SHOUTOUT TO LuciferCollins

'he' ate." |Part II|

"They serve the best pizzas in town, here." I come to a halt in front of the small building, making Seneca stop as well, since her hand is in mine.

We had played a friendly game of bowling, but we'd gotten bored with it after a while. Well, I'd gotten bored since Seneca kept on winning and...well, she'd taken a look at my pouting face and had agreed to do something else.

Here we are, in front of Cal's Diner.

"It's too crowded. Let's go somewhere else." Seneca pulls at my hand, walking forward.

I tug her back, making her jerk in surprise and spin around. I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her close, making her crash against my chest. Her arms are trapped between us, caged in my arms.

"I love the pepperoni pizza here. Please?" I pout, jutting my lower lip out.

She sighs. "Like I can say no to that..." She mutters under her breath. I grin. "Okay..."

"Yes!" I lean forward and peck her cheek, then turn around, walking in the direction of the door. Instead of letting the arm around her waist drop, I take advantage of that position, and let the arm remain there.

I wait for her to comment on it.

She doesn't.

I grin as I push the glass door open, entering the always-crowded diner. The strong, extremely appetizing and mouthwatering scent of pizza is redolent in the air, and I take a deep breath, feeling my tastebuds wake up and jump around in excitement inside my mouth.

The 90s style diner has hardwood flooring and cream colored walls with pictures of pans and spoons and forks painted across them. I drag Seneca to an empty booth in the very last, happy to have found it, because this place is almost always full.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I ask, once we sit down on our respective chairs, across each other.

Seneca looks around the place, her eyes sharp and cautious as she scans her surroundings. Her back is straight as usual and her arms are two rigid poles resting on the corner of the circular table. She looks so out of place with her stiff posture, and guarded eyes, I shake my head in amusement.

"Calm down, Seneca. No one knows us here."

Seneca turns to meet my eyes. She holds my gaze for a few seconds, unreadable emotions flashing in the depths of those celestial silver orbs. She then nods.

Seems like she doesn't like it here after all.

"Just give it a chance?" I ask hopefully, smiling at her.

She nods once again.

"Good evening, What can I get you?" A waitress interrupts me, and I look up reluctantly.

She grins brightly back at me."Two Chicken Pepperoni Pizzas; Large, with extra cheese. One chocolate milkshake and," I turn back to Seneca, "You prefer Vanilla, right?" Another stiff nod. "One Vanilla Milkshake."

The waitress's eyebrows shoot up.

"You sure you can eat all of that?" She asks me with a smirk, sizing me up and down.

"He ordered what he wants. Now leave." Seneca snaps in a hard voice, and I turn to her in surprise. The waitress seems shocked as well, but she's quick to mask it beneath a polite smile, as she nods and struts away.

Crap, I made her angry.

I pick at the empty vase in the middle nervously.

"I'm sorry." Seneca sighs, letting her shoulders droop finally.

"I didn't even smile at her, you know that right? She was the one who behaved...like that." I look down, fidgeting with the hem of my rolled up full-sleeved shirt.

A finger pushes my chin up and I'm met with apologetic grey eyes. "I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I smile, "I worked in a Diner, too," I inform casually, feeling the need to let her know that detail.

"Really? I knew you worked somewhere, but just not where." She looks surprised by that piece of information.

"Where do you think all the money I spend comes from?" I shrug, grinning. "The diner where I worked paid me enough, and I didn't have any expenses except buying clothes and paying my fees—which wasn't much, since our school practically charges nothing. That's why I have a lot of money saved up. Though, I can't live off my savings forever. I need to find a new job."

Seneca stares at me with blank eyes, looking stoic and serious as ever. Her lips pull together in a taunt line.

"No."

"Um, what?"

"You won't find another job. I don't want you smiling at females all day."

"Excuse me?"

"You can work when you finish College. I'll give you the Managing Director's place in our Company—"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," I interrupt, feeling insulted. "First off." I raise one finger, "Who said, I even wanted to run a company? Second," I raise two fingers. "What the hell do you think you're saying?!" I exclaim, shocked at how she's taking my decisions for me.

