SEQUEL: THIRTY-SIX

Alina had her back against the counter, panic in her eyes for entirely different reasons than Roman thought. She placed her hands on his shoulders in a bid to put some distance in between them and immediately regretted it.
“I’m not,” She denied confidently, looking up at him and immediately losing her train of thought.
The kitchen doors swung open as they both fell into a trance staring into each other's eyes, Lou and Iyla coming in arm in arm while laughing heartily.
They immediately sprang apart, Roman picking up the knife he initially came for and resuming his task of cutting up fruits while Alina returned to making pancakes.
Lou and Iyla froze at the doorway after seeing them, their eyes wide in horror. Somehow, finding Alpha King Roman and werewolf Princess Alina in the compromising position they had been in before would have been less traumatizing than seeing them both peacefully cooking up a meal together.
“Are you two interested in pancakes?” Alina spoke up after the lengthy silence had gone on forever, finally able to find her voice.
Lou and Iyla exchanged looks, “We would yeah but you don’t have to make it, we’ll take over for you.”
“It’s fine,” Alina reassured them with a smile, “I want to do it.” She emphasized, standing on her tiptoes to get baking powder.
Roman silently walked over after getting the coffee maker going to reach over to her and get what she needed for her.
Alina had a difficult time breathing for the umpteenth time, clutching the can of baking powder with shaky hands. “Thanks.”
“We’ll handle lunch, so why don’t you two settle in.” Roman said dismissively.
Iyla and Lou shot each other one last look before quietly trudging out.
“You think the boss hit his head too?” Iyla asked in a concern-filled voice as they went to their room.
“I wouldn’t be surprised at this point.” Lou mused.
Because just the last time that Alina was over which was a little over a week, they had practically been at each other’s throats, and now, here they were, cooking up pancakes like a new couple.
They helped set the table and had a difficult time hiding their surprise when the pancakes turned out great. Alina didn’t look like the type of person that would willingly get in the kitchen for anyone.
Lunch was tense except for Lou and Iyla who kept shooting each other knowing stares while nudging each other under the table.
Alina shot up before the meal was over, barely touching the pancakes she made and only nibbling on some fruit. She excused herself and disappeared up the stairs to hide away in her room.
Roman, on the other hand, polished off all her pancakes before getting to his feet. “We won’t be having dinner so don’t make provisions for us, and cancel my meetings for tonight.” He said shortly before making himself scarce.
“Okay, this is starting to get very concerning.” Lou mumbled, starting to realize that no matter how light they made of the situation, it didn’t change what was actually happening.
Iyla was unphased, “Or maybe the boss is just being nice and she’ll soon be gone.”
“I’m not saying I want her gone,” Lou said quietly, snagging her girlfriend’s attention. “It’s just… so shocking, you know.”
Iyla patted her shoulder and popped a grape in her mouth, “I know.”
-+-
Alina went into her room and for the first time, she locked her door. Because she needed some downtime away from Roman for a while. It was one thing to admire him from afar because of how nice he had been to her to no benefit to himself, and another to come closer and be greeted with sizzling tension in between them.
It snapped her out of her headspace and forced her to come to reality and really look at what she was getting into. Roman had offered to dissolve the contract between them, she could take that and just disappear. Maybe return to her mother’s old house and live the rest of her days quietly.
It was a great plan but there was a flaw, she would be all alone. Alina had spent the greater part of her life being lonely, she wasn’t too eager to return to that.
It wasn’t like she could do better, if Roman would have her, she would stay. She would sign the contract not because of her father but because of herself this time.
She didn’t even want to hear of her father anymore, he made his choices in life and she planned to do the same.
Alina got comfortable on the bed for a quick nap in a bid to escape the nerves that filled her when she made up her mind to sign the contract with Roman regardless of what he said.
She eventually slept off and woke up late in the afternoon with a feeling of dread. What if Roman had decided to call off dinner? What if he had already dissolved the contract without consulting her and was currently making moves to kick her out?
She got out of bed and wandered to the door, conflicted about leaving her room or not, only to find a note that had been slipped under the door.
