WHEN DAN REALIZED IT

The evening proceeded in the best way possible. Alpha Henri had decided to take Dan out to the Princess Town for dinner, so Dan found himself being whisked away in a midnight blue Mercedes complete with Blue Demon motorbike escorts to a beautiful town on top of a hill where fairylights were strung overhead, and the buildings looked like cakes and jewels.

They had dinner at the restaurant located in the Blue Rose, a Langston hotelier establishment of 60 years, but unlike the spacious business-class lounges of the Langston, the Blue Rose was a cozy glass encased space. The atmosphere was undeniably romantic.

Dan was quite sure this was not a date. The Blue Rose did hold historical significance in the establishment of the Princess Town, and Dan could appreciate the beautiful bespoke art that adorned the inside spaces of the building.

The fact that their restaurant, Baris, was completely candlelit was also not because it was a date. Alpha Henri had recommended the slipper lobster stew. Many of the dishes served at Baris were recipes once served only at the Alpha's House.

Dan gamely tried the slipper lobster stew and found himself enjoying it very much. Baris also served the locally produced apple cider, which turned out to be extremely delicious and refreshing when paired with the spicy seafood stew. This had to be one of Dan's most enjoyable "food adventures." (He had quite many during his diplomatic travels and they did not always go well.)

Alpha Henri turned out to be even lovelier as a person than Dan had expected. She was an incredibly charismatic beauty, but Dan very quickly found out that Alpha Henri was also very easy to talk to.

Like the cider, her conversations were strong and clear, but also pleasantly sweet and tart with a flora note at the end.

She laughed at Dan's jokes - even the ones that weren't that funny, but my god! Her laugh was the sexiest thing Dan had ever heard. He found himself wanting very much to make her do it again, and by the main course, it had become Dan's momentarily and singular purpose in life.

By the end of the meal, Dan had learned that Alpha Henri enjoyed a good pun, a bit of dry wit, and stories full of situational humor.

"You've missed your calling, Dan." Alpha Henri laughingly told him, "You should have become a stand up comedian."

"Yes. Perhaps I would have a better success in preventing wars by making jokes on stage." Dan answered smiling because of course, he was joking.

And Alpha Henri laughed.

Dan felt a strange sensation in his heart, as if it was free falling, but not. Every time he heard Alpha Henri laugh, his heart would do it. Actually, it was just that Dan had been aware of several strange sensations since coming out for dinner, he had been purposely ignoring them partly because at first he thought it was his imagination, or just a natural physical attraction because Alpha Henri was really a beautiful woman (and he was a healthy man), but now, he was beginning to worry that something else got adjusted when the healers were fixing him. Maybe he should check with Hanari or Delta O tomorrow.

It would be a little embarrassing to talk about though…

Firstly, Dan felt quite physically well, better than he had been for a long time. Nothing ached, not even the old little stiffness in his fingers or the aches in his shoulder, or the nagging pain in his lower back. He had been living for so long with them, he hadn't even realized it until they were gone. He also felt bodily lighter and more agile. Since he was suffering from an acute hangover this morning, and thrown off a horse in the afternoon, he had to credit his glowing new health to the two healers who saw him today.

Perhaps he was feeling too well, or perhaps being magically healed came with side effects - like increased sensitivity to simulation - not that Alpha Henri was behaving in any way out of propriety - Dan had checked before firmly giving himself a mental slap, she wasn't dressed in anyway that even hinted at revealing something she shouldn't, neither was she wearing any strong perfumes… oh but she smelled incredible.

Dan had actually noticed this at their first meeting, but he had pushed it aside as disrespectful since Alpha Henri was a lady. Dan was quite sensitive to perfumes, it usually aggravated his sinus condition, so he usually had to take antihistamines for large social events where ladies might be prone to overdosing in scents, but he hadn't taken any today, and Alpha Henri's scent wasn't unpleasant in the least. In fact, it was too pleasant. Was it a bespoke fragrance? Most wolves didn't use perfumes though… but how was it possible for someone to smell so… Dan had trouble placing the notes - but it was a creamy flora one, with a subtle woody undertone. God, it had to have included an aphrodisiac in its formula!

