43. Mine

It took hours, but everything was ready for dinner, and everyone had arrived, even Sloane.

Although we helped with the preparation, we left the final steps to the staff while we all got situated at the dining table. Gerard took up one end of the table with Oliver to his left followed by Iker, Alastor, and Ellie. Odie took the other end next to Ellie with me to her left, then Cy, Sloane, and Leona were up the end to Gerard's right.

It took a good thirty minutes to get this seating chart sorted, but we figured it was the safest bet.

Oliver had to be far from Odie and Cy, but I wanted to be between them with Ellie by me as well. Apparently, Gerard liked Leona, and she handled him well enough, so that made things a little easier once we figured that out. Alastor was truly the odd man out, but sitting him anywhere besides next to one of us or Ellie felt odd. Iker was a fairly powerful Omega and trained to kick ass, so he was between Oliver and Alastor and across from Sloane in case anything happened. Gerard was stronger, but who knew how he would step in.

We all had our roles, and we were to play them well tonight so Ellie got what she wanted.

Everyone was in the middle of small talk, and the room was filled with chatter. My cheeks were starting to hurt with how much I was smiling.

Drinks were served, and despite his protests, Odie and I won the battle against Gerard saying Ellie couldn't have a drink. For Humans, the drinking age was twenty-one, and most establishments followed that rule for Primarchs as well, but there wasn't a true law when it came to them. Besides, the drink was a mimosa that was ten percent champagne because Ellie still didn't like alcohol. It would be her one and only alcoholic drink tonight.

I chose to have the same but a fifty-fifty pour for my mimosa. I wanted something refreshing, not something that would land me on my ass.

Everyone else had a variety of mixed drinks, sodas, and straight whiskey—Sloane kept surprising me.

Dinner was served, and per Ellie's request, it was all tossed out here at once, so it was more like a buffet and family-style meal than they usually had.

We all filled out plates and laughed at how odd it all was. I had a small bowl of the stew next to my larger plate that held one of everything or a heavy spoonful. I was starving but waited to get my hands on the salad before digging in. Once I had that in another bowl, I stuffed my face.

The table was thankfully large enough that no one was cramped even with the extra dishes. The sound of clinking silverware and satisfied moans filled the room now. Everything was delicious.

"This is your mom's recipe?" Ellie asked Alastor.

"It is. She used to make it at least once a month for us until Cira disappeared." That must be his sister.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Ellie was quiet, but care filled her words.

"It was a long time ago. I'm just happy Lucinda is handled now."

Everyone stopped eating and looked at him. Had no one told him that she had gotten away?

"Alastor, Lucinda wasn't captured. We arrested many others and saved three times as many people, but she vanished before the dinner even started." Odie shared the news, holding

Alastor's gaze. "I'm sorry no one told you. We will be on the hunt for her until she's in captivity. Nothing will stop us."

Alastor was quiet for a moment, then wiped the sides of his mouth with the napkin. "I see. That's—"

Shit.

He chuckled. "That's one word for it. I spent years working my way up so she'd accept me and spill information without worry. It was all for nothing. Cira is gone. Lucinda is gone…"

"You saved me, so it's not all bad, right?" Ellie's lips turned down into a frown.

My eyes bounced between them, wondering if there was more there than I had originally thought. I didn't see any markings, but that didn't really mean anything. Besides, they might not be mates, and maybe I was making things up in my head.

Alastor turned toward Ellie and grabbed her hand that was resting on her lap. "I did, and you're right." Although he smiled, the sadness at the loss of his sister and his life goal being yanked from him still glimmered in his brown eyes. "I'll focus on that until we find her." He faced Odie, who had a smirk on her lips as if she knew what he was going to say. "I must insist that I help. The information I have is probably useless by now, but I know how her system works and can drop many names that are involved."

"I assumed as much. When things settle down around here, we will be on the hunt again. Others are already doing as much without us." Odie nodded toward Sloane.

"Ah, yes, there are many teams on this already. Thanks to the busts we made this week, there will hopefully be many more—well, not hopefully, I mean—"

"They know what you mean, Sloane." Leona stopped him from rambling too much.

"Sloane was offered a new position." Iker sat back with a playful smile on his lips.

Spill. I leaned around Cy, hoping this was some juicy information.

Sloane sighed, then chuckled. "I was offered Lucinda's old position. Thanks to my work under Odie, taking over this last year in her absence, then this… they felt I was the right man for the job since they knew neither of you," he paused and pointedly looked at Cy and Odie, "would take the position yourselves."

"Congratulations, Sloane!" Odie beamed from the head of the table as Cy slapped Sloane on the back.

"Looks like we have more to celebrate. Champagne anyone?" Gerard asked, then looked at Ellie who was raising her hand. "Not you."

The table fell into boisterous laughter, then we were all served champagne to toast all the good that had come despite the horrible things in the mix. Gerard gave a small speech about the future and his hopes that we would come together like this more often with the promise that he now saw the past for what it was, disappointing.

"Looking back, I made many mistakes, but I want that time to end. My family, even though it never appeared this way, is the most important thing to me. I did what I thought was best, but everyone is wrong at times, and I much more than most." He raised his glass, and we all copied his actions. "To the future, to family, and to learning and changing. Cheers."

"Cheers!" everyone repeated, and glasses clinked around the room.

The champagne was bubbly but dry, making me scrunch my nose.

"Not your favorite?" Odie asked, leaning in.

No, not at all.

"I'll drink it if you don't want—"

"Ellie Lorey!" Gerard admonished with humor in his voice.

Ellie's shoulders tensed but quickly released. I assumed it had more to do with expecting him to say Ellery and not the loudness of his voice.

Things quickly went back to a normal meal with small conversations happening here and there, except for Oliver who stayed noticeably silent and eyed the three of us periodically. I made sure he saw me catching him a few times. I had no doubt that Odie and Cy noticed as well, but they didn't make it obvious, at least to me.

By the end, I was stuffed, but my body felt lighter. The joy and laughter in the room brought back some fond memories I had of my family, but I didn't dwell on the past. I looked toward the future with all of them and the new friends we found along the way. We were going to need a much bigger table.

The plates were cleared, and dessert was brought out. Along with the apple pie and vanilla ice cream that Gerard had picked, we were also given coffee. I chose decaf so I wouldn't be up all night, but Ellie apparently didn't have the same issue as she went for the strongest pot available, dousing it with cream and more sugar than I even added.

She caught me watching her but gave a shrug, knowing I wouldn't stop her. In a few weeks, I'd put my foot down about the poor choices, but it had only been a week, and drinking a large cup of caffeine wasn't the worst thing she could do.

What time is it? I asked Odie. I had left my phone somewhere. I wasn't used to having it again and only paid attention to its location when I wasn't with Cy or Odie.

"A little before eight."

I smiled and asked, Game night?

Ellie gasped with excitement. "Game night! I can—" She was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

We all paused and looked at the archway that led into the hall as a servant walked by, heading for the door.

"That can't be good," Odie said under her breath as she stood up.

No, it definitely wasn't good. It never was.