“Look who’s talking,” Ulrich grunts as he follows me.
“Are you sure you want to find your mate?” I hear Eirik ask.
Glancing back, I see Dag nod, a frown replacing the smile on his face. “You have no idea how much it drives me. I just saw her on a photo, but it's engraved in my mind, and all I can think about is that she’s in trouble and at any moment, she could get caught and Sean might kill her.
“I don’t think he will catch her that easily. It looks like your woman is resourceful,” I assure him as we continue walking. “She has been on the run for going on three weeks now, and even though he has everyone out looking for her, no one has found any sign of her.”
“Fuck, I just wish I knew where she was,” Dag says with a shake of his head.
“Why don’t you ask Draco’s woman, Katrina? You know she can find people and things,” Ulrich suggests as we walk into the restaurant.
“Motherfucker, why the hell didn’t I think of that?” Dag immediately pulls out his phone. “I’ll be right in.” He walks back outside to dial Draco. I hope he does find his mate because after finding Freya, I’ve found a calmness in myself that I never thought possible. The restaurant has windows all around, which allows for us to look towards the water where the women are standing.
“Let’s sit outside on the balcony,” Ulrich says as he starts making his way there, not waiting for the waiter to come and sit us. I see the waiter hesitate when he meets my eye, I point outside to the balcony where Ulrich is now pulling out a chair and not waiting for his approval. Pulling back a chair, I face the water so I can always see Freya. She must have felt my eyes on her because she glances back, raising her hand to wave.
“How is she taking being mated to you?”
I raise my brows at Eirik’s question. “Well, I am a really good catch.”
At my quip, both Eirik and Ulrich start grinning.
“You keep lying to yourself like that, and soon you will start believing it,” Ulrich teases.
I throw him the finger.
“Who’s lying to themselves?” Dag asks as he takes a seat to my left.
“Dane,” Eirik answers. “He says he’s a very good catch.”
Dag chuckles. It seems like the call has given him some peace about finding his mate. “Like a beached whale,” he laughs. “Unmovable, big, and hard work.” Dag’s joke has all of us laughing.
“Good Afternoon, I will be your waitress for the day.” The waitress, a girl that must be about eighteen, says smiling widely at all of us.
“Well hello, darling, you have just brightened our day,” Eirik says, which has me grinning.
The girl flushes in embarrassment. “Umm, here are your menus. I’ll be back in a minute to take your order,” she says hurriedly as she places the menus on the middle of the table and scurries away.
“You frightened the poor girl with your ugly mug,” Ulrich teases.
“No, I think it was his sad attempt at flirting.”
Eirik grins before winking. “You guys are all just jealous because I’m the only one at the table that actually can flirt with anyone I want.” That is true, except for the jealous part. Looking up once again at Freya, I see her and Anastasia making their way up towards us, a smile on both of their faces. I’m not jealous of not having the desire to flirt with another woman. Throughout my three hundred and twenty years, I’ve flirted and bedded lots of women, and never in all those years have I felt the way I feel now when I look at Freya.
“Have the drinks been ordered yet?” Anastasia asks as the women join us. Freya takes the seat to my right; a contented smile is on her face. I’ve realized that my woman is at her happiest among nature. Placing my arm behind her chair, I pull her closer. I hear her gasp in surprise, but then she relaxes and leans back.
“Not yet, Eirik frightened the waitress away,” Ulrich replies.
Eirik grunts just as the waitress returns.
“What did you do? Don’t tell me you embarrassed the poor thing.” Anastasia asks with a smile as she looks at the waitress returning to our table.
“Are you ready to order?” she asks, but I notice she keeps her eyes away from Eirik, her cheeks warming with colour. The poor kid is innocent, and knowing Eirik, I know that he would never consider anything with someone so young.
The rest of the meal continues with the same light spirits until we finally get up to leave after eating. I know that Freya hasn’t had many friendships, and usually keeps to herself, but I want her to get to know everyone, and realize that no one in the club would ever hurt her or betray her trust. We stick together—our word is our bond.
Starting the bikes, we once again make our way towards the club. We are a couple of miles away when suddenly my senses tell me that something is wrong. As we go around a bend, I see a van across the road. There is no way we are getting across. Slowing the bikes, we come to a stop.
“Something is fucking wrong,” I growl, but know the others feel it, too.