The Story of the Exile (The Belesone Pack #2)

Chapter 26

While they all waited on Constantine arriving and Nathaniel making his move, Milo decided it was time to get some things out in the open and off their chests.

To start with, he had everyone gather in the dining room, over a cold cut lunch that he and Katarina had prepared, to keep everyone at the table. To make sure their questions were answered, they let Leo in on the plan. He suggested locking the dining room doors, which settled the matter. They were all in perfect agreement.

Everyone was happy to congregate in the dining room and sit down to some good food and conversation.

Leo deliberately made sure he was the last into the room, claiming he was too cold and needed to fetch an extra jumper. It was true, though it was a relatively decent day.

Milo couldn't help but worry about the fact that Leo was the only one not feeling stifled by the heat. Katarina had changed into shorts to make herself more comfortable and he was on the verge of removing his shirt. But the fact that Leo was cold was a good thing, because it allowed him to rush upstairs for a jumper while everyone was taking their seat at the lunch table. When he returned, he locked the doors behind him, took his seat and gave Milo a nod to say it was done.

Bricia and Josanna were talking about a pop band they were both fans of. Grene and Carlton were taking a rare opportunity to catch up on what had been happening with the other. Oswine was chatting away to Katarina about how good it felt to transform again while she pretended to listen. So Milo took it upon himself to start the serious discussion.

"Leo, are you feeling any better?" he began, having already arranged a suitable entrance into their questioning with his Beta.

"Oh, not too bad. Still some lingering pains," he grumbled, though Milo knew it was true. He got a look of sympathy from both of Katarina's fathers as they rounded off their conversation to hear how Leo was doing. "It's a bit strange though...finally finding a connection with my true mate. I don't know what they're going through, but it's a living hell," he sighed, being honest about how he felt at that moment.

And their ploy worked. At the mention of his true mate, both Josanna and Bricia cut off their conversation mid sentence to turn and stare at the Beta they both professed a claim over.

"Is something wrong, Josanna?" Grene wondered, staring at his daughter, in confusion.

Josanna froze, staring at Leo as if he was some kind of alien. She gulped down whatever she was chewing and shook her head. She plastered a fake smile on her face and turned her attention back to her plate with wide eyes.

"And you Bricia? You look positively pale," Carlton noticed, with a flickering glance at Milo that told the Alpha that he had caught onto their plan.

Milo gave Leo a reassuring smile to let him know that they now had Carlton in on the game too.

"Why should I be pale? It's a beautiful day," she insisted, as if nothing was wrong. "Though I confess that this food isn't what I had hoped for. We travelled so far yesterday, father, and I'm in need of more than cold cuts of meat," Bricia reverted back to her usual self with no problem. She complained, beamed and fluttered her eyelashes, but still Carlton didn't look convinced.

Milo watched Katarina carefully and noticed that she was away with the fairies. "Bugger," he complained, rushing out of his seat. He noticed her head slumping forward as she slipped into a trance.

All eyes turned towards Katarina, as Milo caught her head in time to stop it from making impact with the table or her plate. He slid her off the seat and into his arms, returning to his own chair as he cradled her head.

"She hasn't done that before," Leo mentioned absently, making Milo laugh at him. He was getting a little bit of his old self back.

"Just not when you were looking. I caught her sleeping in class on Tuesday and she told me later that she'd been having a vision," he admitted, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity. But he didn't know any better then. He did now.