It was a note for her from Roman, it was to tell her when he would pick her up for dinner. It was such a simple gesture, yet it calmed her down and made her smile, and it also made her remember that she needed to get herself a new phone.
Soon the time for dinner came around and Alina nervously stepped out of her room in a floor-length black dress with a slit up the side. It was very out of style for her but she wanted to make a good impression.
She glanced in the direction of Roman’s room to find him stepping out at the same time with a bouquet of flowers in hand. By the time he walked up to her, a rare smile had already stretched over her face.
“How was your nap?” Roman said lightly, handing her the flowers.
Alina took it without losing her smile, “Restful.’
On the ground floor, Lou and Iyla were cuddling on a sofa, barely sparing them a second glance as they walked past, arm in arm.
“Have fun!” Iyla tossed after them, winking at her boss when he shot her a look.
The restaurant was a quiet affair, a perfect place for important conversations. They were taken to a window side seat where they could see the city lights twinkle while they had dinner.
“Do you want to call off the contract?” Alina asked carefully - while she wanted it now, she didn’t want to force Roman into it.
Roman mused over her question with a sip of wine. If he had been asked the question before crossing states to potentially save Alina’s life, he would have given a concise answer right away but now he wasn’t so sure.
He wasn’t just hesitating because he didn’t want to hurt her while she was in a vulnerable position but that he was considering changing the clauses of the contract or scrapping it as a whole and getting to know Alina better without a contract hanging over their heads.
It wasn’t possible to compress that into a yes or no answer but he did anyway, “No, I agreed to it because I want to.”
Alina ducked her head to hide her smile, “So we agree, that’s great,” She replied, “I’ll sign it now.”
“I didn’t bring it with me,” Roman countered her eagerness, “I just realized that I need to make some last-minute adjustments.”
It was a blatant lie, he actually had the document with him but his view of Alina had rapidly changed in a few hours and he planned to do something about it. Having anything with Alina was the furthest from his life plans, even the contract was shocking enough.
But it wasn’t like he had anything going for him, he intended to live the rest of his life dedicating himself to his people. And although Alina wasn’t his Fated mate, it felt like Fate the way they fell into each other’s lives.
“Oh,” Alina murmured, fiddling with her utensils. She had told herself that this was a business dinner to discuss their contract but the discussion had only lasted a few minutes and she hadn’t even signed the contract.
It was no different from a date - she quickly killed that hopeful thought though because Roman wouldn’t want to go on a date with her.
Although their waitress had referred to them as a lovely couple and another waiter had offered them a couple discount for their bill, she tried not to be delusional. Even when Roman offered to take them on a drive around Reef City after their meal.
“Next time, the bill is on you,” Roman said lightly as they made their way up the stairs.
“I wanted us to split the bill but you wouldn’t let me,” Alina looked up at him, letting him help her up the stairs.
“That’s because I invited you to dinner.”
“So I can do the inviting next time?” She asked with a devious expression.
“My answer will be yes, to both of your questions,” Roman responded wittily.
Alina laughed as they walked into the living room, attracting Lou and Iyla’s attention because they had never heard her laugh like that before.
“Don’t just go up and hide away in your rooms,” Lou spoke up when they came into her line of sight. “There’s the action series we’re currently on…”
“You’re just looking for more people to introduce your favorite movie to,” Roman flatly exposed her, his arm comfortably around Alina’s waist.
Lou raised her hands in surrender, “That’s not a crime. So are you both joining us or not.”
“Please join,” Iyla mouthed to them so that Lou couldn’t hear her, “Save me.”
That elicited more laughter from Alina, it was so easy to be happy around people you didn’t have to second guess around.
Roman turned to her with a soft expression, “Interested?”
“Yeah, just let me change into something more comfortable,” She said, slipping out of Roman’s arms and going up the stairs.
Roman didn’t realize that he had his eyes fixed on her until she went out of sight he glanced at his employees and found them staring at him with knowing eyes. “Don’t look at me like that,” He groaned, starting for the stairs as well.
“I never thought I’d say this but she’s not a bad choice!” Lou’s haunting voice chased him up the stairs.