As expected, I felt eyes on Kaleem and I, and I heard all the whispers as if they were being spoken right by my ear.
“Are they together?”
“Don’t their packs hate each other?”
“Maybe this is why the Bluemoon Pack returned.”
“He can do better.”
I chuckled at that last one, and Kaleem kept walking with his head high, and I stepped closer to him. Of course, he could hear them all as well, but he didn’t seem to care. He was proud to be with me, and the feeling was entirely mutual. He and I were connected even without our mate bond.
Nothing anyone said would change that.
When we entered the Italian restaurant, everyone stopped to stare at us. There was a moment of silence until a waitress approached us, a human with slanted eyes and a dimple on her chin.
“Mr. Mikaelson, Ms. Goodwin, welcome. My name is Jules, and I’ll be your server tonight. If you’d follow me, please?”
Aphrodite’s Dish was a restaurant that came about after I left Wolfcreek, and two weeks ago, I complained to Kaleem that there were never any spaces to make a reservation. The restaurant was that popular.
“You were listening,” I whispered to Kaleem, and he kissed my temple when Jules stepped away.
“I’m always listening, my love, always.”
We followed Jules up a flight of stairs and through frosted glass double doors, and she allowed us to enter first. My mouth practically fell to the ground when I saw what was waiting for Kaleem and me.
“As requested, Mr. Mikaelson, you have the entire upper floor to yourselves plus live music by our in-house pianist.”
There was a forest nymph dressed in all white standing by a white piano. The floors were covered with white petals, and the windows were covered to keep all light out, which allowed the countless lit candles to be our source of light.
There was also a set table waiting for Kaleem and me and white cherry blossoms dangling from the ceiling.
“Thank you, Jules,” Kaleem said, and she nodded.
“I’ll return in a few minutes to take your orders,” she nodded to me, and I picked my mouth up off the ground.
“Thank you,” I told her, and she smiled, which deepened her dimple.
I hugged Kaleem when we were alone until a slow, soft melody drew my attention. I watched the nymph, her black hair with white on the ends cascading down her back and below the bench, she was sitting on.
“Do you like it?” Kaleem asked.
“Like it?” I repeated. “This is perfect, Kaleem. I love it.”
He led us to the table and pulled my chair out. Once I was seated, he sat on my right, and we were both transfixed by the nymph when she started singing a gentle tune. There were no words, only vocals that could rival an angel.
Reaching out, I held Kaleem’s hand. “I love you.”
He kissed the back of my hand before laying my palm on his cheek. He stared into my eyes, and I gazed into his as the small candle on the table flickered when he exhaled.
“I have loved you from the moment you tried to punch me in the face,” he rebutted, and the nymph missed a key.
I choked on a laugh when she cleared her throat, trying and failing to not laugh.
“I snuck up on her, but it was worth it,” Kaleem clarified, and the nymph smiled and started playing once more.
No matter how we met and what happened between us, the most important thing was where we were right now, right here, together. We were definitely going to be the talk of the town for a minute, especially when Dad and I switched packs, but I was ready for that.
What I was also ready for was Colin. He would have something to say about this, but so was I because, like I’d told him, no matter the control he thought he had, I wasn’t a puppet, not anymore.
I severed my strings long ago, and there was only one remaining, the one that tied me to the pack.