The restaurant seated by reservation only to keep humans out. In the Breed world, we’re given a unique alias to use in human establishments—most of us only carried identification with that name. The person taking the reservations simply ran a cross-check of the names to ensure only Breed ended up on the list. Humans just assumed they needed connections to get a table. Occasionally a popular place might open their doors once a year for humans to dine, just to appease some of the big shots and lower suspicions.
The smell of sizzling steak wafted through the door when we entered the building, and I soaked in the magnificence of the ambience. The lights affixed to the stone walls cast a charming glow throughout the room. Our shoes tapped against the wood floors as we approached the waiting area in front of the bar. All the round tables had a mahogany finish with a unique pattern in the grain. Curved-back chairs surrounded the tables and several rooms branched off the main dining room for a more intimate dining experience. Austin hadn’t planned for the Packmasters to meet with us when he made the reservation, so those rooms were booked.
The waiter led us to the back of the dining room, away from the kitchen and bathrooms. The men had a commanding walk when moving together as a pack, and several people looked up from their tables as we passed by. Everyone walked around a long table that stretched along the far wall. Austin saved three chairs next to his at the head of the table. Since Reno was second-in-command of the pack, he took a seat on the opposite end of the table, even though it would distance him from the conversation. The second-in-command supported the Packmaster, and the seating arrangement allowed him to keep the pack in line.
I sat against the wall because I didn’t like my back to the crowd. Reno was on my right and April across from me.
“But I want to sit by you,” Maizy said, giving Lexi an inconsolable look.
Lexi led her by the hand to the chair beside April. “Maze, the adults have to talk about something, and then maybe later we can switch chairs. Okay?” Lexi returned to her seat on the same row I was on, between Austin and Wheeler.
April opened her purse, found a pen and crumpled piece of paper, and drew intersecting lines for a game of tic-tac-toe with Maizy. The chair to my left remained vacant and Denver sat on the other side of it with his head on the table, half-asleep.
“Where’s Trevor?” I asked April.
She hunched her shoulders. “His wolf had to run. Austin asked him to stay behind and keep an eye on the property. I’m not sure what that’s about since we’re not exactly hiding the crown jewels.”
The waiter promptly took our orders and delivered a round of drinks.
“No, the tea is mine,” I said, signaling him with my hand.
The young waiter looked at me with Vampire eyes as black as onyx. He took the tea from Jericho’s hand and walked around the table to set it by my plate. It wasn’t common to see Vampires in service positions, and Austin didn’t remove his eyes from him for a second. Vampires had impeccable hearing and often worked as spies or guards, but if Austin had anything secretive to discuss with the Packmasters joining us, they would have held their meeting at the house. Austin seemed apprehensive about the young man, so I assumed it had to do with bad memories from his days as a bounty hunter. To be honest, I had never met any Vampires to form an opinion on them.
“That’ll be all,” Austin said.
I sipped my raspberry tea and winked at Maizy. She wore a bright smile on her face that made her dimples irresistibly precious to look at.
Reno folded a cloth napkin into the shape of a bunny’s head with long ears. When he finished, he propped it in front of her and said, “How ’bout that?”
April reached out to touch it and tipped her glass over. Reno caught it before the ice spilled, and he wiped up the mess without saying a word. April smiled sheepishly and asked the waiter for another napkin.
Reno smirked and leaned toward me to say privately, “She’s adorable as hell.”
Izzy thumped the back of Denver’s head and he groggily looked up.
“Is my steak ready?” he asked, looking around expectantly.
Wheeler held up a slim breadstick like a weapon. “I got your steak right here, sweetheart.”
Denver snorted. “Always knew I’d die from carbs.”
Jericho pulled out two breadsticks and began tapping them on his plate like a drummer. Izzy, who sat directly across from him, tossed her purse on the table. “Well, I thought I could at least make it through dinner. It seems the bigger I get, the smaller my bladder gets.”
“Does the little bean have to go potty?” Denver asked playfully.
She rose to her feet and made her way around Austin. Jericho got up and walked her to the bathroom. It’s not as if she were in danger walking from the table to the bathroom in a busy restaurant, but male instinct kicked in during pregnancy. Women were more vulnerable because of the baby. Violence wasn’t permitted on the premises, but it still made some of the customers edgy to have a Mage or Vampire sitting so close.
“So who are the big honchos joining us?” April shouted across the table.
“Honcho?” Reno quietly asked her. His eyes danced with amusement.
She shrugged. “What’s Shifter lingo for the big cheese?”