Simone coughed before shaking her head. “No, please. It wasn’t his fault. He tried to help me, but some shady crap went down in Valdor. Now I just need to move on with my life, forget it even happened.”
Mera still didn’t like it, but she also didn’t argue again. For today at least. “Yeah, I guess I can respect that. I just hate seeing you hurt with no way to make it better."
Simone hugged her fiercely, holding on like Mera was her lifeline. "I know you do, and I love you for it. But I promise," she pulled away, "I'm doing okay. I might even start dating again soon, and hopefully, that's the step forward I need to move past Valdor."
“Dating again is good.” Mera nodded. “It would be nice to know someone else is looking out for you since your parents are humans living their shitty lives out in the real world.”
Simone let out a rueful laugh. “Not like they were that interested even when they lived here.”
“True dat,” Mera replied with a sad smile.
Shadow cleared his throat, interrupting them. "In regard to dating, I would suggest we don't mention it to Lucien. He's got a temper when it comes to Simone, even if he won't admit why."
Simone crossed her arms protectively over herself. "He has no right to even think about me let alone have a temper over it. He made his choice, and now I'm making mine. You tell him whatever you want, but make sure you mention that I'm doing fine. I have my own business, and there's a shifter I'm flirting with who I might even take a chance on. I don't need or want that vampire in my life."
Shadow just nodded, his expression remaining neutral, but I knew him well enough to know there were deep thoughts lingering below the mask.
Simone, done with this conversation, turned back to Mera. "How long can you stay? How long until I’ll see you again?”
Time moved differently between Earth and the other realms. If we were in the Desert Lands for a few weeks, it could easily translate into two months in Earth time.
"We have a few minutes," Mera said quickly. "Should we grab some lunch? Baby is hungry."
That got her mate moving, and he immediately rushed us into a nearby cafe, which proudly displayed a specials board offeringbeef stew, venison rump, and a whole rabbit spit roasted.
Shifters hadn't evolved far from their beast forms, especially in their eating habits.
On the inside it was like every other diner I'd seen in this world: lots of booths, a red-and-white checkered theme, and a long bar that housed the drinks, sauces, cutlery, and a few bored looking shifters. As soon as they noticed our arrival, three of them rushed forward to help us into a booth.
“Mera!” one of the females with light golden-brown hair and large grey eyes exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Mera’s expression didn’t give much away as she said, “Hey, Greta, how're things? I'm just visiting Simone to catch up, and we're hoping to get some of that world famous stew."
Greta swallowed roughly, her eyes darting to Shadow and then back to Mera when she couldn't hold the beast’s gaze for longer than a heartbeat. "For everyone?" she squeaked.
Mera glanced at me, and I shook my head.
"Just two please,” she said to the waitress, “and some water."
Greta hurried off then, a little unsteady on her feet. "This crap happens every single time Shadow walks among the shifters," Simone snorted. "One would think he was a god or some shit."
Shadow's chest lifted as his usual rumble of annoyance escaped.
"Don't worry, mate," Mera said as she patted his arm. "I'll protect you from the ladies."
His brow furrowed as he narrowed his eyes on her, but before he could comment, Mera was turning away, already occupied by her friend. "Jaxson is in NOLA at the moment," Simone said. “And together with the other three alphas, they're actually doing a really solid job of managing Torma."
"I didn't think it would work," Mera replied, just as the stew arrived. Greta placed two huge, white ceramic dishes on the table, followed by glasses of water. "More than one alpha seems like a recipe for disaster, but it appears that it’s actually created a more levelheaded approach, a council that votes on decisions."
Simone, who’d already started to eat, took a second to swallow before answering. "Pretty much. Majority vote, and there's more pack voting going on as well. Since the Wolfe family was run out of the top job, it's been peaceful here."
Mera, now the one shoveling in spoonfuls of soup, just nodded. "Have you heard anything about Torin?" she finally asked when she came up for air.
None of us were surprised when Shadow muttered, "Should have torn his fucking head off."
"Not a peep," Simone said her lips twitching. "He's probably dead. The common cold kills humans apparently, and that bastard would get man-flu for sure."
Shadow looked pleased by this truth as he relaxed into his corner of the booth, making the large area look small.
