Chapter 5

Shera couldn't feel anymore out of place if she could focus. She hadn't kissed anyone before and her mind had become blank as her cheeks raged their fires. Gerard was happily talking next to her, a glass of champagne in his hands and her own. He glanced down at her and his hand gently pulled her closer by the hip, "Dear, they asked you a question, you know."

"Hm," she blinked and glanced up at him, staring at the four older gentlemen in front of her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have been daydreaming," she forced a nervous giggle from her lips as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"This must be your first time at such an event," one of the men chuckled. "It's hard to believe really. You look so natural in this environment I'd think you were a mass contributor." The gentlemen laughed and she tapped at her jaw a bit.

"My family is quite large. We would make these sort of things up just for fun and to stay connected when I was younger," when the pack had the money. "Of course, none of it was such an official setting."

"Well, back to the question," one of the others cleared his throat, "What do you think of the research your fiancé has been doing? I assume you've at least asked him about his work."

Shera forced the smile on her face, "I lost my mother a few years ago. Honestly, with what he does and the programs he supplies I'm moved by his generosity and kindness. I know it'd mean a lot to many people including my mother." The gentlemen gave saddened smiles, the smile on Gerard's face vanishing into a look of concern. She couldn't quite understand why.

"So, you've been the woman of the house back home than," Shera played with her fingers as she nodded.

"I have. I had to step up to take care of my younger brother and sister so my dad could keep working," she nodded. Shera stilled her hands and gave a small shrug to the four men around her, "Honestly, it was a hard time but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Nature took its course, even if it could have been foiled. The programs mean a lot to me in that way. It can save a child's parent."

"You have a good woman," one of them said after a while of silence. They bid their good byes, leaving Shera alone with Gerard and the suddenly tense silence.

"What did she die of," Gerard finally asked. Shera put her empty glass on a tray as a waiter walked by and grabbed another before looking at him.

"It doesn't matter anymore. It was a while ago and we've moved on," she replied. He stared, his jaw clenching before he sighed and took her glass from her lips.

"You guys really couldn't afford to save your alpha," he asked.

"It wasn't that we couldn't save her," Shera muttered. "She didn't want us to spend the money. She refused it."

"You became an alpha at a young age then," he stated.

"I never became-"

"You are an alpha. How are you not seeing that," he asked. She blinked as he rubbed his temple and downed the glass she had just gotten. "You took care of your pack when they were too distracted by menial things. I watched you after we fought. Anything lower than an alpha wouldn't have bothered and you know that."

"I never fought to be an alpha," Shera stared hard at him, her mouth in a thin line. "I'm not an alpha if I haven't-"

"You inherited it and no one batted an eye," Gerard chuckled. "Shera, I wouldn't have picked you if you weren't."

"Oh, so anyone would do," she raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as his face paled a bit.

"That's not what I meant," he sighed.

"It's an arranged marriage we haven't even started planning. Someone else from my pack can easily take the empty space as the femal alpha and she'd do," Shera didn't know why, but she was hurt a bit inside. They weren't his words but the silence after told her what she needed to know. "I've found a loophole, haven't I?"

"It's not a loophole," he sighed. "Your relation to the alphas in your pack make you far more valuable than just another alpha. The three of you were single, Shera. I don't swing for men."

"Any other alpha would do," she iterated. Her hands went up and he stared at them, "And to top it off, I'm not the best. I can easily be overcome, Gerard."

He scoffed at that, his eyes showing his amusement at her words, "No they can't. I did because I had to fight from the omega position. I have a lot more experience than you in fighting."

"How are you so sure," she asked.

"You took down Sherry twice, and Maria," he informed her. "Those are the two top females in my pack." She bit her lip as he grinned at her, his hand lifting hers. "You're an alpha, Shera. And you're not a too shabby one either."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment," she huffed.

"The purest of kinds," he nodded. "And I don't compliment without a backhanded compliment normally."

"You're insufferable," she snipped.

"And you're just hot tempered," he retorted. "It doesn't mean I'm not infatuated with you in the slightest." Her face turned red and he chuckled as a small group of people approached him. She watched the exchange for a moment before her hand was lifted and someone kissed her knuckles, pulling her attention from the conversation. She blinked and her body froze under the intense brown eyed stare.

"My, what a catch for a dog," the man snickered. His hair was a golden, cut short with tamed curls at the top. He was a skinny man but something about him screamed power and it reminded her of Gerard. "I didn't expect such a lovely being to be one of them, I'm utterly amazed."

"Hello," she nodded.

He laughed a bit and released her hand, "Gustov Fremont. It's a pleasure."

"Shera Pillar and likewise," she smiled softly at him. He was cute, his cheeks a bit full and giving him a youthful appearance. "What do you mean by Gerard being a dog?"

"Quite the literal sense," Gustov chuckled. "I simply don't understand how one can rise through the tiers of society so quickly. Your kind tend to be a bit more primitive and violent." She blinked and her smile widened as she took him in.

"Gustov, it's so nice to see you again," Gerard wrapped an arm around Shera's waist, pulling her a bit closer to him. "I hope you're having a good time?"

"It's as grand as always, Gerard. I'm impressed at how far your abilities have taken you," Gustov's suave was replaced with something of forced politeness. A clear tension was between the two and was only defined as Gerard's grip tightened slightly around Shera.

