Chapter 217 Chapter 217

Chapter 217 Chapter 217
The entire drive was eerily quiet, Marcus and I saying nothing the entire three-hour car ride. Marcus drives our car up the gate of Silver Run, talking to the warrior at the post, explaining who we are and showing our IDs. While two others examine the car with metal detectors, taking precaution to the next level.
Not paying attention to my brother, I let my eyes wander the tree line, a hidden figure calling to me like a siren. Without having to look too hard, I find a pair of brown eyes hypnotizing me as my heart hammers in my chest.
Viola, my wolf, perking up for the first time in weeks, thrashing forward with a sudden urgency, I can barely contain her. Before I can decipher the shade of brown or make out any other features, Marcus drives into the territory, while Viola whines incessantly, wanting to go back.
“Listen, Nora,” Marcus grumbles, glancing at me, “if you can’t behave tonight, you will leave me no choice but to put you into council warrior training.”
“You wouldn’t,” I gasp, facing him, but his expression is serious. Even more so than when I wrecked Hazel’s car. Council warriors are in for life, and take a vow of celibacy. They wear scent blockers to hide their scents from their mate, and it sounds like the loneliest existence. It’s also a last resort for unruly wolves. Instead of turning them rogue, it’s essentially a prison sentence.
“Fuck around, and find out,” he turns to face me, and for the first time in my life, I can’t tell if he is bluffing or not and I am a little scared to find out.

So much for house arrest and being attached to Marcus side the entire time. The second the ceremony was done, he squirreled away with a group of semi- recognizable Alphas and Betas.
His parting words were cryptic and nearly nonsensical. “Be careful around the New Moon, and Silver Run members. Especially the Alpha couple.” That’s all I got from him before scurrying away, head bent in whispered conversation.
Leaving me to my own devices, I wander the room eyeing the fresh foods on the appetizer tables and decorations. The feeling of being watched makes my hair stand on end. I know I should be concerned, but I can’t help the excitement stirring in my stomach. Looking frantically, I try to find who is staring and from where.
After a few minutes, with no luck, I head to the bar. Thankfully, there’s no line standing between the bartender and I. While the urge to order an alcoholic beverage scratches at the back of my mind, I order a coke instead, trying my hardest to behave. I have no desire to call my brother’s bluff.
Turning with a drink in my hand, I smack into a hard wall I know wasn’t there before spilling my drink all over the person. Looking up, into a pair of hypnotizing brown eyes, olive skin, and a charming smile lighting his face. Viola coming forward, full of curiosity as we study a man around my age.
“Oh, shit,” I mutter, blushing when I realize I have been staring like an idiot. Placing the drink on the counter, I grab a stack of napkins, dabbing away at the stranger’s shirt. Good to know that even sober, I still have no shame.
“Had I known coming to the bar meant getting felt up by a beautiful woman, I would have been here sooner,” the man flirts with a chuckle. “Seems I came at the perfect time, though. You know this is a celebration, right?”
Clearing my dry throat, I answer like a bumbling idiot. “Yes, “ I continue with a lie, “but I don’t really know anyone, so you know…”I trail off, realizing I do not know how to flirt. It’s been so long since I have had to.
“Well, let’s change that,” he says with a wink, putting so much charm behind his words I do nothing but giggle like a middle school girl. What the fuck is wrong with me?
‘Jesus christ, can you stop making us look like bumbling idiots,’ Viola mutters at the back of my mind, talking to me for the first time in months. Without answering her, I raise my chin and straighten my shoulders, and return his penetrating gaze.
“My name is Nora’s, yours?” I ask, keeping my voice even as I try to tame the blush creeping up my cheeks. Refusing to lose the composure I have gained, I meet the gaze of this god-like specimen.
“Theo,” he replies, before asking a question of his own. “So what drink should we get to celebrate the new Alphas?”
“Dealer’s choice,” I say, my restraint breaking the more nervous I get around this man. It’s not a nervousness, but whatever it is, it’s….interesting and I somehow know I can trust him.
“Two ranch waters,” Theo asks the bartender, who gets to work making the simple drinks. “So, Nora, are you here with anyone?” he questions as he leans against the bar, looking at the crowd while I watch the bartender.
“My older brother, Marcus,” I comment, as the bartender brings back our drinks, placing them in the front of us on little specialty made coasters with the couple’s initials on them.
Theo watches with amusement as I take large gulps of the drink in my hand, letting the fiery liquid calm my nerves.
“I don’t make you that nervous, do I?” he asks, a light teasing tone but a hint of concern hiding underneath his words.
“It’s not you,” I comment, before finishing this drink within seconds. “I well…” I trail off again, seemingly unable to get my brain to work around him. Am I having an aneurysm?