Chapter 79 - You Could Always Steal The Job I Worked Centuries For...

"So… there's something you need to know." 

"Oh?" 

"Does this have to do with what happens to Indiana or something to do with me being Emilio's daughter?" 

"The latter." 

"Ah." 

Madeline studied Xavier's face. 

"Is it something I should know by today?" 

"If it isn't you could always just tell me some other time." 

'I'm guessing it's not something that can wait,' Madeline thought to herself the minute she noticed the change in Xavier's expression.

'Is it bad news? Is that why he's hesitating?'

'Alphas don't hesitate, what am I doing?' Xavier asked, scolding himself. 

He fought back a growl. 

'I should've told her already.' 

'Why do I feel this… feeling?'

Like it or not, there was this emotion welling up in him he couldn't quite put his finger on. 

Was it doubt?

Guilt?

Remorse?

Or… was it… 

'No, I never am that way.'

'I'm never…' 

'Great, I'm stalling.'

Xavier wanted to throw his hands in the air out of frustration or punch something. Or both, he wouldn't mind doing both either.

'Oh, so actually you're in line to be alpha following my predecessors. But, since you aren't prepared enough, you're not qualified. However, in time, who knows what might happen? You could always steal my job that I worked centuries for. Or you could choose to continue as you will. It's optional.' 

'Why I decided to tell you all of this when I could've kept this secret and spared us both the utter humiliation of knowing this? No idea. A spur of the moment thing, perhaps.' 

'I'm not telling her that,' Xavier refused.

He poked at his dish, not feeling like eating.

This was not what he signed up for when he became alpha - or Madeline's friend. 

It was most certainly not what he had expected in the first place either. 

Madeline being the ex-alpha's daughter… he hadn't had the time to process that quite yet. 

Was he shocked? 

Most certainly. 

Did he hold any resentment for Madeline?

Definitely not.

The werewolf in him was clawing its way out.

It was almost as if it was telling him, 'Instead of finding a way to tell her, why don't you just let the wolf side of you take over?'

It was like this whenever he felt any strong emotion. 

However, he had gotten better at keeping that side of him hidden. 

Sometimes, the answer to the problem wasn't violence, or turning into a werewolf, which was extremely irrelevant to the situation at hand, one might add. 

Madeline was confused as to what Xavier wanted to tell her.

Was it that bad?

Should she be terrified? Worried? Calm? 

Xavier began, managing to shock her. 

"Eudora's predecessors…" 

He took a deep breath, mumbling something under his breath before he hastily continued what he started.

"They were all direct descendants of the very first werewolf."

"Now, everyone thought the most recent descendant was Emilio." 

"You can begin to see where that leads from this point onwards," Xavier nodded, feeling like he'd swallowed something disgusting.

"So what, by that logic it means I'm in line to be the next alpha?" 

Madeline didn't even consider it. 

Her? The leader of Eudora? 

Pft! Never.

She didn't see it. 

"Why would I ever consider being alpha?" 

"Was that why you looked so tongue-tied?"

Madeline launched into a flurry of praises and compliments.

"Hey, you're an alpha who seems to be amazing at your job. And also, there are millions of reasons why I'd make a horrible alpha. I don't know anything about it and say, I considered it in the first place, I'd pale in comparison to you."

"Who becomes alpha shouldn't be decided by who they're descended from, geez," Madeline said, dissenting the idea. 

Goodness, did Xavier actually think she could take his job? 

Furrowing her brows, Madeline asked him, "Why did you tell me this?"

"Because you deserved to know."

"What if I actually considered being alpha?" Madeline inquired curiously.

Something flashed in Xavier's eye. 

"Well then, it's your decision."

"Well, I'm not considering it anyway."

Xavier stayed silent, wondering if she had really meant everything she had told him. 

Did she really think of him as an amazing alpha? 

Something in him felt different. 

Something had subsided. 

Madeline asked, "Did you think I was going to consider it?"

"Err."

Staring at him, a pout formed on Madeline's face.

Did he really think she'd consider it? Consider taking his job away from him?

