© Claimed By Him ~ Elektra Orfanos

Settled in a fine restaurant with high standing peoples of grace and poise was my group with Mr Bloomwood at the centre of all disapproving eyes and much tolerability had to be taken to be accepting us. We drank, and we drank some more and we each in turn made sure Mr Bloomwood was two glasses ahead. Any common person would have been embarrassed but he peculiarly was embracing all the shamelessness of our behaviour that I decided I had misjudged his character and opened up accordingly. My senses were slightly distorting the world and I decided to pause the drinking and eat foods that would soak up the alcohol. At the start we were quiet but even I realised it didn't matter how silent we were as once our cloaks were off and I was recognised everyone seemed to be expecting the worst. I felt the accusation in their gazes as their evening is being disturbed and rather than be silent and respectful we drank and laughed obtrusively. "Another round!" Satine demanded out to the waiter and we all had to hush her. Valerie laughed and she spilled the last remaining contents on her dress. "Damn it." She hissed and Mari grabbed her glass to set it down on the table then she moved away the knives from Satine.

"Haven't you had enough?" I asked her still laughing from Curtis's joke. My hand gripped onto his arm as if squeezing it to death will help calm me down and he was laughing to. I leaned over him and poured him another glass feeling his excited breathing fan my face.

"You're going to drink me broke!" Curtis exclaimed then burst out laughing from the alcoholic high we're all buzzing on. But he was toppling. "Be careful Mr Bloom-" I grabbed him as he fell off his chair but we collapsed in a pile on the floor. The shock and horror of the remaining guests at this point humiliating.

"I'm hungry..." Marilyn complained not caring at all at what a mess I'm in right now.

"Are you alright?" I asked him analysing his soft boyish features. Curtis shared my sudden interest to take in each other's faces and I remembered I was still lying on top of him.

"Are you alright?" He whispered. I nodded crawling ungracefully to my chair not that there is anyway to be a graceful crawler.

"You're always hungry." Satine teased and Marilyn roughly nudged her shoulder in reply. Curtis shook his seat once he crashed down in it and I was afraid he was going to topple down to the floor again.

"Be careful Mr Bloomwood." I said holding his seat and then using one hand to pass on his drink to Valerie. Who had such an intense fire in her bold brilliant azure eyes. "Alright I'm dying with curiosity now." She began. "Explain to me how did you two meet?"

"Val I told you we met this morning."

"You haven't specified. Tell me Mr Bloomwood." She leaned over the table resting her head delicately on her hand as she shared a devious smile. "Your side of the story."

"We were introduced at an inn, by my cousin."

"Who is your cousin?" Sat asked as I jolted upright.

"Evan Crowly is your cousin?" I exclaimed shocked.

He chuckled. "Yes. Yes he is."

"I want to dance." Valerie said suddenly disinterested at the topic at hand. Wait a moment is no one as surprised as I am?

"This is a restaurant not a ball." Curtis said.

"You should have taken us to a ball or a cheap party." Valerie stated quoit to gulp down the wine that had been taken by Satine. "This will just not do."

"The restaurant is lovely." I assured him as he smiled at me.

"I don't know of any parties I just moved here last night. Are they a nightly thing?"

Marilyn beamed at Valerie grabbing tightly onto the table's edge. "Oh Valerie can we take him!?"

I panicked. "No." That's our 'underworld' hangout he has no business hanging out there. I have no business hanging out there. I'm not even a member. It's not the real underworld if that even exists -- the wolf after all had to come from somewhere. It is a secret society the girls introduced to me to, only carefully chosen people are invited to it because there are suspicions that demons and witches run it. Unfortunately there are people who want to diminish it and kill off anyone who's a part of it. It's all a big conspiracy.

"What is this?" Curtis questioned now intrigued. He tilted his head towards me but I did not alter myself. "Oh don't be mysterious now! That is cruel." We all looked at each other then we looked at him and Valerie glimpsed quickly at the exit.

"It's a secret." Satine purred boringly picking at her nails.

"My bad." Marilyn giggled.

"That's not fair. You can't tease a man like that." He whined.

"You don't have anything on us to make us tell after all you are making up for this morning." I stated smugly.

He huffed disappointedly like a child. "And I was so hoping this was going to be a wonderful evening. Evan had no plans for my arrival."

"You should expect nothing more from that twat." I mocked.

"Now now he is still my cousin."

"That doesn't change what type of mongrel he is." I muttered. He rolled his eyes at me but still had that lazy smile that could not help but force me to smile to.

"Since you are related to him, tell us or enlighten us... Does he wet the bed?" Valerie asked biting her lip.

Mari squealed excited. "Does he pluck out his own unnaturally long nostril hair or does he have a special servant to do that for him?"

Satine cackled like a witch. "Does he have a servant to wipe his...?"

"Girls?!" I interrupted looking at the three girl incredulously. "For shame... We already know that's all true come on we must think of all the personal and the unheard atrocities."

"You ladies are terrible." He noted.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and his eyes averted down to it before meeting mine. "Yes, so be a dear and buy us another bottle."

He whispered. "I fear that you might be using me." I batted my lashes not really sure why I did but I gave him a friendly smile then gestured my chin to the waiter. "I am being used..." He muttered calling over the waiter anyway.

We drank more, we laughed more and we were soon asked to leave for annoying the other customers. It took a lot of strength to hold Satine back from arguing with the waiter and we all lunged at her when she threatened to smash her fist into someone's face.

Just another ordinary night out with my ladies in waiting.

~*~*~

"No no... The night is still young." Curtis whined as Satine and I supported him under his arms since he fell over at least three times in the restaurant then twice as we were walking out of it.

