She hated the look in his eyes when he thought about any interaction between herself and Anastasia, almost as if he was already dreading it, almost admitting defeat at any kind of friendship between them. She was stubborn though and couldn't accept it, not at least without trying first, and she had to admit, she didn't think she was trying too hard the last time she'd been her. She needed to do this though, for Alexander. He finally said "As you wish" and it was like getting exactly what she wanted under the Christmas tree. Her eyes lit up and her lips tugged into a beaming smile. Her heart squeezed in her chest. "Thank you." She breathed the words, genuinely wanting him to know how much it meant to her. Once the food was in front of them, he wasted no time in digging in, though she was sure it was need of a distraction from this unpleasant topic more than anything.

She followed his example and was glad she did. The meat was unbelievable. She'd never tasted anything like it. When she opened her eyes after having chewed on a particularly tender piece, she caught the simper on his lips as he said he was glad she liked it. She smiled. "I'm going to have to start mimicking your orders more often. This is to die for." She was glad to talk about something more pleasant though, if only cause she wanted to know as much as Alexander as she could. She thought family was a safe enough subject but wasn't figuring that it had been centuries, perhaps even longer, since he'd even been with his family. She knew he was old but didn't know how old. He gave her names and that seemed to be all he was giving, at least for now. Maybe she'd ask about the Hunters he worked with or the Were's he was allied with. Maybe he was closer to them.

But he turned the tables on her, asking after her own family and she knew she needed to reciprocate. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him about her family. She just didn't talk about it much so it was hard to get through without a scowl of distaste on her face. Her father was probably always going to be a touchy subject with her, but she didn't want to hide anything from Alexander. After all, she was asking the same of him so it was only fair. She told him about her mother and she knew how he felt about her father but she thought she might have seen some kind of shift in his eyes when she told him the core reason of why her father hated her. He told her that grief could destroy men and she knew that part was right. She would never know what kind of man her father was, what kind of father he could have been, if only her mother was still alive.

Alexander was quick to point out that it didn't excuse anything he did to her though, saying he was sorry she suffered and that she didn't deserve what he put her through. Unable to think of anything good to say back to that, she rolled her shoulders in a shrug and continued to stare down at her plate. She searched for something else to talk about, something lighter. Taking another bite of food for inspiration, she finally looked back up to meet his gaze, offering a small smile. "It wasn't your fault. Like you said, blame the grief." She reached for the glass of wine, taking a polite sip. "I guess if it wasn't for him hiding me away like he did, I would have been married off to a 'suitable' man of the pack at 15 and would probably be nursing my fifth or sixth child by now, so things could be worse." She shrugged again, as if it was no big deal. Life was life and she took the cards she was dealt.

"When did you ride a horse for the first time? Let me guess; you were probably a 'natural.'" She did the quotes with her fingers around the last word, giving him a teasing smirk as her eyes twinkled. She figured that was as safe a subject as any, since it was obvious how much horses meant to him. If there was any way to get to know him better, it was getting him to talk about something he loved.

alexis wilde