The one he worked centuries for - as per what she had been told. 

One would have to be foolish to make a claim for the title of alpha when Xavier was the current alpha. They'd lose in a heartbeat. 

Xavier knew Madeline wouldn't do such a thing, but the chance she would wasn't null. 

Of course, the other wolves would laugh if they heard of something this hilarious. Besides, everyone was content with Xavier as alpha. No one wanted things to change, especially not Madeline.

"Maybe," Xavier admitted. 

Madeline placed a hand to her heart.

"Ouch, that hurt."

Xavier stared at her blankly, wondering if she really felt hurt by it or if she was being dramatic. 

Madeline hid a smile. 

'Why are both my friends so dramatic?' Xavier asked himself.

'Why is it that both the things they have in common, one of them includes being super dramatic?'

He truly wondered what was it that made his friends all have that in common. 

Frankly, he thought himself as a complete opposite. 

Dramatic would be one of the last adjectives used to describe him as a person. 

"Although, I'm beginning to think it's me that should be asking you whether or not you're alright," Xavier said to Madeline as he looked down at her plate. 

She'd barely touched her food.

Madeline stared at her plate, realizing she had yet to eat anything. 

Well, she had taken a couple of bites, but… 

"I'm not too hungry right now," Madeline spoke before her stomach growled.

"You sure about that?" Xavier asked her, looking her in the eye. 

"Uh–"

And just like that, Xavier picked her spoon up. This was his way of getting her back for what she said - even though they were simply compliments. 

In all truth, he hadn't any idea why he was doing it. He just suddenly decided to and went with it, knowing there was no option to back out. 

Xavier never backed out from anything. 

'E-eh? Is he trying to feed me?' 

"What?" Xavier looked at her questioningly.

"Eat," he said. 

'Why does he sound like a concerned boyfriend making me eat because I'm refusing to?' Madeline wondered as she did as he told her to. 

When she had asked him to join her for dinner, she had never expected this to happen. 

If Briar asked what happened during dinner, Madeline knew she'd keep her mouth fully closed.

'No one will know,' Madeline told herself. 

"Hmph! If you get to feed me, I get to feed you," Madeline insisted, lifting her chin in the air, refusing to look Xavier in the eye. 

All this was simply an attempt to hide the raging blush across her now blood-red face. 

She felt her cheeks heat up, and she bit her lip to stop herself from saying something she didn't want to tell him. If she hadn't, she would've said something she'd come to regret, even if it wasn't a lie. 

"Sure," Xavier replied, catching Madeline by surprise.

'Did he just allow me to feed him?' Madeline asked herself, slumping down her chair. 

'If only I could just melt into a puddle and evaporate into nothing, if that meant I could escape from this conversation…' 

Madeline would be lying if she said she wanted to leave. 

In the pit of her stomach was a strange tingling feeling. 

No, it wasn't her stomach rumbling or growling, or anything remotely like that. Strangely, it wasn't an allergic reaction either. 

What could it possibly be? 

'What the heck is happening to me? Why do I feel so weird?'

'Is it because I haven't eaten enough?'

'Is that the reason why my stomach's so… fluttery?' 

'It could be something else that's unrelated to food, you know,' a voice in her head reasoned. 

'Something relating to what Briar said.'

'You never know… the possibility is there. Come on, are you going to try to deny it?'

'And by the mere way he's been treating you, who knows if–'

Madeline picked up his spoon. 

"I didn't think you were actually going to–"

"Don't make this any harder than it is," Madeline deadpanned.

"Alright," Xavier said smugly. 

"I won't."

"Now, open wide," Madeline said fervently. 

"I'm not a child."

"I'm not treating you like one."

"Hmm."

"So, are you going to eat it, or not?" Madeline asked.

Xavier nodded, hoping no one would see what was taking place.

They were dining in Eudora's private dining room, of course, so there was little to no chance someone would find them there.

But if someone walked in to see Madeline feeding him? 

Xavier couldn't comprehend how he'd deal with it. 

Or worse! What if Adrian heard of it?