"I hope to see your contributions to the hospital. They never cease to surprise me," Gerard chuckled.

"Your research has helped many different people and saved those who don't have much from being on the streets. It's only right of me to support such a thing," Gustov waved his hand before motioning to Shera. "I was just speaking to your girlfriend about it."

"Fiancée," Gerard corrected.

"Ah, of course," the blonde chuckled. "Forgive me, I just never saw you as the type to settle down. I guess you don't range far from your family traditions." A woman who was just as beautiful as him hugged his arm, smiling coyly at Gerard and Shera.

"Darling, who are they," she hummed. Gustov chuckled quietly as his arm draped over the red head's shoulders.

"These are the hosts, love," he hummed. "Why don't you say hello?" Shera blinked as the brown eyes turned a bit red, the woman's following suit as she held her hand out to Shera.

"My names Helga," she hummed.

"Shera," Shera shook her hand, her smile catering a bit. Was that what Gerard was talking about? It had unsettled her nerves that had finally calmed down and that's when she realized there had been a strange peace when Gustov began speaking to her. How hadn't she noticed it?

"Doctor, your work is simply amazing," Helga gushed at Gerard.

"Thank you," he nodded. "I've tried my best to keep ahead of the curve in the medical field."

"And you've done a fantastic job," Gustov nodded. "So good, in fact, that I have a new proposition for you, if you wouldn't mind giving it a look."

"Is it that supplement I've been seeing on my desk lately," Gerard asked. "I hope you realize that it wouldn't be as valuable as what it is replacing. There would be a lot of components missing."

"I'm sure it would be good for a short term," Gustov nodded. "Just like any supplement, it isn't a full on replacement for the real nutrients."

"It may be placed on the back burner. There are still a few conditions being closely monitored that you've brought forth before," Gerard nodded.

"At least it is being considered and act upon," Gustov nodded. "That's much more than I could ask for." Shera looked between the two, a slight frown on her face. There was a lot of tension and unease, everything about it ignored by the people not involved in the conversation. "We must be taking our leave now. Helga's anemia may begin acting up very soon."

"How you can foresee that I'll never understand," Helga giggled.

"I just know you, love," Gustov nuzzled into Helga's hair, leading her off. Gerard sighed and let go of Shera, rubbing his temple for the second time that night.

"That thing is such a headache," he muttered quietly.

"That was a vampire," Shera whispered. She looked up to Gerard and blinked at the amused smirk on his face.

"Are you really excited to have met one," he asked. "You almost betrayed my affections, foxy. He would have swept you from under my nose."

"Why are they so pretty," she gawked. "I was imagining twisted up old people with really big teeth."

Gerard laughed and patted her back, "They have to lure in prey somehow, Shera. No one is just pretty for no reason."

"Celebrities are," Shera pointed out.

"Their beauty is subject to change based off of society," Gerard sighed. "That's why so many go in for plastic surgery or overkill on their work out routines."

"I mean, that's true and everything," Shera played with her hands again, Gerard grabbing them and kissing her fingers.

"You're doing amazing. The dinner is almost ready and I have you sitting with the other doctors in the pack. Be nice," he nodded, "They get a little aggressive."

Shera stared and sighed, "Your whole pack is aggressive."

"At least we're not passive like yours," he snorted. She growled at him, Gerard laughing as he motioned towards one of the front tables near a stage. "Go sit down. Your feet are going to start hurting if you don't."

"Like they haven't already," she mumbled. She walked towards the table, staring at the centerpiece and the different lilies complimented by the baby's breath. It was interesting to see the combination, Shera caught up in examining the natural designs on the petals. She sat down, pulling the napkin carefully from under the silverware and hissing slightly from the burn.

"You get used to the feeling," she looked up, a sandy haired man smiling gently as he pulled gloves over his hands. "I have an extra pair if you would like."

"Hello, I'm-"

"Shera, we know," another man stepped forward, deep abyssal eyes and raven hair making his pale skin seem paler. "I am Ferdinand and this is my brother Alexander. I was told you wouldn't know about the formalities but I didn't expect you to know the basics." Shera frowned a bit at Ferdinand before blinking.

"You took care of Sherry," she stood up and held her hand out, keeping the napkin in her other hand.

Ferdinand shook her hand and sat down with his brother, "I did. I was impressed. I've never seen a clean bite from anyone but Gerard. It made me wonder how a woman like you learned such a technique."

"That's rude," Alexander huffed. "No fighting talks at the dinner table. You know what mother always said!"

"I was simply complimenting the next alpha, Alex," Ferdinand sighed. Shera sat back down and smiled a bit. The two were still talking to each other; brotherly banter. It was refreshing to see. Her uncle and father used to have to be told to knock it off when their families would have dinner together.

"Shera, was it," Alexander smiled. "What sort of pack do you have? We've been curious because Gerard tells us to leave you all alone and what not."

Shera chuckled a bit and leaned on the table, "Well, it was just like how you two were just acting. Everyone got along for the most part and most still do."

"Is there really a civil war within your pack," Alexander gawked.

"Almost," she nodded.

"Quiet you two. The speech is starting," Ferdinand waved his hand and Alexander sat back. Shera stared at the stage as everyone clapped, Gerard standing behind a podium with a large smile on his face. He looked natural, like he belonged right there. She grit her teeth at the feeling in her chest, wishing it would go away and never return.