Healing Alpha's Heart

Family diners are awkward... but this... this is next level

To say that the room was full of almost visible tension would be an understatement.

It has been in a similar state since the moment I introduced Sam and, so far, neither my brother nor his mate were not impressed with him and they made that not so secret in the way they were acting.

Generally, I am sure they have nothing against him, because I made sure to pick a believable candidate for the role of my implied boyfriend. Because if I chose some loser or an asshole, no one would have believed it.

Sam was the perfect candidate and if not for my situation, I might be even a bit interested in him in a romantic way. He was fun to talk to and had a generally nice personality. There was very little that I could say was wrong with him, but there were just no sparks there... no butterflies or loss of breath, so we developed kinda a good relationship and I could even say that we became friends.

From the first day we met, we hit it off quite well and it was easy to pick him... well not easy, but everyone kept pointing out that we looked great together, and we would make a great couple. Those comments were actually what gave me the idea of doing this.

The only problem is that my brother and Val are not easy to fool and neither seem to really believe this.

In the last two hours, since we arrived neither Val nor Colin lost the suspicious look on their face, to the outsider it would be hard to see, because most, especially the ones who know something about my brother and his mate, would think that this is their normal expression.

And do not get me wrong, this is very close to how they look at all strangers, but this was a lot more intense and the look on their faces was not their usual scowl or intimidation tactic. They generally looked suspicious, which means I have to improve my acting or Darcy will never fall for it.

Taking a tinny breath of encouragement I prepared to perform the role of my life when I heard Colin say.

"So... Sam... what field do you specialize in?"

The tone of his voice made the younger man next to me shiver. It's no surprise because Colin is using all of his Alpha special effects and I know that he is doing this intentionally. So it is no surprise that Sam is almost shaking in his seat and that works as an encouragement, it's like showing fear to a feral creature that will feed on it or take it as an encouragement to go further.

The tinny smirk on his lips told me that I had to interfere before Colin scared my fake boyfriend so badly that he would run off before I accomplished why I brought him here.

"Colin, you know that he is a paediatrician. I told you that before, and you had his resume sent to you when we were assigned to work here."

Colins eyes turned away from Sam as he looked at me with so much annoyance in his eyes, it was clear that he was enjoying playing with the other man. He was like a predator that played with his food. If I had not seen him transform, I would be sure that he is not a wolf but a big cat.

The moment Colin's eyes moved from Sam I could almost physically see him relax a bit.

I met my brother's eyes head-on, telling him to lay off Sam with my eyes alone and I saw Colin roll his as he turned to the other man with a fake smile on his face.

"Right, sorry I must have forgotten."

The moment Colin's eyes were on Sam again he froze up. With a little jump, he pushed away from the table while excusing himself.

"Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."

"Second door around the corner."

Valerie gave him a fake smile, but the look in her eyes made her look even more dangerous than the man next to her... and if I'm honest that was close to reality.

I had seen first-hand people underestimate Valerie as everyone was sure that she was just a pretty face next to my brother but they could not be further from the truth.

Sure she was gorgeous, but the woman in front of me was ruthless and there is very little she would not do to protect the ones she cared about... hell she killed to protect me and she made it clear that she would do it again. A slight shiver ran down my back as I remembered that day... the man that hurt her... the man that was to blame for her wounds... for Darcy's wounds... both physical and mental ones. Just thinking about it made my stomach turn and anger rise in my chest. There was a dark part of me that wanted that man to be alive so I could kill him but before I would make him pay for what he had done to the people I love.

I had to physically shake myself to get those thoughts out of my head. The sound of closing doors took me back to the current moment and I exhaled the tension as I turned to the couple that was staring at the door that Sam had just walked out through.

"Could you be even more passive-aggressive? You are making the man shake in fear, just from your stares alone."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

They both said at the exactly same time and instantly turned to each other and their faces softened instantly. I could not help myself, but roll my eyes at their denial.

"Oh come on, do not play dumb."

Colin's eyes turned to me with one eyebrow lifted.

"Do not forget you are talking to your alpha."

He said in the most alpha way possible and I could not stop myself from laughing out loud.

"I will remember that when you start acting like one and not the asshole bully that you have been since the moment we arrived. Sam is nervous enough as it is, without you doing this overprotective bullshit."

My words made the smirk disappear from Colin's face and I am pretty sure there is embarrassed blush on his cheeks. To prove my suspicions right, Valerie broke out into laughter.

"You heard the girl, no more big bad alpha act."

"Oh as if you one to talk. You have been no better. The scowl on your face almost made the boy pee his pants."

Colin shot back at her and now Val was the one blushing. Their eyes met for a second, and it was like a switch was flicked between them and I was sure that they were moments away from either fighting or having s*x. I had no wish to see either because even if they started fighting, it would still turn to them f*****g it out in the end. I witnessed that more times than I want to recall. They always take it to their bedroom, but they could not be more obvious, still, I had no wish to know when my brother was having s*x.

"Okay, you two..."

I said pulling them out of their bubble and forcing them to turn to me.

"Both of you stop acting like assholes or I will apply for transfer."

My words made both of their faces fall, and they nodded at the same time in, again creepily synchronized.

"Good, now be on your best behavior and I expect you to be nice to him, he is important to me."

And my words were true because Sam was one of my few close friends, but that is not something they need to know... at leas not now.