But that didn't make any sense. Why would an Alpha wear something like that?

Dan found himself taking deeper breaths - like a creep, so he stopped and leaned just a little further back, posing as if he was just relaxing (and not trying to create a distance between them.)

It wasn't just her scent. Was this simply an effect of being too close (and alone) with a beautiful woman? Except that Dan was not alone. Besides a attentive waitstaff, there were two betas hovering not more than two meters away, and four Blue Demon Warriors at the doorway and on the other side of their enclave by the glass walls. It was all very normal, and when Dan had been Prime Minister, he used to have similar security escorts too.

Still, Dan couldn't help but notice how the candlelight made Alpha Henri's creamy skin glow, or how the curve of her cheeks begged to be touched… actually, Alpha Henri had very, very, nice curves.

Dan resisted the urge to face palm. What the hell, he was at a dinner with the Alpha, this was NOT the appropriate thoughts to entertain.

"Is it too spicy?" Alpha Henry asked, "Your lips look kind of red."

"Does it?" Dan was immediately self conscious. He wiped his mouth with a napkin in case the spicy stew had left a stain.

"Would you like some ice in your water?" Alpha Henry asked, "Or milk?"

"Ah, no…" Dan quickly shook his head, "It probably looks worse than it feels."

And then he noticed, "Your lips are red too…"

And swollen, and curved in the most tempting way… Dan swallowed and quickly adverted his gaze, but too late. For some reason, when he swallowed, his heart started free falling… and his blood had left his head to fill up the wrong side of his body.

Dan bit back a groan. He was very quickly sliding down the slippery slope of respectful admirer to creepy pervert.

Alpha Henri had covered her lips, "Oh, they do feel a bit swollen, maybe I am the one who needs ice."

The moment she said so, Beta Dante (or was it Damien?), signaled the wait staff and asked for ice for their water, reminding Dan that not only were they not alone, their conversation was being observed. Dan really didn't want to be explaining anything of what he was currently struggling to control to either Beta. Actually, he had not suffered such a potentially humiliating episode since he was a youth - now that had been a scarring memory.

He couldn't have been more than 15 when it happened that one of the assistant cooks teased him a little and he reacted bodily to it. The ladies thought it was hilarious. He had fled in the middle of peeling the potatoes feeling extremely ashamed of himself. Later on, when the potatoes were not peeled in time to prepare dinner, the head cook beat him up and threw him out into a cold barrel of rain water, "Wash all the dishes outside! Dirty street rat!"

And Dan learnt that a cold bath helped. He could probably do with ice too.

But that was more than 20 years ago, he was a pathetic little slave boy who was still struggling to sound letters together and recognize words. He had left those days behind and was now in everyway the epitome of an elegant and worldly gentleman. He had worked so hard to become the man he was now. Why the sudden regression?

The ice arrived with different glassware and iced water. The waitstaff wanted to know if they might like their deserts to be served.

"Oh, yes please." Alpha Henri's eyes lit up.

Dan thought dessert was a good diversion from his current plight. They had both ordered the Crepe Cake which was the signature desert in the menu. Dan liked his steak and potatoes as much as the next man, but he also quite liked his deserts. So did Alpha Henri it would seem. Dan found himself smiling (hopefully he didn't look creepy) at the way her expression brightened at the mention of desert.

By the time desert was served, Dan was amusing the alpha with a story of how he had once mistakenly ordered a full course meal for his King, inclusive of the desert.

"I was most fortunate to be the man told to get rid of it." Dan said and then added tongue in cheek, "It was the more pleasant mistake to rectify."

Alpha Henri laughed, and Dan couldn't help but notice how her laugh was far more satisfying than the delectable spoonful of crepe and champagne flavored cream in his mouth. He felt his heart free fall again, and everything else took its cue from there to move southwards.

Dan crossed his legs and took a quick glance down to make sure his napkin was not tenting. Thank God for Betaman's impeccable flat fit pants and structured fabrics to keep everything as it should be - at least on the outside.

