"Whoa," I mumbled, wiping my lips as I savored the richness of the house-made caesar salad dressing and the super tangy parmesan cheese.

Briar gave me a knowing smile as he took a crispy crouton. It was hard and crunchy in a good way because it melted on my tongue thanks to my saliva. And the fresh, crisp romaine lettuce was perfect for this delicious side salad. Briar chuckled while he watched me eat and savor the food he'd told me about months ago.

"It's exactly how you described it, Bri." I said softly, my tail wiggling against the wall on my left side.

"Well, it is my favorite restaurant." he replied with a laugh.

I beamed and stuffed my cheeks with a reasonable amount again, rocking back and forth in my seat with a moan in my throat. I loved this salad and everything. It's so good.

"Ann, after drinking a bit of water, try dipping that dry bread into the toasted garlic and herb olive oil."

I took a sip of water from my glass. I reached for what he pointing at and did as told, then quickly put it into my mouth. My tail thumped against the wall again as the toasted tang of the garlic and the more muted flavor of the herby olive oil hit my tongue. I chewed and the flavors burst, making me beam as I wiggled in place.

After swallowing my bite, I looked up to see Briar taking a video of me, so I pouted and then grinned. Briar snapped a few pictures as he smiled at me, then set his phone down.

"Bri, all of this is so yummy. But I don't think I can eat any more of this without getting stuffed beyond measure and that's such a shame."

Briar smirked. "How about you channel the food into your wolf-dragon stomach?"

My jaw dropped. "You're so clever, Bri! That's a great idea."

Briar looked all too pleased and incredibly smug, which made me giggle. My black jaguar Emerged is too cute.

And, once the food in my stomach had been moved to the much bigger one in my hybrid form, I felt hungry again. As I continued eating, then I realized why Briar wanted me to move my eaten food to another stomach. He kept taking pictures and videos, probably to send to Kyler and our family. Apparently I look adorable trying to eat with an "adult's fork," which is what I don't usually use at home. I use smaller forks, so it was an unusual sight for our family.

"You're so cute," he whispered, and I looked up with a happy smile.

"You're too cute, Bri." I stated, then gestured for his plate of salad. "But you have to pay attention to your food, too."

"Do I?" he playfully whined, then grinned and continued eating.

Briar and I savored the food in silence for awhile, then his mood seemed to sour as he was looking around. I tapped the table, but Briar didn't look at me. His eyes and ears were trained on something or someone behind me. I turned and saw a heavyset older man in his forties.

The man had a woman at his side with a kid around Briar's age when his mother was murdered, so about eight years of age. The woman appeared to be in her late thirties and she didn't look healthy at all. Her child looked okay, though, and tentatively happy.

"What the fuck?" whispered Briar. "What the fuck is going on?"

I looked back at him and he appeared to be stricken. I wondered for a split second if what happened with Waltz now occurred with Briar, but I hadn't used any magic to jump us here from his memories. Briar just drove us here to this restaurant.

"Bri?" I asked softly, then watched his jaw and fists clench. I quickly got up out of my seat and hurried to his side.

Briar's muscles bulged as his entire body tensed. His pupils narrowed into slits and his canines lengthened as he continued to watch the group of three sit down at a table. I ducked under Briar's left forearm to push myself up onto his lap. Briar had a hard time ignoring me once I started to pet his hair, kiss his face, and snuggle against his chest.

Eventually, my black jaguar Emerged gave in. His arms curled around my small form and his lips pressed against my forehead. He cupped the back of my head with his left hand and his right arm pressed against my body with his corresponding hand gripping my thigh. His left thumb stroked my cheek as he slowly exhaled into my hair.

"I need to bounce my thoughts off you and figure out the answers to my burning questions right now."

"All right," I murmured, rubbing his chest with my right hand. "Start whenever you want."

He took a deep, shaky breath in and slowly let it out. "Waltz told me what you did with your magic by accident."

"Yes, and that's not what happened here if that's what you're curious about."

Briar hummed. "Okay, then why am I watching my father eat with a woman who looks like my mother and their child who looks like my eight-year-old self at the exact restaurant we went to for my eighth birthday?"

I glanced over at the trio again. "Your father looks about ten years older than when you were here, though, unless he had you when he was older."

Briar blinked and glanced back at the table with the trio again. "No, no, you're right. Then why—?"

"It's like a reenactment." I mumbled.

Briar stiffened. "Wh-what?"

"It's like your father found actors or something to reenact the day he had for that momentary happiness when all was well on your eighth birthday. Your mother was in recovery, he had a good job, and you were happy."

"Th-that's impossible. My father isn't sentimental. He's a cruel, cold-hearted, and cold-blooded monster that would beat his own son into unconsciousness whenever he felt like it and easily murdered my alcoholic, cheating bitch of a mother." he snarled, his skin prickling the angrier he became.

I kissed his jaw and Briar closed his eyes, taking another deep breath. He quietly apologized and pushed his fingers into my hair. I snuggled in, clutching his shirt and waist. Briar started to purr, his thumb brushing back my bangs as he pressed his lips to my symbol of my status as the vampire king.

"I expected a reunion," whispered Briar, "but not like this one."

