Page 4 of A Hal for my Heart

I pointed at Briar. “Then why is Briar looking at me all funny?” As if on cue, a whimper flew from Briar’s mouth, then he stormed past me and out of the office.

I nodded after Briar. “Does he always do that, or is it just me?”

“Do what?” Elias frowned.

“Storm out of a room like that?”

Seb’s expression softened. “Briar is… He’s different. Sensitive.”

“Oh.” Something tugged at my heart. “Will he be okay, or should I go after him?”

“No!” Seb and Elias blurted simultaneously.

“Don’t go after him. He’ll be okay,” Elias added. I wasn’t sure I believed him entirely, but I guess they knew Briar better than me. Maybe I could talk to him tonight over dinner. I didn’t want him to be afraid of me. Perhaps we could even be friends since we were going to be spending a lot of time together.

“Ahhh, that hit the spot,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair, patting my stomach. Before we started dinner, I’d asked one of the servants for a sturdier chair, and this time I hadn’t held back. Like yesterday, Briar sat across from me, watching my every move, his eyes widening whenever I moaned around a bite of food. I had a feeling he was waiting for something. Maybe for me to grow a pair of fangs and go all feral alpha. Growing up, I’d heard the tales of how dangerous we alphas supposedly were, so maybe Briar was just waiting for me to live up to that.

I’d tried several times over dinner to start a conversation with him, but his vocabulary seemed to be limited to ‘yes’ and ‘no’ around me. Maybe the little guy was just shy. I could relate to that. Like this morning when I’d had my bath, and the servants had ogled me as if they’d never seen a naked alpha before, whispering amongst themselves. Two of them had even insisted on drying me afterward and had gotten a little too friendly with my private parts for my liking. I’d had to bat them off, and they’d looked almost disappointed.

I decided to ask Seb, who was sitting a few chairs away from me. Raising my voice, I called out, “Oy, Seb. So what’s the deal with the royal oglers?! You know, the morning bath routine?”

“Oh gods,” Gus groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“They’re doing that to you, too?” Seb snapped, his cheeks on fire.

“Yep! Full body inspection with curious canoodling, if you know what I mean?” I held up my hands, wiggling my fingers.

A muffled croak escaped Briar, and his cheeks went up in flames.

Seb gaped at me, mortified, then mumbled, “I am so sorry, Hal. I shall take it up with them immediately.”

“Nah, no harm, no foul,” I waved him off. “I was just wondering, is all.” I smiled at Gus. “So it happened to you, too, huh?”

Gus made a cut it out gesture with his hand, while Seb took a long sip of his drink, then exclaimed, “I think Gus and I will retire now.”

The rest of the party got up, too; only Briar remained seated, staring right in front of him.

“Briar?” I asked as I got up from my chair.

“What?” He looked up at me, his eyes huge in his delicate face.

“I’m… I’m sorry if my, uhm… if I made you uncomfortable.” I shrugged. “I don’t always think before I speak.”

“It’s fine,” he murmured. Somehow, that felt like a lie. I had a feeling Briar was never really fine. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but from the short time I’d spent with him, I got a distinct feeling that there was an ever-present air of sadness surrounding him. It made me curious but also oddly protective, like I wanted to make him less sad, or happy, even.

Growing up in the orphanage, I used to tell the other children these lame jokes whenever they were upset or missed their families. If I could get them to smile just a little, I’d forget about my own loss, too. I hadn’t told a joke in years, but maybe it would work on Briar.

“Hey, Briar?”

His gaze flew to mine, his bottom lip trembling. “What?” he whispered.

“Do you know the joke about the turtle who became a knight?”

He frowned, then shook his head carefully, blond curls swaying around his face.

“Sir Shell-a-lot.” I grinned as I failed to hold back a snort. Damn, I still had it.

At first, Briar didn’t react, but then, there it was, tugging at the corner of his mouth, just the hint of a smile.