"Psh." She sighs. "Look here, Cage. I can let you work, but since you're still in High School, you'll only be appointed as a Waiter or an Assistant Chef or something small like that." She looks repulsed by the idea.

"And they won't even care how hard they're working you! They'll simply order you around, and I doubt your Wolf will like it, because you're the Aleph."

"Besides, working in such small places is dangerous. Anything can happen to you. Hell, Daemon might take you, or even a customer might get angry and throw the food at your face." She clenches her jaw, looking murderous even thinking about it.

"And, I will kill anyone who dares lay a finger on you, without even giving it a second thought. I know you don't want anyone dying because of you." She shrugs, turning back to meet my eyes as she smiles sweetly in a saccharine manner.

My jaw slacks.

So, even if I hadn't told her that I've been thinking about working, she'd already given a lot of thought into it.

She smirks at me.

The food arrives just then.

My jaw is still hanging open, while she's cutting at a piece of pizza placed in front of her, but I can see her biting her cheek, trying to control a victorious smirk.

"Then, what do you propose, I do for money?" I ask, raising my brows. When she opens her mouth to reply, I just know what she's going to say, so I cut her off. "And don't tell me that you'll pay."

Her mouth closes.

Guessed it right then.

"Well, I know that you want to run a company someday. 'Cause, besides History and Trig, all other subjects you take are related to business." She pops a small piece of pizza into her mouth with a fork, and I blush, too surprised that I'm not even able to joke on her way of eating pizza.

"Um."

"Advanced Accountancy, American Economy, Business Mathematics and Marketing & Commerce." She lists my subjects as if she has my schedule memorized.

Then again, she probably has.

'Cause I have hers memorized.

Besides she takes the same subjects too.

Only, her timings vary with mine.

"Yeah..." I sigh, shyly smiling at her.

"So maybe you can do a part of the work I do every day. Like checking the Accounts made by the staff, Surveying the Files, and something like that. I can pay you the same amount I would pay any other staff." Seneca offers, shrugging.

I contemplate that offer.

"No favoritism." Seneca removes the doubts in my mind with that last statement, and I look up, meeting her expectant eyes.

"Okay, I guess."

"'Okay'?!" She seems shocked that I accepted so easily. "I was prepared for a lot of begging and bribing." She jokes, shaking her head as she puts another piece of pizza in her mouth with the fork.

That's when I remember that my food is cooling.

I take a slice in my hand, biting down on the steamy goodness, feeling the melted cheese part from the slice and stretch into thread-like filaments when I pull it.

The Heavenly taste of chicken, cheese, and vegetables invade my senses.

"Mhhhm." I groan, chewing on the crunchy base and the soft, spicy topping.

Seneca's dark eyes flit up sharply, observing my every movement.

"Hey, Seneca?" I call through a mouthful of pizza.

"What?" She asks tightly, her voice sounding strangled.

I grin cheekily.

"I know what you're thinking."

She blushes instantly, chewing close mouthed, as she averts her eyes.

I laugh.

❁ ❁ ❁

"There's more?" Seneca asks when I lead her in the opposite direction of the car and this time around we exit the pizzeria hand-in-hand like a couple.

"Are you kidding me? Of course, there is!" I roll my eyes in a 'Duh' way, and she grins.

"Okay." She catches on to my excitement, and joins me in almost hopping down the street, like two little kids.

We ignore the few strange looks.

Yes, Seneca has loosened considerably in the past hours.

Just like that, an hour passes by, with us stopping by every small vendor's shop, eating random food—even if we had a large pizza and a milkshake already. Werewolves have a huge appetite, deal with it—and buying stuff that we would never buy.

That's the reason why Seneca is wearing a funny pair of yellow rimmed, fake Ray-Ban Nerdy glasses right now, and I'm wearing a silver colored bracelet that says 'SoulMates'.

And we bought a pair of red-rimmed nerd glasses for Beta Ezra too.

Just imagining him wearing it, cracks me up.

And now I'm leading Seneca in the direction of the Park.

"Where are we going, now?" Seneca asks, looking curious.

