raiden

Growing up in a small pack, everyone knew each other. We didn't get many new faces around the lands so it didn't surprise me when people eyed Cloud. Not in a negative way, but with looks of curiosity -- they wanted to know who the new wolf in the pack was. He probably smelled human to most of them, which only confused them more. Despite my constant reassurances, the unwanted attention seemed to get to Cloud. We were currently sitting in one of the pack-owned restaurants waiting for our food and I could just tell by the scowl on his face that he wasn't happy.

"You can't glare at everyone who looks at you, you know," I tell Cloud as I watch his eyes zoom in on a woman who had been looking at him.

"Shut up," he snaps before shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Maybe taking him out wasn't the best idea. Maybe I was moving too fast for him. The longer we stayed out, the more I began to notice just how uncomfortable he was. It made me wonder just where had he come from before. I figured his closed-off nature was just because he was in a strange place, but maybe that was only part of it; maybe there was another reason he kept his walls so high.

"You know, we still don't know much about each other," I say. "Why don't we play a game of twenty questions?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Cloud asks with a raised eyebrow. "I don't want to know more about you."

"You can't seriously say that there isn't anything you're curious about?" I challenge before mimicking his raised brow.

The two of us sit in silence for a few minutes before he sighs and turns towards the window on his left side.

"How old are you?" He finally asks.

The question was a simple one, but it didn't fail to make me smile.

"I'm twenty-four, how about you?"

"Twenty-two," he says before sighing and shaking his head. "This is stupid."

"Come on, I do want to learn more about you," I say playfully. "Were you in a pack before coming here?"

Though I meant it as an innocent question, Cloud clearly didn't take it that way. A frown forms on his face, his brows furrow, and his eyes sharpen into a glare.

"Why the hell are you so nosy?" He snaps.

My eyebrows raise at the sudden outburst. "Cloud—"

"Forget it," he mutters. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

I don't get the chance to say anything else before one of the waiters brings our food over. Their eyes linger on Cloud for a moment before setting the plates down, flashing us one last smile, and leaving.

Cloud says nothing as he begins to eat, allowing the silence to consume us. With the restaurant being mostly empty, breakfast is much quieter than I intended.

Judging by his reaction, he didn't have a very good past and while I was curious, I wasn't going to push it anymore. The last thing I wanted to do was bring up any bad memories.

My eyes keep glancing back at Cloud and I watch as he shifts his mostly untouched food around his plate. Setting my fork down, I cough slightly to get his attention.

"Cloud," I start. "I'm sor—"

"—Rai!"

Mars' voice calls throughout the restaurant and I fight the urge to turn around and glare at him. As much as I loved Mars, this wasn't a good time.

Cloud's eyes meet mine before he raises a brow. "You should go talk to him. I'm going to the bathroom."

Cloud doesn't wait for me to reply before he slides out of his seat and heads toward the bathroom. My eyes follow him until a hand touches my shoulder. Turning around, I see Mars standing beside me with a takeout bag in hand. He sets the bag on the table before moving towards Cloud's now open seat.

"So it's true, huh?" Mars questions as he eyes the bathroom door. "You finally found your mate."

A grin takes over his face and a small one begins to form on my own. "Everyone already knows?"

"It's just a rumor, but what'd you expect?" He shakes his head. "News travels fast around here."

I nod at that. Honestly, it didn't surprise me that people were putting two and two together, but it was sooner than I expected.

"But now I have to know just how in the hell you convinced a human to come to the pack that fast. Not too long ago, you were complaining about never finding your mate," Mars says.

I smile at that and shrug back in response. Part of me wants to tell him that Cloud isn't even human, but something tells me I should keep that to myself for now. I didn't know anything about where Cloud came from and I didn't want to risk putting him in harm's way by running my mouth. Even if it was Mars.

"So what about Demos and your parents?"

My mood darkens at the mention of Demos and my thoughts travel back to the phone call from this morning. Somehow Mom and Dad had found out about Cloud. If I had to guess, Maia probably told them, and to say they were less than excited would be an understatement. They couldn't understand why I'd rather pick a "defect" over the chance to be the Alpha of my pack. Hell, they even went as far as to bring up the idea of me rejecting him.

"They know and they're not very happy about it," I tell Mars. "Sometimes I just wonder what goes through their head. How is telling me to reject my mate doing 'what's best for me'?"

Mars looks up at the ceiling before shrugging. "I don't know, man. I guess in their eyes, your mating with Nara will be better in the long run since Cloud can't 'offer' you anything."

"I don't want anything other than him though."

Mars' eyes meet mine. "I know that and I'm sure when they see just how happy you are with him, they will too."

The bathroom door opens and Cloud walks back towards the table. He stares at Mars for a few minutes before turning to me.

"I'm going to wait outside in the car."

"You barely touched your food, don't you want to fin—"

"—I'm fine." He interrupts before heading towards the door.

Once he's out of sight, Mars turns back to me with a raised brow. "What was that?"

Staring at the door, I frown and shake my head. "I fucked up earlier."

Mars' eyes soften as he begins to stand. "I'm sure you'll manage to fix it. You always do." He grabs his bag off the table. "I need to head back now, but we definitely need to get together at some point."

"We do," I agree and flash him a smile. "Tell Harmony, I said hi."

Mars returns my smile before heading towards the door. He stops just before walking out and turns back to me.

"Also, Raiden, I'm happy for you and always on your side."

"I know," I reply.

"Good, don't you forget it."

I watch Mars leave before standing up and heading toward the counter to pay. After doing so, I head out to the car and climb inside. Cloud doesn't bother saying anything, and I bite back a sigh. I planned for today would be a fun day, but he clearly wasn't enjoying it as much as hoped. So instead, I begin to drive back towards the house.

"Cloud," I call out and break the silence. Cloud briefly glances over at me before looking back at the window. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Raiden," he mutters.

"It's not fine," I shake my head. "And I'm not just talking about the questions, but just in general. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable or unhappy, and it seems like that's all you've been today. So I'm sorry."

Cloud shifts in his seat and I can feel him staring at me, but he doesn't say anything. On the way the home we ride in silence, but it isn't as uncomfortable as it was before.

When we pull into the driveway, Cloud opens his mouth to say something before he closes it and shakes his head. I want to ask what he was going to say, but fight back the urge. Instead, I open the door and move to get out.

"Raiden?" Beta Reo links, causing me to pause. Cloud turns to me and I offer him a smile before handing him the key to the front door.

"Go on, I'll be inside in a minute," I assure him.

"Yes?" I link back curiously.

"Alpha Tatum wants you to come to see him," Beta Reo replies.

"I can't just leave Cloud here," I remind him.

When he says nothing in response, I return to getting out of the car again.

"Maia has agreed to stay with him," He finally replies.

Pausing my movements, I fight back the urge to scoff. The idea of leaving Maia alone with Cloud wasn't one I was willing to entertain.

"Can we do this at another time? I'd rather not leave Cloud," I reply.

"Even if it means missing out on the chance to find out more about him?"