"Where do you live?" Valerie asked him once again. We looked at every grand mansion on the street waiting for him to answer.

"Just in that building over there." He moved his arm off me to point at the wide and tall yellow concrete mansion with a black gate and tall white pillars at the front door. The house of the devil himself.

"Oh you live with Evan." I whimpered. Of course he does! I should just dump him and run or maybe I can just get the girls to take him up and hang around outside hiding in the bushes or something. He leaned off Satine and wrapped his long arms around my waist trapping my arms to my sides. His arms are surprisingly very strong, I did not expect him to have much muscle but I am trying to wriggle out of his grip on me. "What are you doing?" I questioned trying to fight him off. His grip only tightened and I just thought about a boa constrictor trying to suffocate me.

His lips found my ear and his uneven breaths tickled it. "You should come inside." I stiffened picturing the worst. Valerie's eyes narrowed on him and I noticed her hands clench into fists ready to save me. "It's time you and Evan make amends." He declared before I could protest. That's even worse than what I was thinking and it made all the girls fall back laughing. He gripped firmly onto my wrist and started bolting towards the gates of the house with me stumbling behind him almost tripping over flat on my face. I tried to pry his fingers off me but by the time I did he was madly knocking on the door and I saw underneath the door a faint light shine out. He's woken up the entire house! I wouldn't be surprised if he woke up the entire street. Or all of France! What if my parents were to find out?

"Curtis no!" I whispered hastily to him and when I turned my head I just found the girls standing at the gate laughing their heads off. "Thanks for the help..." Mari blew me a kiss so I pretended to cut my neck with my thumb and pointed at her. A hand stroked my cheek and I turned around knocking my nose against Curtis's nose. I took a step back to keep the distance and he was too drunk to notice.

He pointed at me and shook his finger as if he were disciplining a disobedient child. "Don't ask about the nostril hair plucking thing... I have a feeling he might get insulted by that." He almost toppled back on the ground so I grabbed him by the collar to hold him up right.

"Well..." I brushed off the nonexistent dust on his shoulders while sighing. "We'll never know if it insults him unless I ask about it will we?"

"Luna don't be naughty." He slurred.

"I thought that's what you boys wanted, girls being naughty."

"That's a discussion we must have another time." He grinned suggestively.

"I'm afraid this is your only opportunity to talk about how naughty I am and to convince me otherwise we have to run away as fast as we can right now." He chuckled at my poor attempt to get out of this situation then he reached out. I didn't flinch but my breathing did stop as his finger tucked away a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. I shook it out again which seemed to make him frown in fustration.

"Why won't you let me court you?"

"I'm not interested in being courted. And is that honestly what you have been trying into do? Because you're awful at it." The door swung open revealing an old man in his charcoal robe glaring at us with small pale blue eyes losing it's light that he probably had in his youth. This man can be none other than Evan's father Duke Crowly and I noticed behind him his youthful cherry blonde mother and then Evan himself all in matching black robes with a few servants at their favour. We all stood like frightened animals unsure what to do.

"Curtis?" Evan broke the awkwardness but still didn't help the bad situation. "What did you do to him?"

"Me? Nothing I am just bringing him home." I replied outraged. That's so typical of him, I mean I know Evan has always had a low opinion of me but never as low as this.

"You? By yourself?" His mother's eyes stared at me stunned.

"Your parents don't even know you're out I bet." Evan sneered with a sickening grin.

"Oh shut up." I didn't say I bit my lip instead and replied politely. "I'm not out on my own." I pictured myself luring him outside and then smacking him up.

"She... And the lovely ladies over there!" Curtis yelled out to the girls making them crack up like a pack of hyenas. I pressed my fingers to my temple and shamefully looked away. "Showed me a good time." That sounds so awful. Oh so terribly vile and wrong and sinful. Now the mother is looking at me as if I'm a succubus preying on the hardly conscious.

"Curtis keep it down. Oh lord bring him in." The mother ordered anxiously throwing her arms up and out to snatch him inside away from me.

"No wait. Luna has to come inside to." Curtis slurred as the scary father pulled him in by his collar. My eyes widened in annoyance with him. "Amends must be made."

"I'll go now. Have a goodnight." I whispered to the parents and curtsied for the sake of having some etiquette to this awkward situation. Evan's mother Duchess Crowly thanked me for bringing him safely home and Evan well we shared our last stare down. But surprisingly there was no evil glare just a nod of thanks before he closed the door.

I rolled my head back and sighed at the stars. I bet they're laughing at me up there. Thanks a lot God.

"Come on Luna!" Mari called. I looked at them over my shoulder and before I moved the front door opened.

"Come over here." Evan ordered venomously.

"I beg your pardon?" I glowered at him.

"I said..."

"I heard you," I scowled not at him but at myself because despite myself I'm eager to know what he wants. I walked up to him and crossed my arms over my chest. Not afraid to appear as ungraceful as I have already slapped before. "Go on."

"What did you do to him?" He hissed.

"Showed him 'a good time'." I said making the quotations with my fingers.

"You little whore."

I rolled my eyes. "Are we done?"

"Where did you take him?"

"He took us around."

"So you used him for your own sick pleasures."

I rolled my eyes again. "Yes I used him to take me to a restaurant for food that my friends ended up paying for."

"So they stole his wallet then?"

"My eyes are too sore from all this rolling. I don't need this attitude, I also don't need to explain myself to the likes of you. So when you're done accusing me for evil deeds you probably did in the past I have places to be so do speed this up Prince Charming."

"Don't think I won't get you back for humiliating me today."

"Don't think that if you ever mention my brother's name again that I won't chop off your b-"

"Are you two making amends!?" Curtis called out from behind him and while Evan was distracted I ran away.