"You'll see." That's the reply I've been giving her from the beginning of the Date.

Finally, after a few minutes, the Rochdale Park comes into view, with its high arched entryway and penguin shaped bushes.

"The Park?" Seneca asks, grinning excitedly.

"Yes. You've been wanting a 'secluded' place all along, right? Here it is." I gesture to the Park with both of my hands, bowing.

She laughs.

"The first one to the tree wins!" I exclaim, and turn around, breaking into a sprint.

"What—" Seneca starts, but when she realizes that I'm already running, she bolts as well, chasing me.

I laugh as I force my legs to push myself faster, but before I know it, Seneca is zooming past me like wind, and the next second she's touching the bark of the tree and standing there, catching her breath.

I reach the tree, two seconds later.

"You...cheated..." I pant, glowering at her playfully.

She smirks at me with those yellow rimmed glasses, walking forward. "The first one to the tree wins what?" She whispers, looking at me with darkened irises.

"Um." I stutter, "Whatever you want?"

"Oh, really?" She pushes me against the tree, placing her hands on either side of my faces. "How about, 'I want you'?" She breathes, draping her body fully against mine.

I gasp.

My arms go around her waist, and she lets hers fall around my neck, as she leans close, sniffing me.

"Hmmm...Your scent makes me go wild." She places a soft kiss on the base of my neck, and my toes curl automatically.

"You h-have no idea what yours d-does to me." I breathe out in-between hard breaths, groaning when she bites down softly, and then places kisses all over where she bit.

"It seems like you're dying to mark me." I whisper, when she runs her hands through my hair, placing kisses along the side of my jaw.

"You have no idea." She whispers back, repeating my earlier statement, kissing the tip of my nose.

"I wish we could mark each other, but that would only make it worse."

"Yeah...I might even lock you up and have my way with you." Seneca mumbles, nipping at my earlobe.

My grip on her waist tightens with desire.

"Well . . ." I trial off, "You wouldn't have to lock me up because I'd come willingly." I say, my voice sounding deep and hoarse to my own ears.

"Cage...You're not helping things..." Seneca leans forward to kiss me, but someone coughs.

We turn to the side to see an old man and a woman, both looking at us with a disapproving look. "Kids these days...there they'll be, their parents worried where they might've gone, and here they are, messing around..." The lady says to her husband, who nods and turns to us with a frown.

Seneca slowly untangles herself from me, and straightens up, scowling at the couple. I must say, those glasses are ruining the usual effect it has on people. "We fend for ourselves. We don't have any." She snaps quite rudely, crossing her arms across her chest.

The lady looks stricken.

"I...I'm so sorry!" She apologizes with embarrassment clear in her features, and then spins around—probably not able to face us—dragging her husband as they rush away.

Seneca stares at their retreating back with a scowl, not moving.

I sigh and straighten up, walking to her. "Just ignore them." I say calmly, and grab her by the arm, pulling her in the direction of 'The Tree'.

Seneca grumbles something under her breath, but follows me silently, nonetheless.

We reach the place.

Seneca breathes in sharply, surprise and awe evident in her face as she takes in her surroundings.

'The Tree', the place where I usually go to, when I want to clear my mind, has been decorated with battery operated little lights, and a blanket has been spread near it on the trimmed, grass-covered floor—not under it, but near it— with a small picnic basket beside it.

This part of the park is usually secluded, and the fact that it's late makes it almost empty.

That's why I chose it. No one would damage what I've done before our arrival. Nothing extravagant though.

Her mouth forms an 'O' as she realizes that I've done it for her, and then her lips stretch into a generous grin. She turns to me with excitement, and the glasses, combined with the toothy grin, makes her look like a dork.

A cute, adorable, sexy, dork.

"Goddess, Cage! That's so sweet! I love you so much!" Seneca exclaims and throws her arms around me, hugging me.

"I love you, too." I laugh at her enthusiasm, "After you." I say, pulling back from her and gesturing to the blanket. She smiles at me and bends forward, unzipping her boots and placing them carefully on the ground beside her legs. She then removes her ankle socks as well, shoving them into the respective boots. She digs her bare toes into the grass, and looks up at me, meeting me eyes with a grin.

