Finding His Mate Ch. 03

Azeil once again ignores her. "Are you going to take a look?"

"No, no. Don't do that, Azeil. You keep ignoring some of my questions, which I've let slide, but not this one. What is the catch?" She folds her arms across her chest and tilts her head to the side, waiting for his response.

Once again, she's challenging him. Azeil feels his wolf pleading with him to make her submit. 'Hey, hey. This is good.' Once he feels the other half of him calm down, he focuses his attention back on the task at hand. Again, he has to figure out what to tell her without entirely lying.

"There's no catch Madison. Truthfully, I'll be closing down that restaurant and figured this is more aligned with your skillset. And once you brought up the commute, I figured I could provide you with housing. That's it."

He states it so matter-of-factly that Madison almost finds herself falling for it. Nowhere in his answer did he address the reason why he's doing all of this for her. To make matters worst and even more awkward, people are still staring at them in awe. This is getting weird. She feels herself start to get woozy.

"I think I just need a minute to think about all of this. This is... Too much, Azeil. While I understand you want to make sure all of my concerns are met, I don't need all of this", she says, pointing around. She sees an emotion flash in his eyes. Hurt, maybe?

"Look. I'll take you up on your offer. However, I'm not living here. A company car will suffice. If it starts to become too much, we can come back to the drawing board and figure something out."

He seems to accept this answer a bit better, which relieves her. Handing him the key, she jumps a bit when their fingers touch during the exchange. Clearing her throat, she's about to speak when her stomach rumbles.

Azeil's eyebrow raises. "Hungry?"

Smiling sheepishly, she nods her head. "Yes. I didn't realize I haven't eaten all day until, well, now."

"I know I place."

She watches as he does that thing again: leaving her without another word. This must be a character trait of his. She takes one last look at the house before following after Azeil. Once inside, she waits until Azeil takes his place on the driver's side.

"Why are they staring at us? Are you, like, the mayor or something?"

Azeil briefly glances at her before starting the engine and pulling off. "Sort of."

There he goes again with his matter of fact statements. They drive through the town and eventually pull into the parking lot of a small diner. Once again, people are staring at them and whispering.

Azeil places his hand on her lower back as they walk inside and feels her body relax. He knows she's nervous due to stares she's getting from the pack members and wants to make sure she feels some kind of security.

"Mr. Azeil! Nice to see you. Who's your... Friend?"

"Madison. Nice to meet you." Madison notices the older woman flash her eyes at Azeil before returning her attention to her. What was that about? It's as if they were mentally speaking to each other.

"Well, Madison, it's nice to have you in town! You both can follow me."

Azeil motions for Madison to go first, following behind her. He greets some of the pack members present as they walk to their booth and thanks Cecil once they're seated. He looks across the table at Madison, who is perusing the menu. She's stunning.

Her hair frames her face perfectly, drawing attention to her high cheekbones. Azeil looks down at her lips, the bottom of which she is currently biting, and licks his own. What he would give right now to kiss them? Truthfully, this has been a surprise for him, finding her. He's always been under the impression that he would never find his mate, at least not for a few hundred years, and yet, here she is sitting in front of him.

Madison feels someone staring at her and is surprised when it's Azeil. "What's up?"

Azeil shakes his head. "Nothing." He points toward the menu, "Do you know what you would like?"

Madison places the menu down and nods. "Yes. Do you know what you want?"

"They know what I want."

Madison looks at him quizzically. What's up with this man and his weird statements? He seems to like not giving full, adequate answers. He waves his hand to get the attention of the waitress.

"What can I get for you, hun?" Madison gives her order and is surprised when the waitress walks away without getting Azeil's.

"You're not going to eat?"

Azeil dismisses her question. "What made you start working at Moe's?"

Madison is a bit shocked at the conversation change but figures Azeil didn't see the point in answering her question. Taking a sip of her water, she leans back into the booth and sighs.

"I had no other choice, really. When I moved from LA to New York, it was initially under the premise that I would have a fellowship at an art exhibit. This quickly went to shit, though, so I had to figure out what to do. Moe's was hiring at that time, so I took it."

