Asra didn't look away from the newspaper article for the count of ten. When he did, he let out a long sigh, staring down at his dish. He was always hard to read, but I could see from the furrowing of his brows and small downward curve of his lips that it upset him.

"That was her, yeah." He eventually murmured.

I swallowed a mouthful of wine, hoping a little liquid courage could back up my diabolical plan to get to know this man.

"Was she the chef here...? Or...?"

Asra's eyes flickered up to me, and I froze under his intense glare. I really hoped he did not aim it at me, but the hammering in my chest travelled up to my ears and caused my breathing to constrict. I felt a headache in my mind, one that tested my privacy as Asra slithered his way inside. He lingered for a moment, never straying his eyes from the prison he held mine under.

He sighed again, pulling out of my mind so quickly I felt my whole head shatter with relief. My shoulders sagged, a whoosh of breath entering my lungs. I gulped it down, eager to fill myself with the life-preserving gift.

"She owned the place. She bought it in the fifties."

"But... your mother was a... wolf, right?"

He nodded. "She loved humans. They raised her."

"She... what?" I gasped, my eyes widening.

Asra didn't stop, and I eagerly drank in all his words.

"My mother was an orphan wolf. Her parents perished in the Great war. She was born just before it started. She had an older brother fifteen years older than her but they never made contact... It wasn't until she was with my father, did they reconnect." He explained. "When the war reached her in Italy, humans found her after, a small toddler roaming the streets... They did not know she was a wolf until she shifted, and they forced her to hide it, to keep her instincts at bay."

"That's awful. How could someone do that to a child?"

"This was over a hundred years ago. There was a lot of bad stuff back then, Tulip." He exhaled, running his hand through his hair. "They fed her silver, and it stopped her shifting. She had to act like a human, but my mother was a gentle soul, and she did not hate them for it. She was... used to it, I guess."

A twinge in my heart had me feeling empathetic toward her, knowing how easy it was to fall into someone else's twisted game.

"How did she come to owning a restaurant?" I wondered.

He smiled, but it didn't reach it his eyes; it was almost mocking. "When my grandparents got questioned about her lack of aging, they moved."

"I thought they rounded humans up into small groups?" I wondered.

"They did, and when the wolves discovered a wolf among humans, they were happy to move them closer to a pack." He paused, downing the rest of his half-glass of wine. "They had lived in Italy for thirty years and settled here for another ten before Mum took on the restaurant. They had destroyed it during the war, and she got it for pennies."

"And she made it this amazing?" I smiled softly, watching him intensely.

He chuckled softly, nodding. "She did. It took her five years to get it up to standard. She started in the fifties and quickly it became very popular. She didn't meet my father until years later. Mum had been living under his nose the whole time. Alpha's rarely left their packhouse, so it never happened."

"How did they meet?" I wondered.

He hummed, pouring himself more wine as he watched me curiously. "The Hunt, of course."

My eyes widened. "He caught her?"

"He did. His wolf brought him out this way. Everyone stayed home during the hunt, but that night she had been out too late, and he found her scent." He smirked. "He tried to take her home right then and then, but she didn't understand. She was a wolf raised by humans, with little to no instinct. She didn't know what the mate bond was."

Like me, I mused.

"What did they do?"

"My father is a harsh man, so he did what any angry male did. He stormed into the house and demanded to know why her wolf was subdued." He snorted, chuckling. "Her parents were in their eighties, withered and oblivious. My mother took care of them as any doting daughter did, and my father didn't like that. So, they made an agreement. Once they died, she moved in with him."

"That's a terrible deal." I gasped.

"They died the next winter; he didn't have to wait that long." He sighed, sipping his wine. "After a lot of predicaments and wagering for a few years, my mother kept the restaurant. By then, people were already questioning her humanity."

I nodded, thinking it over.

"Is your brother still around?"

"No." He was quick to shoot me down.

I leaned back, sealing my lips tight as I nodded. He sighed, sliding around the booth to sit right beside me. I could feel the heat emit from him, the firm press of his thigh against my bare one. It did something to me, a shooting fiery warmth that flooded my veins and lit up my mind. His scent drifted into my nose, the hint of sandalwood and nature saturating in my lungs.

My body unconsciously relaxed, pressing further into his side. His arm came around me, hand planted firmly on the booth as he leaned into me, his lips a breath away from my ear.

"You have learnt a lot about me tonight, Tulip. Now it's my turn." He whispered.

Goosebumps rose on my flesh, and I repressed the shudder that wanted to shake my very core. "Oh?"

"Yes."

"What... what do you want to know?" I murmured.

I could feel him smirk, his nose running along the length of my ear. My mind buzzed, my skin pebbling with goosebumps as my body melted into him.