"Try it! It's awesome!" She exclaims and I can't help but shake my head.

"Okay." I sigh and untie my laces, removing my shoes. I copy her actions and place my socks into the shoes as well, and dig my toes into the soft grass.

"Mm...It's so...cool, my feet feel like they're massaged." I comment, feeling enjoying the way the grass feels under my feet.

"You know, Daemon and I used to—" Seneca starts with bright eyes, but then falls silent when she realizes what she just said.

"Daemon and you what?" I urge, hoping she'd tell me.

"Um, Nothing." She turns away and walks to the blanket, plopping down on the ground, Indian style.

I sigh in defeat, and walk over to her, sitting down.

"Oh, Seneca..." I whisper, laying back on the blanket, my arms placed behind my neck as a support. The endless sky stretches above me, with thousands of little stars twinkling like...well, like stars. Seneca looks so sullen, I shake my head and pull her down.

She falls back with a yelp. I wrap one arm around her, pulling her close. She snuggles up to me, placing one hand atop my chest and resting her head on my arm.

Silence stretches between us, along with the infinite sky, studded with diamond like stars.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." She whispers, and her breath tickles the sensitive bitten flesh on my neck.

There's probably a hickey there, by now.

"Daemon and I used to walk around barefoot in the woods, all the time." Seneca whispers after a long moment, and I stiffen in surprise.

Out of nowhere, a strong feeling of jealousy envelops me.

Whoa, calm down. He's technically her brother.

But the fact that he knew my Mate, long before I did, and had the fortune to be with her, is enough to make me turn green with jealousy.

"He was my and Ezra's best friend. We never thought that he would betray us."

"Oh." I say, "What did he do?" I ask carefully, hoping it's not anything bad.

"The thing is, He didn't do anything. He should've done something, but he didn't. And the two of us were too blinded by our affection for him to notice it before." I can feel her shaking her head into my chest, and I pat the back of her head comfortingly.

"What didn't you notice?" I ask in a mere whisper, afraid that if I ask it loudly, it might break the spell we're on, and prevent her from saying more.

"That he was Alpha Braxton Kyler's Son. That the 'Kyler' in 'Daemon Kyler' was actually the name of the Kyler Pack." Seneca says bitterly, with an edge of hatred in her voice. But, beneath it all, there is a profound note of hurt, hidden in it.

My Wolf gets agitated, and so do I.

"What's wrong with being the son of Alpha Kyler. He can't help who his Father is, right?"

"Well, let's just say, there's a lot of Bad Blood between us." Seneca sighs with a note of finality, and I know that the conversation is over, and no more questions should be asked.

So, the Kyler pack and the Mordecai pack are sworn-enemies.

But why?

"Stop worrying your intelligent brain over it." Seneca teases and I nod, smiling.

"Now tell me, who is your Father?" Seneca asks, looking up to meet my eyes.

I laugh nervously. "Um. I don't know."

"You don't know? As in, it was a fling?" Seneca asks, looking incredulous.

"Yeah...I was a 'drunk mistake', Victoria used to say that all the time." I shrug, swallowing the sudden hurt and anger I feel, when I recall her painful words.

"Never say that. You hear me? Never. Say. That." Seneca says firmly, glaring at me. "If you weren't there, I would be living in a dark place now. Hell, you have no idea how I was, before I met you. You might think I was robotic in the first few days since out meeting, but, to be honest, Robotic doesn't even cover half of how I used to be." She looks angered by my words, and I smile at her assuring her that I don't think that anymore.

"I don't believe that I'm a mistake. I was believing it, but after meeting you, I realized that I'm worthy too, and if I train hard, I can rule the Pack with you." I admit shyly, blushing.

Seneca grins at me, love shining brightly in her slate grey eyes. She pushes herself above me and leans forward to kiss me, but then, her glasses clash with mine and I chuckle. She sighs in annoyance, but laughs as well, removing her glasses and mine, placing them on the blanket.