help my half-smirk, knowing that not one of them was going to be correct.

"Twenty-five." Lugh said confidently, smiling for the first time since I'd joined them in the office.

"Twenty." Geoff threw out, clearly not that concerned about the actual answer. Sound about right. As Beta, he clearly cared about his people, but he was probably figuring the number didn't really matter, in the long run.

"Eighteen." Sean said with a grin. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What? If we're going based on appearance, you barely look like you've graduated high school," he quipped. I huffed and turned to Kieran, raising a brow.

"I'm not going to guess." He said, throwing his hands up in defense. "I don't want to piss you off." He was blushing. Was he really an alpha? Claire was purring her pleasure at his blushes. Apparently, she liked his soft side. I internally rolled my eyes.

"Are you familiar with the term Investiture?" I asked carefully.

They were not wolves. They were deer and I was a Mack truck headed straight for them in the dark, headlights blazing.

"It was a time in medieval Europe where the Holy Roman Empire was trying to basically control everyone within the Catholic church, especially in France and Italy." I clarified.

"Medieval?" Kieran piped up, his tone cautious.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Like around the eleventh and twelfth centuries."

"Oh, okay. And this has to do with your age... how?" Geoff said slowly, but Lugh caught on first, and his eyes got huge.

"Are you serious, Luna!?" He burst out. All eyes snapped to him, because apparently they were supposed to be keeping the whole Luna thing under wraps until further discussions. I grinned widely and pointed at him.

"As a heart attack. Someone did try to make me have one with a drug once, but they failed, so I can't say for sure how they really feel, but I do know for humans, at least, they're serious." It was dead silent for a good minute as they just stared, as all of the pieces fell into place. Kieran shot up, pinning me with an intense stare that I could not fully interpret.

"You're the oldest living Immortal... that we know of." He breathed. "And you're mine." He growled, his eyes flashing gold. Oh boy, that must be his wolf making an appearance. No need to hide since I'd made it clear I knew I was Luna when I responded to Lugh. I leaned towards him as his claws extended. I wasn't afraid. Claire giggled. Without noticing, my hand reached up to cup his face.

He is so happy to meet you finally, Anais, she gushed. Tell him hello for me!

"Well, hello there, Ri'dubh. Claire said to tell you hello," I said coyly, almost pulling off flirty for someone that never, ever did it. He smiled, showing all of his teeth and sniffing the air with utmost pleasure. It was clear he was interested in me, at least. Kieran, I still wasn't certain, though from my understanding of Kieran, it was not likely he and his wolf disagreed on their mate and whether to accept or not.

"Claire is sweet, and you are both beautiful, but we will speak later. Kieran is trying to push me back so he can ask you things." He said in his growly, smoky voice, rolling his eyes at his human's impatience before they flashed back to their usual emerald green. "So you were born nearly a thousand years ago? That makes you...?" He drifted off, leaving me to answer his question with a specific number.

"Nine hundred twenty-four years old, yes." His head tilted to the side and a giggle bubbled out. Oh dear. He can't do that or I won't be able to hold it together. Seriously, his giggle reminds of when a baby giggles, and you just can't help yourself to respond, except in my case it nearly made me want to jump him and do all the naughty things my very creative brain could conjure.

"That's why you called us boys." He smirked, his emerald eyes lit with devilry. s**t he was trouble.

"Yes, few other supernaturals are close to my age, that I know of, and the one vampire like that I met was a disrespectful ass. I have a hard time with the amount of condescension I have to deal with because I stopped aging at eighteen." I huffed. "You said Immortals? What are they?"

"As familiar as you appear to be with supernaturals- which we will discuss momentarily- you've never heard of us? In nine hundred years?" He seemed surprised.

"Us?"