A moment of silence passes between them. Azeil just stares at her, which starts to make Madison squirm. Why is he staring at her? His eyes deepen.

"And you and Tiffany. How did you two meet?" Madison's head tilts to the side at this question.

"You know, Tiffany?"

He nods his head but doesn't say anything further. She waits for a moment to see if he will elaborate and rolls her eyes once he doesn't.

"Childhood friend. Our mothers knew each other." She takes another sip of her water, hoping he doesn't ask her to elaborate any further. She isn't exactly in the mood to talk about her dead mother. He must've sensed this because he changes the topic.

"Why don't you sell your pieces? From what I could find, and what I saw earlier today, you're excellent."

Madison chuckles, "You know what? That's a good question that I can't seem to figure out, honestly. I guess I'm a bit of a hoarder with my pieces. Since my fellowship was stripped away, I chalked that up to not being good enough and haven't exactly dared to engage in that realm again. But, today, I received news that I have a spot in the 'Uptown Arts' annual exhibition, so I'm very excited about that."

Madison notices his brows furrow together and emotion in his eyes. "Have you heard of it?" Based on his demeanor, he seems to know something about Uptown. If this is her chance to dig up more information, she's going to take it.

Azeil hesitates on what to disclose to her. "I actually do. My brother created the organization years back. He no longer oversees it anymore, however." He looks out the window and clenches his jaw.

"What was your brother's name?" Madison waits for him to respond but quickly realizes how intrusive the question she just asked is. Something happened to his brother that he's not comfortable discussing.

"You don't have to tell me. I'm sorry for being so intrusive. It's not my place."

Azeil shakes his head. "No. You're fine. His name was Danatrov. Danatrov Tazot. He passed a few years back."

His brother's name immediately raises red flags for Madison. Danatrov. Oddly, his brother and the current owner have similar names. It's even odder that the current owner, as described by Tiffany, looks precisely like Azeil. Something is off here, and Madison isn't sure Azeil is aware.

"You know the current owner's name is D-" Her statement is cut off as the waitress arrives with their food.

"Here you go, dear. Please let me know if you two need anything."

Madison thanks the waitress and digs in. Her conversation with Azeil will have to wait later after she eats because she's starving. It's probably better she waits, anyway, to gather more information.

"Hungry?" She stops mid-chew and smiles.

"I'm so sorry. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was until the food was right in front of me." She wipes her mouth with her napkin and looks around the diner.

"So this diner, this town, I sense there's something you're not telling me."

Azeil practically chokes on his food. She's direct. "And what makes you think this, Ms. Lithu?"

Something about him saying her name made a shiver go up to her spine. She watches his tongue as he licks lips.

"I guess we can just say my intuition is strong..." She trails off as she takes another sip of her drink. "I do have a question for you. However, I'll wait to see how all of this goes."

Azeil's eyebrow raises. Question. He's wondering what kind of question she has that has to wait.

"Well... don't wait too long." He stares directly into her eyes as he says this.

Madison feels her lower half start to throb and notices his nostrils flare. She's about to change the subject when the man who is always with him walks into the diner. As he's making his way to their booth, a growl fills the space between them, causing the man to stop midway.

She looks over at Azeil, who appears unfazed, then looks around her. Is there some kind of dog in here? Looking back at Azeil, she sees his eyes flash, but something is different about them this time. They're their usually blue, albeit a deeper blue, but now there are swirls of amber. The man lowers his head for a few moments before continuing over to their table.

"Gino."

The way Azeil says his name is menacing. Madison nervously clears her throat, extending her hand.

"Madison. I believe we haven't met, though we keep crossing paths." She says, trying to ease the tension.

He looks at her hand, then at Azeil, who gives an imperceptible nod. Taking her hand, a nervous smile splays his face.

"Gino. It's a pleasure to meet you as well." He stands at the head of the table awkwardly, which is only raising Madison's anxiety.

"Would you like to sit?" She starts to move over to give him some room on her side of the booth, but he quickly shakes his head.

"No-no. Please. I'll be quick. Azeil, may I speak with you for a minute?"

