"Would you like something to drink?" Adam's voice made her turn her eyes and thoughts to him.
"Anything that will get me drunk quickly."
"Like father, like daughter."
Anna glared at him with anger, but also with shame.
"You made me put on that costume, and come all this way to insult me? Couldn't you have done that at home?"
"No. But I didn't come here to listen to your insults either!"
"I'm not going to eat a raw pig's heart, or a pigeon's kidney, or anything else that animals like you are in the habit of eating. So I'll stay here and drink while you feed."
Anna said and in the blink of an eye, Adam was lifting her by the arm, standing her up and wrapping his arms around her waist, his face lowering inches from hers. Anna didn't dare to breathe, with fear, excitement and anger. She felt him groping her body and when her breathing quickened, he tore at her dress with his long, sharp fingernail, stared at her menacingly and ripped it from her body. Then he released Anna and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were yellow and he seemed absent. Anna deduced that he was giving orders to the werewolves. He sat back down in his seat and pointed to her place.
"Sit down, Anna."
"I'm not staying here without clothes!"
"But you're wearing clothes... for now."
Anna glared at him with hatred and bent down, picked up the torn dress and covered her body as best she could and sat down.
"You're a bastard!"
"No. I just fixed things. I'm not going to treat someone like a princess who doesn't know how to behave like a lady of society. Now you're more in line with what you look like. Wearing rags."
"You bring me to a restaurant where they serve food for werewolves, put a collar on me, put me through a painful waxing and you want me to be grateful?"
Adam stared at Anna coldly.
"I didn't do any of those things. Those jewels you're wearing... They were Luna's. They're always passed on to the Alpha's wife. It's an honor for werewolf women to carry these jewels, but if it makes you feel bad, feel free to take them off. This restaurant serves ordinary food, too. Right now, they're preparing Scottish dishes for you and... I didn't order them to take you for a wax, I just told them to take you to do women's things..."
Anna brought her hand up to her neck and touched the necklace, regretting her behavior.
"Don't worry, Anna. I understand that it makes no difference to you, since you're not a werewolf and you don't know our traditions."
"I... Adam, I'm sorry."
He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself and Anna saw that some women were approaching with a dress in their hands.
They stopped in front of Anna and looked at her with animosity.
"You can leave the dress on the table. She'll put it on herself." Adam said and they obeyed and left. "I hope this one is more to your liking." He said, pointing his chin at the dress on the table.
"That one you tore was beautiful..."
"It doesn't matter anymore." He cut her off and soon, a man in a waiter's uniform approached, poured them both a drink and left.
Anna waited for him to disappear through what she assumed was the kitchen door and turned to Adam.
"How did they know I needed to bring another dress? And why did they seem to be harassing me?"
"Put your clothes on, Anna. I can't concentrate looking at your body."
Anna smiled as if she had heard a compliment, and quickly took the green dress and put it on.
When she sat down again, she looked inquiringly at Adam.
"I'm the Alpha and that means that as well as controlling all the werewolves, I can send messages to them telepathically, see and hear through their eyes and ears and... They feel what I feel."
"That's horrible."
"Yes, it is. I see and hear things I don't want to and..."
"No, Adam! It's horrible for them! They have no privacy and no will of their own."
Adam looked at her amused.
"I don't watch and listen to them all the time, Anna. That would be tiresome. I'm not curious about their particle life."
"Can they feel when you invade their eyes and ears?"
"Only the Betas can. Omegas, Gammas and Sigmas don't have that distinction."
"Betas?"
"They are second in line in our hierarchy. In the absence of an Alpha, they call the shots."
Anna frowned.
"I thought the Gammas... I heard someone say that they..."
"The Gamas are responsible for generating Alphas and looking after the inheritance, nothing more."
"Do you turn into wolves?"
"Only the Alpha and Luna can do that. The others are in between. They don't turn completely."
"How do you kill one of you?"
Adam laughed.
"I admire your curiosity, Anna, but it wouldn't be very clever to tell you how to kill the creatures you call 'monsters', would it?"
Anna laughed back.
"Are you suspicious of my loyalty? I'm mortally offended!" Anna said theatrically.
"Of course I trust you! You've never given me any reason to be different." Adam said, getting into the game, and the waiters arrived with the typical Scottish food and Anna loved every second of that dinner. Afterwards, she picked up the velvet box on the floor and looked seriously at Adam.
"Did this also belong to a dead Luna?"
Adam looked at her interestedly.
"Dead Luna?"
"You gave me the jewels of a dead Luna, right?"
"No. I never said she was dead."
"But then... If she's alive, you should keep it for her and..."
"It's a long story, Anna. She's not dead, but she's not going to come here and demand her jewels back either. She and the first Alfas are... You'd think they'd be resting."
"I don't think I really want to know about these creatures."
"Their history, for werewolves, is fascinating, but you might not like it."
Anna looked at the dress she was wearing now. It had sleeves and was blue, the same shade as Adam's eyes. It was simpler, but she liked it much better.