"I know, Bri." I quietly replied, feeling his heart pound inside his chest. "What do you want to do?"

Briar took a deep breath in and slowly released it. He did that several times before he answered, "I want to keep eating, but I want to sit in your seat and either hold you to keep me sane or have you sit across from me to keep my mind occupied with your adorable self."

"Of course, Bri. I'm happy with either." I said with a happy smile, my tail hitting the chair, the wall, and his right leg.

Briar chuckled and carefully got up, then smiled when I lifted his plate. He set me down in his chair, took his plate from me, and then gave me mine. He bent over and kissed my cheeks, his happy grin broadening after I pecked his lips. Briar ruffled my hair and sat down, thanking me as I handed his phone over.

"Ann, you really are stunning." he mumbled, staring at me as I went back to eating.

I blushed and smiled. "And you're really, really handsome, Bri."

Briar smirked. "Oh? Am I?"

"Yes!" I quietly exclaimed, which made him blush. "You really are handsome, Bri."

"I love you, Ann."

"I love you, too." I replied with a happy giggle. "And is this working?"

Briar's happy expression faded slightly. "It is, Ann, it really is."

"Good," I whispered, reaching across the table to grasp his fingers.

Briar moved his hands forward and leaned over the table, then slowly exhaled with a smile on his face as I pressed kisses to his knuckles. Briar rested his cheek on his right arm and looked up at my face. I closed my eyes and pressed his hands to my cheeks.

"I love you so much, Bri. You're so strong. But I am here as your support—your defender and attacker if necessary." I slowly opened my eyes, meeting his emerald-green ones. They were burning with desire, passion, and love. "I told you before, but I wanted to remind you of this fact."

Briar nodded. "Thank you, Ann. We'll figure out what to do and how to react together. I need to know what's going on in my father's head. All these questions are running through my head trying to figure that bastard out."

"I get it, Bri. I really do. And I know what it's like to finally have the answers to the questions I'd asked myself over and over. It's satisfying and freeing."

Briar's eyes softened and reddened slightly around the edges. "What were those answers, Ann?"

"That I was a stupid fool," I breathed, rubbing my small thumbs over his knuckles. "To keep on believing that I would be loved by own mother if I did as was told, listened to her orders, and let her beat me. I didn't know that she could see my characteristics. She was using their existence as an excuse to take out her anger on me for causing her bank to leave."

Briar's eyes darkened. "Alexandre?"

"Mm," I mumbled. "You know the story."

He nodded, then asked, "What other answers did you receive?"

"That my mother was a dirty werewolf bitch—a whore to feed her greed for wealth and power." I stated matter of factly, which made Briar's eyebrows lift. He chuckled after I beamed at him.

"Anything else?"

"Um, my mother literally did everything in her power to make sure I never asked about my appearance, could never look in a mirror, see my reflection, or anything. How she did it was to beat me senseless anytime I asked her to let me see myself, then told me that there were people watching me at school to make sure I didn't ask. If she found out about it, I was as good as dead. I learned not to ask afterwards and kept to myself at school. I told you and the rest of my family that I went straight home and never really interacted with anyone to avoid getting beaten in case my mother found out."

"Why go so far?"

"To make sure no one would take me away too early. I am still not sure of the purpose of that, but I believe it was so that Papa would never find me. But she didn't know that Papa stays away from technology for the most part and almost never leaves his home."

"Hmm," hummed Briar, closing his eyes. "So you still have an unanswered question regarding your mother."

"I suppose I do. I have a lot of questions about that entity, though."

Briar's emerald-green eyes held a glimmer of understanding. "I as well," he growled. "Kyler's life was at stake."

Right afterwards, Briar instinctively knew that my sharp glare was not directed at him. He smiled and lifted my hands, gently kissing my fingertips as he straightened. He set my hands down and continued eating, then smirked at me when my blatantly curious expression appeared.

"Thinking about you and Kyler, Ann, just made me so happy."

My tail whipped back and forth as I grinned at him. "Yay!"

Briar cooed. "You're so damn cute, Ann."

"You and Ky are super cute." I replied with a bright smile. "I'm kinda curious to know what it would be like in the bedroom with both of you since Ky is a little submissive."

Briar's ears perked. "Yes, I noticed that. He became very obedient and sweet after you filled him with your magic."

"I think he was already like that, Bri. He'd already shown that tendency before I had started my work on him."

"Really?"

"Yup!"

Briar playfully rubbed and stroked his chin. "Hmm, I feel as though you awaken both dominant and submissive traits in people with that small, innocent appearance and that contrasting badass-ness that you show off fairly frequently."

"It certainly seems like it." I giggled, my tail lifting and curling it where Briar could see.

He chuckled and finished off his salad, then watched me do the same. "Want to leave the rest of the food choices to me?"

"Okay, 'cause you know this place best. Besides, I'm not a super picky eater."

Briar smiled. "That's true. You always looks so happy eating the food at home and wherever else we go."

"I love food and I love the company around me. That's why I'm so happy."

"You are such a charmer, Ann." Briar groaned aloud. "I'm so ridiculously happy now."

My giggles made him grin.