Madison watches as Azeil's large frame moves out of the booth, following behind Gino. She breaths out a breath she didn't know she is holding. At first, she thought it was a macho showdown, like the one between Ryan and the pizza guy, but it wasn't that. It was as if Gino was afraid of Azeil. And what about the growl she heard? Did that come from Azeil? So lost in her thoughts, she doesn't notice the waitress.

"Oh. I'm so sorry." She looks up at the woman; however, it's not the waitress they had initially. She doesn't believe she even works here.

"I'm sorry, can I help you?" The woman only stares at her for a few minutes before flashing her a bright smile.

"Excuse my manners. My name is Alessia." She extends her hand, which Madison cautiously takes.

"Madison."

"Madison... That's a pretty name. Just visiting, I assume?" Madison watches as Alessia's eyes scan her face as if she's memorizing every aspect of it. There's something off about this woman; something... evil.

"Yes. Azeil is just showing me around." She stares at her blankly before plastering what Madison knows is a fake smile on her face.

"Azeil is such a gentleman, isn't he? Welp. I just wanted to show you my face and welcome you. You've been the buzz around town, and you're just as beautiful as everyone is describing you to be..." She stares at Madison for a minute longer with blank eyes. Is she... Challenging me? Madison isn't sure if she's doing this purposely or not, but she isn't about to look away.

"If you need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out. Just ask someone for Alessia, and I'll be there!"

Madison watches her closely until she exits the diner. What's up with her? That encounter felt like an old-western stand-off, and she doesn't even know the woman. Her waitress makes her way over to the table.

"Is everything going okay?"

Madison nods her head.

"Don't mind, Alessia. She's just not used to the competition?"

Madison's curiosity piques. Competition? Why would a woman she doesn't know consider her competition? What exactly are they competing for?

"I'm sorry, competition?"

The woman chuckles. "Ah- I see. In due time, you'll understand what I mean." She collects Azeil's plate. "Are you finished or still working on that?"

Madison looks down at her food and shakes her head. Suddenly her appetite is gone.

"No, I'm finished. Thank you." She sits back, thinking about what her waitress just said. 'In due time.' It seems everyone from this town enjoys talking in circles instead of saying what they mean. She looks around for Azeil and sees he's still outside speaking with Gino. She's not sure what they are discussing but can tell that whatever they are talking about isn't pleasing Azeil.

Azeil glances through the glass window at Madison, who gives him a small smile. He saw Alessia leave from out of the diner and wonders what she said to Madison. He knows Madison stood her ground. However, he knows how evil Alessia can be when she doesn't get her way. Alessia's presence, coupled with the news Gino is giving him, isn't the best combination at one time.

According to Gino, they tracked Moe's presence to a warehouse by the docks. What makes matters worst is who the warehouse belongs to: Ryan Mullen, otherwise known as Rathu Simout from the Mael Clan. He's been tracking him since his arrival to New York decades ago, and to hear that he's potentially causing problems is troubling. While he isn't afraid of Mael's descendants, he would be a fool to ignore the savageness that runs in their blood.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Azeil runs his hand over his face. Figuring out what to do with Moe isn't how he expects to spend some of his time with Madison.

"Lay low. While it does trouble me that Rathu would concern himself with one of our own, I'm not sure Moe is worth saving. Truthfully, he may have been in some shit for a while now. It's just odd to me Rathu would come out of hiding just to be in some business with a man like Moe."

He looks down at the ground and thinks for a moment. There has to be more to this story. "Get me more information about this Ryan Mullen character that Rathu's created."

Gino nods his head. He looks over Azeil's shoulder and nods toward Madison. "What was that about?"

Azeil also looks at Madison. He's not sure what came over him, but for a brief moment, he wanted to tear Gino into shreds. Whatever he said to Madison prior caused her body to release pheromones. As soon as he smelled her essence, his wolf immediately claimed her. It just so happened Gino was walking toward them simultaneously, which set off his other half. Luckily he has much more self-control than others. Otherwise, he probably would've killed Gino.

He returns his attention to Gino. "I believe I just claimed her as my mate."