"I want to know... What you want for dessert."

My breath hitched, burning hot annoyance filling my mind. I grunted, pushing him away with irritation. He was playing with me, teasing me to change the subject. And I fell for it! Again!

Asra was chuckling as he righted himself, giving me more space, but remaining beside me. His thigh still touched mine and despite his annoying self, I enjoyed the feeling of him against me. It was weird. I never liked it when Darius left lingering, possessive claims on me, but with Asra, it felt different. It sent my stomach into a bubbling, nervous mess and my heart into a frantic frenzy.

"Well, Tulip?" Asra wondered.

"I don't know. I would have to see the menu."

"Of course you would." He hummed.

He caught the eye of Ella, and with a small nod, she came bustling over. She smiled, speaking politely as she took our dirty plates away. She came back not a minute later with the dessert menu and another bottle of wine. Asra was keen to take it from her, filling up both of our glasses before holding his toward me.

"A toast?"

"To what?" I frowned.

"Getting to know each other." He smiled.

That fluttering feeling in my stomach came back with even more intensity. So I raised my glass, meeting those gorgeous blue eyes and clinking our glasses together.

"To getting to know each other." I agreed.

Sipping the wine, we kept eye contact until I had to look away as a blush overwhelmed me.

I have never felt this way about a person before. Maybe it was the wine talking, or the low lights and opening of memories, but Asra made me feel all... mushy.

Ella returned, interrupting my blush, and asked us for our order.

"So, what would you like?" Asra wondered, cocking his head.

I ran my eyes down the menu before choosing the most delicious sounding one. "Pancake."

He laughed lightly, ordering two of the chocolate and cream pancakes. Ella beamed and took both our menus away. Once she left, Asra's eyes were right back on me and I licked my lips with the need to trail my hand down the smoothness of his cheekbones.

"Anything else you wish to ask me, Tulip? Or are you all done for questions?" He smirked. "I can see it in your eyes that you aren't."

My nose scrunched. "I am not that readable."

"I have learnt your quirks, Tulip. I am an excellent observer." He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, trying to hide how that made me feel. I think wine definitely was making me feel all soppy because this man could say nothing wrong right now.

"You used to come here every week?" I wondered. "With your Dad?"

He shook his head. "Just my Mum."

"How come?"

"He was an Alpha. He had better things to do than spend time like that with us." Asra shrugged his shoulders.

It appalled me, even more so at his nonchalance, to accept that as an excuse. His eyes scanned my upset face, a confused frown taking over.

"What is it?" He wondered.

"He never spent quality time with you? Your family?"

"We would hunt and he would teach us about being alpha..."

"That's not family time. That's work." I shook my head.

He huffed. "That is my father."

I nodded, understanding he didn't want to go further on the subject. "So what changed? Why did you stop coming?"

He sighed, grimacing. "My brother is seven years older than me. We are born wolf, but do not shift until puberty. I remember the annoyance my father held when he did not have the alpha gene."

"Is that not decided at birth?"

"First born wolf's may have the gene naturally, but it is uncertain until they shift. A lot can change from creation to shift age."

"How old was he?"

"He was thirteen, about average for a wolf, but... too slow for an alpha." He shook his head. "My father wasn't happy, and practically abandoned my brother and focused on me. I was with him more than ever, a six-year-old learning about his duties... It was ridiculous. I remember not truly understanding why, but my brother was upset."

"What happened?"

"When I shifted into an alpha wolf earlier than him, he left."

"Did he not come back? Even when she died?" I wondered.

"He did."

"And?"

"That is enough." He huffed.

I recoiled, dropping my gaze back to the table. Asra sighed, fingers moving to cup my chin and raise my face to meet his eyes. I stubbornly chewed on my lip, keeping silent.

"I'm sorry, it is just... hard for me to open up about it. It isn't the smoothest family background."

"Join the club." I whispered.

A half-hearted smirk graced his lips with a huff of laughter. "Two peas in a pod, hey?"

I smiled softly in agreement, my eyes fluttering to gaze at his lips. He watched me curiously, but then his eyes drifted to over my shoulder and his whole body stiffened. They narrowed, lips losing the soft smile as he released my face and straightened his back.

"What is it?" I wondered, about to turn around.

His hand moved to my knee, keeping me firmly facing him. "Stay."

His voice was hard, a warning, and I took it seriously. I stayed quiet and small as his nostrils flared. It was weird. I could feel his anger despite the lack of mating. It was like a nausea, one that had my heart picking up pace.

"Well, if it isn't little Asra Zenith." Someone chortled. "Not so little now, are you, Alpha?"