Alliance of Shadows: NEIL

New Hope

She fell quiet, "I had no idea. All this time, you've been helping me with my issues, but you've been suffering, too? Why would you back-burner your mental health to help me?"

"You had it worse than I did," I told her. For the first time in my life, opening up about my feelings made me feel stronger.

Reaching over, she laid her hand on my arm and swallowed, "Didn't anyone notice?"

"No, I got really good at hiding everything over the years. I put my emotions on lockdown, pushed important people away from me, and I acted out like a bratty child with a chip on his shoulder. I bottled it all up and didn't think anyone cared." My honesty shocked me, but I had to keep going. It felt right to left her in for once. To let her see me break the way she’d done a hundred times before.

"I care," I heard her whisper.

My throat constricted as I fought the wave of emotions. Shaking them off, I said, "I know, baby, and that's another reason I love you. You actually see me for who I am, and you don't give a s**t about the stupid rumours that Molly spread about me. You took the time required to get to know me, and… it saved me, Izzy."

"Molly was probably just mad cause she couldn't get in your pants," Izaria commented dryly. I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of me.

"That makes more sense than you know, sweetheart," I replied as we pulled into the parking lot of an upscale restaurant. "See, how can I possibly be depressed now that I have you in my life? You are everything I didn’t know I needed in my life. You’re brilliant, and you bring light to my life."

She laughed, "The sun doesn't shine out of my ass, Neil."

"You might not think so, but my life has never been brighter, Izzy. I was lost, and you found me. My father, Clara, and I get along better, and I have the hottest little woman in the world as my girlfriend. You've given me so much more than you realize, Izaria." I murmured as I leaned over to kiss her. Turning off the car, I managed to behave myself as we walked up to the high-end building.

Walking in, I gave the maître d'hôtel my name. he scowled at me until I slid a card across the podium surface. No, not money. It was my father’s official office card. One that was about to save my ass in more ways than one. The man huffed, reluctantly leading me to the reserved table. “I will be contacting Commissioner Dane to confer this matter.”

“Oh, please do,” Izaria scoffed. “After all, he’s the one that helped us get a table here. Is this spring, tap, or bottled water?”

“Madam, the water is drawn from an artesian well on the property brought down fresh and delicious from the mountains.

She smiled, “Wonderful. I find tap leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.”

He scurried off as I grinned at her like a dummy. “Wish I actually had something to compare this to.”

“Oh?” Izaria glanced up, taking one of the menus. “Why is that? Didn’t you date before me?”

Now it was my turn to look like a tomato for her amusement. There was a flash, and I shook my head as she quickly saved the photo she’d taken to her home screen. “No, because I wasn’t interested in fake people. I wanted real from the start, and you gave me that.”

I couldn’t help but stare at the gorgeous girl across from me as she mulled over the choices on the overly decorated, plastic-covered menu. The way her hair framed her face like a halo, and the gentle way that her lashes kissed her cheeks as she read over the menu made her look angelic. She had one leg crossed over the other as she sat in her chair.

“I’m thinking about getting the steak dinner. What about you, babe?” I looked up, only to realize that she was scowling.

“This is total bullshit,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

I leaned back in my chair at her unexpected outburst. I was sure I hadn't done or said anything out of the way, but it was clear to me how angry she was. I reached over, “Izaria, what’s wrong?”

She glared towards the group of servers by the counter. Sliding a piece of paper over to me, she said, “They slipped this inside my menu.”

I read over the hastily written note. Glancing over at her, I noticed the determined gleam in her eyes. “Do you want me to deal with this?”

Licking her lips, she said, “I’m resisting the urge to flip them off and make a scene. I'm perfectly capable of making my own life choices. I don't need nor do I want their input. Let me handle it this time.”

Laughing at the sudden change in her sense of humour, I choked out, “I think I’m a bad influence on you.”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and grinned back at me. “No, not really. You just helped me get out of my shell. Uncle Rowan unlocked my mind, too. My father placed a forbidden spell on me to protect my mind from Taint, so that may have made an impact on my behaviour, too. Then again, hanging out with Kaden did sharpen my attitude. It’s been so much fun getting to know Auntie Cece, Uncle Rowan, and my cousins. Grandfather is a bit of a chauvinist, though. It’s not fair how he treats Aunt Cece and Kaden just because they're black."

My head shot up, and I felt a heat dance across my face as she slowly dragged the tip of her boot up and down my leg. She was staring at me, gently biting down on her lower lip coyly.

“Izzy,” I warned. She giggled, righting herself as she took a sip of her water. Glaring playfully at her, I said, "I'm going to spank you if you don't give it up."

She laughed harder. "Promises, promises."

The server came over, and I looked at Izzy. She looked like she was ready to put her plan into action. Without taking my eyes off her, I gave the guy my order. He smiled, nodding as he wrote everything down. Refraining from getting in the way of her revenge, I stayed quiet as he turned to Izzy. “And for you, Miss?”

“First off, let me tell you that I do not appreciate being looked upon like a damsel in distress,” she snapped. I snorted a laugh as he stumbled backwards, his pen dropping to the floor with a muted thud. “Secondly, I'm out on a fully consensual date with my boyfriend, so there is no excuse for your blatant assumptions.”

He tried to keep it together while he said, “I apologize, Miss.”

Sneering darkly, she rolled her eyes and said, “Do you need a lesson in etiquette, or will we be kept waiting all night?”

He paled, hastily picking up the pen he had dropped on the floor, “What will you be having, Miss?”

“I would like the Chicken parmigiana, with a classic garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette instead of the potato. Kindly ensure the chef knows I prefer my vegetables steamed. I will be sticking with water for my drink, so be a dear and bring over a jug of it, would you?” Her voice tapering off into a sickly-sweet tone, she handed him back the menu and waved him off.

He nodded vigorously, “Y-yes, of course, Miss.”

Once he was gone, I looked over at her and burst out laughing. When I regained control over myself, I looked over at her happy, smiling face. Our eyes met, and the world around us ceased to exist. My nerves were shot thinking about what I would say to her.

What if she rejected me and had a laugh at my expense? It’s not like we were going out for very long. Would she see me as desperate?

My right knee started to bounce as my thoughts raced. As if she knew something was on my mind, she glanced over at me. Her worried look made me stop moving as I got lost in her beautiful blue eyes. I reached into the pocket of my coat, pulling out the small velvet box I had hidden there. Holding it in the palm of my hand, I kept it hidden from her view.

Not wanting to blow it, I mind-linked Kaden: ‘Not good! Help! Mayday!’

‘Dude, what’s your damage?’ Kaden groaned.

‘I want to ask Izzy to marry me, and I don’t know if I can do this.’ I replied, my anxiety over the task rising.

He went quiet, then, ‘She loves you, man. My little cousin adores the heck out of you, so just relax and breathe, Alpha. You got this.’

Wanting more than one person to say those words to me, I mind-linked my father. ‘I’m asking her tonight.’

‘Tis about time, lad. Tá mé bródúil asat, Neil.’ he said, sounding choked up. ‘Good luck and do let me know how it goes.’

Suddenly, I found the courage to go through with my plan. I slid out of my chair and dropped to one knee on the carpeted floor beside her as I opened the box. Taking another breath, I met her teary gaze. “From the day you first smiled at me, my heart was yours. I was a brooding mess, and you became my beacon of light. My pillar of hope. I was in a dark place, and you became my gorgeous, earth-bound angel. Will you marry me?”