The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

18: Robin

"Infantula..." Caius said something to Aurelia, and she blushed.

He had said that word a few times, and I guessed it was an affectionate name he had for Aurelia that she was, for some reason, embarrassed by.

It was bizarre to see her interact with her father. He looked like he was in his mid thirties, and she looked around a decade younger than him, but he treated her like the most precious thing in the world, and he had clearly doted on her when she was younger.

When she saw him for the first time, she was shocked. I hadn't even seen him myself at that point, and I didn't have to ask to know she had been expecting an old man rather than the young, healthy werewolf my sister was so enamored by.

I didn't understand most of what he said, but he was trying to learn English, and it felt like he was listening to everything that people were saying all the time. I found it unsettling, because I felt like he was judging me and he definitely didn't think I was worthy of his daughter's affection.

Not that I could blame him. Aurelia was born when werewolves were significantly more powerful than they had become, and she deserved more than I could give her. She saw the part of me that could have been Alpha, but my mother had been born an Omega, and that part of my heritage was blatantly what Caius saw in me.

"Does he need something?" I nodded at Caius as I checked my pocket for my wallet and keys. "I'm going to the store."

Aurelia shook her head, but Caius stood up and addressed me directly for the first time in the two weeks we had known each other.

"I don't need anything."

He sounded annoyed, but I wasn't in the mood to stroke his ego - I just wanted to get to the store and pick up something to make for dinner.

"Do you need me to get you anything?" I asked her, hoping it sounded casual.

She blushed - I knew she wanted me to spend the night with her again, because we had spent every night together and she seemed happy with our arrangement, but she was too nervous to ask and I didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

Things would be a lot less simple if we ever had an actual conversation about what we were starting to feel for each other.

"I—"

"—infantula," her father interrupted what seemed like it was going to be an intimate moment, and I wanted to strangle him.

She blushed again, and said something rather sharp that made him hang his head and look contrite.

"I'll just get basics, I guess," I murmured.

Cigarettes, soda, and ready meals for one.

"Why don't I go with you?" she nearly snapped at me, and I smiled warmly without any hesitation.

"I don't know...do you really want to leave Caius here unattended?"

As if he was a child or a destructive little puppy.

"I think your sister will be able to handle him, don't you?"

"Only if there's something in it for her," I muttered.

I wasn't upset that her interest in Caius had waned, but it did make going anywhere with Aurelia difficult when we couldn't leave her father alone.

She smiled, and I stared at my feet because the way my heart raced when she f*****g smiled at me made me feel like a kid.

She said something else to her father, then hovered by the door until I took the hint and joined her.

She surprised me by insisting we go into the city together, and I enjoyed the hour long drive in the soft topped little sports car she had rented- I thought she looked beautiful, and the sun made her warm golden-brown eyes shine spectacularly as she stared at the road.

I kept the radio off, because she didn't seem to know what I did for a living and I didn't want to think about the fact I should have been playing festivals all summer instead of f*****g her senseless.

I had really only intended to grab another packet of cigarettes and a couple of ready meals from the store, but I was excited to spend time with Aurelia and my heart fluttered when her fingers brushed against my hand as we walked; I didn't expect her to lace them with mine and squeeze my hand gently, and I tried not to look at her because holding my hand like that was probably not a big deal for her, no matter how special it felt to me, and it felt so natural that I didn't want to ruin the moment.

When I didn't mention it, she kept hold of my hand and moved closer to my side as we walked down the bustling street.

"Is this weird for you?" I asked, hesitantly. "I mean…being here again, with your dad back, and… whatever we are."

"Weird isn't really a word I use. Things change… sometimes change is slow, and sometimes things change in a heartbeat; I just try to find the good in whatever situation I'm in. Things will change again soon enough, for better or worse. I haven't been in a relationship for a while, but it's not weird; this feels right, for now."

"A relationship?" I laughed. "You think you'll stick around to watch me grow old?"

"Perhaps. You might not be comfortable with it. My family had to move from the city when we couldn't hide the fact Talia hadn't aged a day in decades, and—"

"—it wouldn't be like that. Not with us."

I was as surprised as Aurelia at my words, but we were around too many people to discuss it properly.

"I don't think now is the right time for this conversation," she muttered awkwardly.

Her grip on my hand loosened, and she let her hand fall to her side.

"You want a coffee or something?" I asked, digging into my pocket to pull out the cigarettes I was using as a distraction.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I just needed to get away for a while. It's difficult to be around the others right now."

"Saga's difficult to be around all the time. If you think s**t is going to calm down any time soon, I'm warning you it won't. Whatever game she's decided to play with your dad, she isn't going to stop just because someone else is uncomfortable with it. I love her, but she's a selfish brat most of the time."

"He deserves better. I wish you would both stop making fun of him, Robin. It's not his fault he gets overwhelmed by things - he is still a powerful man, and he is still my father… and, yes, I'm still his baby girl."

"Is that what he calls you? The name he uses that makes you cringe?"

"It doesn't make me cringe," she lied. "But, yes...he still calls me his baby girl."

Fuck - it was already difficult enough not to pity the guy without her telling me stuff like that.

"Alright, baby girl," I slung my arm around her waist affectionately. "You got me here, now where do you want to go?"

"You're really going to call me that?" Aurelia laughed and slipped away from me, but the way I looked at her made her blush.

"It suits you."

"It's what he always used to call me, Robin. I guess he just needs to feel normal, especially when my mom has apparently decided she's not interested in seeing him."

"I don't know what their relationship was like, but he doesn't seem too cut up about that. In fact, he's probably calling my sister his baby girl right now, and that…" I took a long drag from the clove cigarette, "is a thought I really did not need."

I leaned casually against the wall beside a little cafe, and ignored the way the humans outside of it were staring at me.

"Look," Aurelia sighed. "I don't expect you to care about my parent's relationship or anything, but if we're anything more than a casual hook up, you're going to have to deal with my mother sooner or later. She loved Caius, she still loves him, and I don't know why she hasn't come back here to see him, but it's only a matter of time."