![]() |
Her attention wavered back to Henry as he suddenly asked Frost if he could see his memories. Her gaze flashed back to Frost in question. Could he read people's minds? That was kind of cool but did he do it a lot? It seemed kind of intrusive. She knew Henry was a private person so he probably wouldn't think it's cool. She nibbled on her bottom lip, glancing between the boys, hoping she wouldn't have to diffuse the situation. Henry told Frost as much next, telling him to stay out of his head. Malia's eyes widened at the confrontational words, glancing back to Frost to make sure he didn't take it personally before she cleared her throat and took another sip of the wine, in desperate need of a distraction. Too much testosterone at this table for her all of a sudden. When she tried to defend his panther side to everyone else, Henry turned to her, saying he didn't share that information. She raised a brow at him in question. What, that his panther was feral? She didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of. She was fascinated by it, but maybe others wouldn't be. She bit her bottom lip, her gaze softening in apology to him as he turned back to the others to tell them he wasn't that feral and that he'd come a long way. She felt bad for telling something that wasn't hers to tell. She just thought she was helping but apparently not. Her gaze averted for a minute, feeling very uncomfortable. Between this dress, these fancy surroundings and now all the tension in the air around her, it was pretty overwhelming. Henry was telling Nadya to calm down next, saying he didn't just believe Tetradore and it wasn't his story to comment on. She leaned down a little more in her seat, thinking just how far downhill this dinner was going all of a sudden. She breathed a sigh of relief when the waitor came back to take their orders, thankful for the break in conversation. Henry ordered something with shrimp and she wrinkled her nose. "What's that?" She couldn't help but ask. Frost asked Henry about work and Henry told him he didn't work at the Ark. He said he was training and Malia's eyes widened in surprise. Training for what? Was he learning combat like she was? Her eyes brightened at the idea. Her gaze swept back to Nadya when she said that she would call the owner of the Burlesque and that they'd make it a girl's night. She grinned, practically bouncing in her seat. "It's a date!" But all too soon the tension was tangible again as Nadya told Henry that it didn't matter what he believed. She said that Malia was the reason he was allowed here and Malia even flinched from the words. Unbeknownst to the others, her hand reached for his leg under the table, hoping that the simple contact would say what words couldn't. She was sorry that things were tense but no matter what, she was his friend and would be there for him. Meanwhile, she turned her head as if looking for someone. "Hey, how long does it take for the food to get here? I'm starving." She was trying to shift the conversation and it was blatantly obvious. She didn't like where it was going. She wanted Henry here and she wanted her pack mates here, too. Why couldn't everyone just skip the drama and live in the moment? This was supposed to be a nice night out with her friends and instead it was turning into an interrogation. She didn't like that at all. Luckily, the waitor arriving seemed to break up some of the tension cause Nadya said that Henry should get to know Jackal. Malia raised a brow, not sure who this Jackal was, but suddenly she wanted to get to know him too. He sounded fun. Frost at least told Henry that he wouldn't pry into his mind anymore and that he only did it to protect those he cared for. She felt a warmth in her chest at the idea. She knew Frost was a good leader and he seemed to care about those in his pack. The fact that he would say such things out loud without thought of losing manly points was admirable. Frost then assured Henry that he wasn't the only Were with feral problems and that he offered to help Raven. He said it could be controlled with practice. Malia could only hope with Frost's calm demeanor that things would diffuse. Soon enough the food came and her stomach grumbled in response. As her plate was put in front of her, she couldn't help but lick her lips. It smelled delicious. She glanced around the table, eying everyone's plates before she wrinkled her nose at Frost's salad. She would never understand how someone could do without eating meat. Frost then asked Henry about the night she got shot by hunters and she tensed, glancing at Henry out of the corner of her eye as she pretended to focus on her food. What if he didn't want Frost to know about that either? She wasn't sure what she could or couldn't share anymore. She bit into her food and moaned at the texture. It was amazing. |