The last nail in the coffin came at the last bite, when Dan noticed Alpha Henri had cream on the side of her mouth. It was only for a split second before she licked it off. That was… Dan could not even verbalize the battery of wantonness that assaulted his senses. Dan wiped his own mouth and put his napkin on the table. He was done.

For some reason, he was being hyper sensitive tonight.

Thankfully, Beta Damien came over to remind his alpha that they were due back in Night Leaf for the Friendly Tournament with the Snow Wolf Delegation.

Yes, that would be perfect! Standing outdoors in a nice cold winter night would do him good.

"Are you looking forward to the tournament?" Alpha Henri smiled and Dan realized his expression had slipped. He quickly schooled himself to his usual polite decorum, "Yes, Alpha. I'm looking forward to the rest of tonight."

And let's just blame his oversensitivity, but it sounded like he was insinuating something else. Dan quickly added, "The fresh air would do me good…"

Dan realized that the Alpha might think he was implying that dinner was suffocating, so he quickly continued, "…after indulging in such a hearty meal."

Alpha Henri laughed, just a little, and then surprised Dan with her next words, "Alright, but please remember to dress warmly. When Snow Wolves gather in numbers, the temperature would be expected to drop a few extra degrees in the vicinity."

Dan nodded, too surprise to answer. He could scarcely remember the last time anyone cared for him like that.

Actually, he did remember - the memory of the little girl who saved him the night his town was set ablaze, she had told him, "We need to get out of here, wear a coat. It's cold out."

Dan didn't know what would have happened to him if she had not appeared in his room and woke him, or guided him out of the town. He was sure if left on his own devices, he would not have remembered to wear a coat or even shoes, he might even have just panicked and ran around the town until the fire had surrounded him - as many of the townspeople had done. Till today, Dan had no idea what happened to his parents, why they were not home that night, why they did not return for him even though he had waited until the last moment when the little girl insisted they had to go.

It didn't matter, it was in his past. Every now and then when he saw a mother holding her child, or a father playing with his, Dan would remember vaguely that once upon a time, he was loved too, but his parents' faces in his memory were blurred out. They were probably long dead by now too. Dan had fully come to terms with that.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Alpha Henri asked. Dan found himself back in the car with her.

It was warm and he could just catch a whiff of her scent in the enclosed space. For some inexplicable reason, it calmed him.

"I was just remembering the last time someone worried about me not wearing a coat." He answered with a wry smile.

"Oh." Alpha Henri's hand flew to her mouth, and then she laughed too, "I didn't mean anything by it. I suppose having four older brothers had made it a habit to nag."

Dan quickly shook his head and assured her, "I appreciate the care, Alpha."

But he couldn't help but feel disappointed at being likened to one of her brothers. Dan forced a smile, what was he expecting? Just because he found Alpha Henri incredibly attractive did not mean she should feel the same for him. She was the Alpha for goodness sake! What the hell was he thinking? Even if, and this was a very unlikely 'if', even if she did return his feelings, he wouldn't be able to reciprocate them as an equal. Furthermore, Alpha Henri was his "client". He was here to convince her to open a negotiation table with the Three Kingdoms, not to open her bedroom door to him. Dan was too intelligent to believe that one could mix pleasure with business without mucking up everything. He had seen it happen too many times.

Why was he even having this internal debate?

He wasn't here to date. He was here to work. If this was a date though, it was the best date he had ever had. He would probably also be the worst date she had ever had. Dan smirked at himself. He had to be fetched, kept losing his head, hadn't complimented her once, and didn't even pay.

"Thank you for the meal, Alpha." Dan remembered to say when the car pulled up the driveway of the Night Leaf Packhouse.

"You're welcome, Dan." Alpha Henri smiled.

All she did was say his name. "Dan." OMG, the sound of it leaving her tongue, her voice like the perfect sound of a crisp white sheet of parchment being folded. Dan realized immediately that he was in love. OMG. He had not realized he was not exempt from this emotion. OMG, he was doomed.