Chapter 68. A Stranger

A party is not what I thought I would be walking into tonight. I thought he would try to have a romantic dinner or something. I am so caught up in my thoughts that I don't see him reaching for my hand. When his hand is in mine, I feel the sparks light up my hand. I look down and stare at his hand in mine. It feels the same as it does with Luca and Levi. How can this be if he is not my mate? They say you can't fake the mate bond, but I am not sure anymore with everything. I am taken out of my thoughts when I hear someone clear their throat. I look up to see a man and woman standing in front of us.

"Hi, you must be the lovely Raine." The man says as I look at him.

"Yes, I am Raine." Is all I say. I don't know if I should say nice to meet you or not. I don't know who any of these people are.

"Well, it is nice to meet you, honey. I am Tasha, and this is my husband, Joseph. We have waited a long time to meet you." She says with a huge smile that I can't help but return.

"Yes, we have. I started to think Chase here, dreamed you up." Joseph says, and I can't hold in the laugh as I look at Chase to see him smiling the biggest smile I have seen him have yet. His smile is stunning.

"So, how do you know each other?" I ask, finally finding my voice and strength.

"Well, that is a funny story, actually," Tasha says as she looks at Joseph with love and admiration. "Chase saved me from some warlocks that were up to no good and turned out he and Joseph had a lot in common."

"Chase saved you from warlocks?" I ask her, still a little confused and not finding the humor.

"Yes, his brother..." She starts to say, but another man and woman walk up, interrupting her.

"Chase, it's so good to meet your mate finally," The man says as he reaches for Chase's hand to shake it.

"Yes, it is nice to finally show off her beauty," Chase says, and I feel the blush on my face, but I shake it off.

"She is definitely stunning. I am Hunter, and this is my mate, Jane. It's nice to meet you, Raine."

"You as well," I say as I shake both their hands.

"Dinner is almost ready to be served. We should take our seats," Chase says, and everyone agrees as we turn to follow Chase to the table. My stomach lets out a loud growl just as we reach the table.

"I can tell someone is hungry," Chase says, smiling at me.

"Yes, I am. I feel like I have been kidnapped and starved."I say, and I see a flash of hurt cross his eyes before he hides it away.

"I thought there were snacks in your room. I will make sure there is always something for you to eat when you want it." He then looks to some people sitting on the other side of him, and they begin to talk. I don't pay much attention to their conversation because my mind goes a hundred miles a minute. Why would hurt cross his eyes? He really did take me. Well, he took my best friend and sister, knowing I would come in their place. But it still doesn't all make sense. They both looked like they had been taken care of, and so far, everyone has treated me nicely and with respect. If he is the kind of guy I was told he was, why be friendly?

"Are you ok?" I hear from beside me. I look up to see Tasha looking at me with concern. I had not even noticed that she sat beside me.

"Yes, I didn't expect to see so many people tonight. I did not know he was having a dinner party." I tell her even though I am not sure why I am just spitting out what I think to her.

"He has been very excited to be able to be with you again."

"What do you mean again?"

"He told us all that he had found his mate a couple of years ago, but the timing was off that you were not old enough yet to see the mate signs. He also had to protect you because being his mate would have put you in danger." She says the last part and gives a slight frown.

"I don't understand how being mated to him would put me in danger," I say, but I am cut off as the servers start to set our plates down in front of us. The plate has a spring salad with berries in it. My stomach growls again. I really hope they are going to feed us something more filling than this salad. Tasha starts to laugh.

"Don't worry, this is just the starter," she tells me. I guess I did not hide that I needed something more very well.

"I hope so," I tell her as I take a bite of the salad. I am surprised by the taste. There is a vinaigrette dressing that tastes similar to strawberries. I love strawberries. A small moan leaves me at the taste.

"I am glad you like it. I know strawberries are one of your favorites." Chase leans next to my ear and says. How the hell does he know I love strawberries? I stare at him as he goes back to talking to the people beside him.

"I think all the food is going to be based around things you love," Tasha says as she laughs and keeps eating.

"You said Chase saved you from some warlocks, so what happened?

"Chase's brother had kidnaped me and tried to get me to use my powers to help him in some scheme to take control. HE KIDNAPPED ME when I wouldn't help and used Joseph as a bargaining chip. Chase found out what his brother was up to and helped get me out. We will forever be in his debt."

"You said it was a funny story. I don't see the funny part." I tell her because being kidnapped is not funny.

"When Chase got me out, We actually ran into Joseph as he was trying to find where I was being held. He jumped on Chase. Chase had to use his power to hold him upside down against a tree until I could explain what was going on. Joseph's pants had ripped at the top, so he was hanging upside down against a tree with his pants split right open, everything hanging out. It is funny now looking back." I couldn't hold in the laugh thinking about this big man in that situation.

"I take it she told you about my pants?" Joseph said, and I laughed harder while shaking my head yes.

"It was not that funny," Joseph said but with a smile.

"I love to hear you laugh," Chase said beside me, and his smile did funny things to my stomach again. I didn't have time to think about it long because a plate with a massive steak with garlic butter spread on top of it was set in front of me, stealing my attention. In addition, there were broccoli and asparagus spears. I just looked at Chase. How does he know so much about me, but I don't know anything about him?