Chapter 22 - Talk With The Dolls

"Oh my god, you came!" I was hugged first by Daphine's growing belly."You look beautiful!"

I tried to give her a hug in return and said, "Thank you," before turning to face Tiffany. "Your home is lovely."

Tiffany added, "Don't act too impressed, you live in the Alphas House after all," even though it seemed like she was proud of this.

With a pursed mouth, I sat down. I downed the mouthwatering beverage and tried another one.

"I just told Daphine about my visit with the doctor. They said it's a boy"

"Congrats, Have you named him?" I asked, observing Tiffany as she shoved buttered bread into her mouth.

"We don't choose the names, the people at The Stationary will do that."

"Are you going to put him in the one near Akbur Hills?" I inquired. I remembered Norman, the employee, saying something about a capacity of one hundred people.

"I'm not sure yet, I think I'd like for him to be close so I can visit and check on his process-"

"He's the beta's son, you have nothing to worry about, he's going to come out just as strong as the first one!" replied Daphine.

I realised that Tiffany had already had one half-blood child when I recalled Norman mentioning something in The Stationary about there being the Beta's son.

"Well, I really hope so! The other is at the top of his class at The Arena and has defeated one of their instructors."

Over wine and small cheese sandwiches, Tiffany and Daphine giggled. Along with wondering if these girls were from towns similar to mine, I could not help but wonder if they had family someplace in the world that they were curious about.

"So," Daphine said, her eyes twinkling as if she were discovering fresh rumours, "we're all dying to know. What kind of person is he?"

"What's who like?"

"Who else, Damon!"

"Aren't they all the same? Malevolent, crooked, lust for power, homicidal, and inhuman?" As I was saying this, I chewed on a grape. I was surprised by their horrified looks.
Did I say something wrong?

Tiffany breathed out loud. Chugged some water, Daphine. "So where were you guys taken from?" I questioned, sitting up on my chest. "All of my people now live in Akbur Hill, where I was taken from this destroyed village."

Daphine stood up after spilling her water.

"Maid, I need a maid, now!" She screeched.

A girl rushed to her side to tidy up the mess. I couldn't help but believe Daphine had done it intentionally to silence me.
If we couldn't resolve the "elephant in the room," what good was a private meeting? Maybe I was being too forward, maybe there were cameras.

The marble floor was thudded by loud footsteps. The beta, Luke, appeared, and I felt the tension in the air shift. I knew him right away from the vampire incident and the meeting I had eavesdropped on. Daphine took her seat uneasily and softly. With apprehensive eyes, Tiffany looked up at him, but he was fixated on me.

"Ava, right?" He had a harsh voice. With a nod. I recalled how he had supported Damon in the conflict with Jacob.

"Honey, we're simply having dinner. Do you wish for us to leave?

"No no, the alphas doll is here, she should be treated with respect of her status."

"What's this?" he asked, focusing on the cocktail nearest Tiffany.

"It's just a smoothie-"

Luke snatched up the drink before I could even see it happen. Once he smelled it, he slapped it into the table and it exploded into a million pieces. Tiffany remained calm while Daphine and I recoiled.

"What the hell did I tell you about drinking when you're pregnant-"

Luke delivered a face-shattering slap to Tiffany with his free hand. With her eyes wet, she clutched it as if to ease the pain. I forced myself not to dart up, not to lunge out at him. With a fury like that, I realised that Luke would surely kill me even if I was the alpha doll.

Tiffany sighed and said, "I'm sorry."

"Can someone get in here and take all these fucking glasses?" shouted Luke, grabbing the wine bottle from the table.

The house staff rushed to clean the table. "Find out who even served her liquor and bring them to my office," Luke snatched a teenage kid by the collar.

The youngster gave down beneath the weight of his stare and let out a small squeak, "Yes, sir."

Daphine seemed indifferent, as though she was accustomed to this behaviour, while I tried to look her in the eyes. I wondered if her mate treated her the same way back home. I wondered what Damon would say when he eventually felt like taking these kinds of measures with me.

It appeared as though the females were eager to resume their talk after Luke stormed gone. It took only a few seconds for everything to return to normal. I knew that these women avoided difficult topics and lived their lives on eggshells because they had long since come to terms with the fact that nothing could be done about it. For this reason, I did not inquire further about their lives before this. Until I was certain that I could trust them, I kept my plans with Evan a secret.

My interest was soon piqued when the subject of the werewolf girl at the party came up later.
"You're talking about the one that was sitting with Damon right?" I sat up.

Indeed, it is the one. Like some kind of werewolf hooker, or something," Daphine remarked.

Tiffany, whose face was still a vibrant red with the shape of Luke's palms, remarked, "But she doesn't charge any money she likes does it for free."

"Do you think she's slept with Damon?" I inquired.

"Yes, she has shared beds with every one of them. For her, it serves as validation."

"Why would she need validation?"

"Well, ever since the discovery half blood hybrids and the human dolls, nobody really wants a werewolf girl to mate with anymore-"

"But the only werewolves who can get a doll is the ones at the top of the pack right?" I inquired.
"
Yes, but that just serves to increase their hatred of us as they secretly know that their mates desire a hybrid offspring. Being a werewolf confers the highest status insignia.
A brief period of stillness ensued.

"Don't you think it's funny?" I mumbled, at last, to no one in particular.

"What is?" When her wine glass wasn't there, Tiffany scowled as she reached around the table to retrieve it.

"That they keep us down, slave and imprison us but they still need us because it's our blood that makes them somehow stronger-"

"Shhhh lower your voice, do you want to be the next one getting slapped up and down," Daphine was quiet
.
"She's the alpha; he would never touch her," Tiffany rolled her eyes.

I yelled out to them, "But consider this: if we can just get the hybrids to work for us instead of against them, we could eliminate them all and preserve our race."

It was Daphine, saying, "Can you please stop talking like this?"

"How?" Tiffany asked. "How would we even do it?" she asked with an odd sparkle in her eyes.

I understood that entrusting them with any of Evan and my plans would be premature. I said with a shrug, "I have no idea, just dreams I guess."