Page 24 of Fated Redemption
“Wow, that sounds good.” Peyton nodded.
“How about me, my mate?” Moe whispered from behind him.
Rhys shivered. “Single-malt scotch.” Rhys swallowed hard at the heated look Moe was giving him.
“Someone hose these two off, lord have mercy.” Rian whistled using the drink menu to fan them.
Rhys’s felt his cheeks catch fire. He shook his head. He hadn’t blushed as much in the last two centuries as he had in the past couple days with his mate.
Moe chuckled and moved on to continue stocking.
“What about us, Rhys?” Gina called from the table where she sat with Cecelia.
Rhys brought his hand to his chin and looked the two young women over. “Gina, you’re a dry white wine. I think people expect you to be sweet because you’re so cute, but you have a dry sense of humor.” Cecelia giggled and nodded at her friend. Rhys looked at the quieter of the two and shook his head surprised.
“Cecelia, darling, you’re a Blue Motherfucker.” Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the woman.
“What on earth is that?” Gina asked.
“It’s super sweet and tangy. Blue Curacao, 7 Up and Sweet and Sour mix is like candy in your mouth. It’s so sweet you’re not expecting what happens next.” Rhys paused for dramatic effect. Everyone leaned forward a bit.
“Then wham!” He pounded the bar causing everyone to jump. “The vodka, gin, rum and tequila kick in and fuck you up. Yup darling, that is most definitely you. Sweetness personified, but I would never want to get on your bad side.” Rhys winked.
Cecelia was blushing furiously.
“Okay, I feel better with you going out of town after hearing that. I mean,Iknow you can take care of yourself, but it’s nice to hear that someone else can see it too.” Gina breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where you going, Cecelia?” Rian asked.
“Brighton. My friend Connie is celebrating her mating. They have chosen to combine their celebration with the community party. Because of the Drainers, Brighton has elected an Alpha, and everyone is moving in closer together to form like a neighborhood watch. They have purchased an old turn-of-the-century apartment building that they are renovating. She showed me pictures. The architecture is gorgeous, but it needs a lot of work.” Cecelia’s voice was quiet but clear.
“How do you elect an Alpha?” Damian asked confusion on his face.
Cecelia shrugged. “She said that the group dominants couldn’t agree on whom to put in charge. The wolves wanted their Alpha, the lions wanted theirs. It was chaos until a large biker group stopped in town. They showed up at the council room to ask for permission to stay a few days and walked into an argument of epic proportions.”
“The biker group is evidently a mixed bag, shifters of all kinds and their Alpha is a hybrid. He walked in, shouted everyone down, took charge of the meeting so he could get permission for his group. The Alphas right then and there offered him the position. As a hybrid he owed no group any allegiance or favor. So, the man walked in asking for a place to stay a few nights and walked out the Alpha of the largest community of shifters outside of Arkadia.”
“Connie steers clear of them. Her mate is beta to the town’s wolf Alpha. He has butt heads with the biker Alpha. Connie thinks it’s male posturing, she says that the hybrid Alpha has taken protecting everyone very seriously. He said that if he is responsible for their safety then he wants everyone under one roof.” She shook her head at the thought.
“Lions and tigers and bears oh my,” Duncan quipped.
“I don’t see that working.” Emmett shook his head.
Peyton frowned. “Why not? We do it here.”
Everyone stopped and thought about it.
“You’re right, Peyton. We do, don’t we?” Rian smiled.
“I think that they are modeling themselves after Arkadia and what our Alpha Mother has created,” Cecelia offered.
“They don’t have a Rebecca though,” Damian said.
“Thank god for that. Can you imagine two of them?” Rian laughed.
The bar door opened and two unfamiliar women walked in. They looked around hesitantly before walking up to Rian and Damian.
“Oh my goodness, you haven’t changed at all.” The dark-haired girl covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes watering as she stared at Rian. The other young woman bore a striking resemblance to Damian. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
