Strings of Fate by Kit Bryan

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I elbow Bellamy in excitement and he takes my hand to keep me from bouncing in place. Megan stares at Darrien a minute longer before giving a very slow nod. The grin that crosses Darrien’s face is gorgeous and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him so happy. He places his own order and pays for the food. While he does this Megan turns to me, her eyes wild and her face flushed. She looks beyond nervous and her furrowed eyebrows ask a clear question. ‘Did I do the right thing?” I give her a reassuring smile and nod. Her tense shoulders relax a little. Then, ever so slowly, she turns towards Bellamy to see his reaction. He has a serious case of poker face going. I squeeze his hand meaningfully. He glances sideways at me then back to his sister before lifting one shoulder in a half shrug and cracking a hint of a smile. Megan relaxes further and I realise she must have been barely breathing because she suddenly draws. in a loud and deep breath and lets it out with a slight shake. She looks a little lost. I step away from Bellamy and give her a quick hug before we make our way back to our seats. 

The wait for our food is awkward. Bellamy and I chat a little and Darrien attempts to join in, but Megan is barely even listening. She is clearly thinking hard and her eyes keep moving to 

Darrien. She stares at him for a minute or two, then jolts and turns away, only to find herself watching him again a minute later. Darrien, for the most part, is doing a solid job of 

pretending that nothing is amiss. He is staying casual and not watching her too much, aside from the occasional glance sideways. I’m pretty impressed at how calm he’s staying. Megan basically just gave him permission to try and win her over. They’re not dating or anything yet, but he’s put himself out there and she didn’t reject him. Several very long and awkward, but entertaining minutes later, our food arrives. I am actually starving and I am so busy staring down the waitress and trying to remember my manners so that I don’t snatch the food from 

her like a poorly trained puppy, that I don’t notice Bellamy is on the phone until he drops it on the table, groans loudly and drops his head into my shoulder, nearly pushing me off the seat as I was not prepared for the extra weight. 

“Is something wrong?” Bellamy nods in my hair then sits. 

up and sighs. 

“The other Alphas have decided to bring our meeting forward. It was meant to be tomorrow, but apparently they want to do it today.” Bellamy looks incredibly frustrated. I frown. 

“When?” 

“In about twenty minutes from now, and it will take that long to get there. I’m supposed to 

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be hosting the meeting.” He looks longingly at his steak that was just placed on the table in front of him while he was on the phone. 

“If you’re hosting, shouldn’t you get to decide when they show up?” I question. Bellamy just 

heaves another deep sigh. 

“You would think so, but in an attempt to avoid constant dominance battles between the Alphas, we agreed to run decisions by vote, and I was out–voted. I really need to get going.” Bellamy turns to Darrien. 

“I need you to guard Ryann as well as my sister. I can call Aaron, but as he was meant to have the day off he isn’t nearby. It might take a while.” He glances back at me. 

“Are you 

still planning to come to our place after lunch?” he questions. I nod. 

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“Great. Darrien, if you could just bring Ryann over after you all finish eating, that should work out. Once the meeting is over I can manage things well enough.” Darrien gives his agreement. Bellamy gives me a quick kiss on the cheek then stands from his seat. I notice him tugging at his bracelet and spinning it around as he makes his way out of the pub, a drag in his feet that is likely due to his lack of enthusiasm. I’m disappointed that he had to leave too, but I’ll see him again in an hour or so when he’s finished with his meeting. Megan and Darrien must be almost as hungry as me because we all sit and shovel food into our mouths in silence for al few minutes. Once I feel that I have eaten enough that I can talk to my friends without wanting to murder anyone, I decide it’s time to ask about their weird behaviour when ordering. I consider a multitude of subtle and polite ways to ask, then discard all of those ideas and go with being completely blunt. 

“Hey, so earlier when we were ordering you backed off and sorta made Bellamy and I order first and that was kinda weird. Was I imagining things or is this some other kind of confusing 

behaviour that I am apparently not socially competent enough to figure out on my own?” I question. Megan is halfway through a mouthful of her drink and half snorts it out, covering her mouth with her hand as much as she can. Darrien hands her a napkin which she uses to clean herself up while I work to keep a straight face. I fail completely, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Megan is still choking a little and trying to regain her normal breathing when Darrien speaks. 

“We stepped back out of respect.” He states. I stare in confusion. 

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“Okay, I’m going to need a little more information than that…” I prompt. Megan has finally gotten ahold of herself and she takes over. I notice she unconsciously places a hand on Darrien’s arm to stop him from continuing. She clearly has no clue that she’s doing it but he definitely does if I’m judging his expression correctly. 

“Ry, he means it’s a gesture of respect towards the Alpha couple. In bad situations, it’s expected that the Alpha couple take on the burdens. They are the first to enter a bad situation and the last to leave since they stay until everyone else is safe. We go to them with all our petty little problems and whatever else comes up. So, since the Alpha couple have to get all the bad stuff first, it’s considered respectful and polite to let them get good stuff first too. First to order, first served at meals, stuff like that.” She explains. I stare at her in horror. 

“But-” I start, but I’m not even sure what I’m planning to say. Megan waves me off. 

“Don’t even start. You and my brother ARE the Alpha couple. You might not have all the responsibilities yet, but it’s still true. And before you say you don’t deserve extra respect or haven’t earned it, I haven’t forgotten who stepped in to help at my disaster of a wedding. You might not have been involved in the fighting, but you ended the stalemate and gave us the best chance, and you got all the guests out and kept them safe too. You could have run but you stayed until the end. You might not be able to see your own Alpha qualities, but we do.” She says firmly, leaving no space for argument. 

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