Page 43 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

And Cole—cool, collected Cole—actually gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white as his gaze fixed on me with an intensity that should have reduced me to ashes on the spot.

A muscle jumped in his jaw, and I could have sworn I heard the faintest sound—like wood creaking under too much pressure.

I shifted uncomfortably under their collective stare, which only made matters worse as the movement drew attention to exactly how revealing these ridiculous pants were.

A muscle ticked in Jace’s jaw. Adrian’s pupils dilated visibly, even from across the room.

Cole remained perfectly still, only his eyes moving as they tracked my every tiny movement like a predator cataloging potential escape routes.

“I feel like I should be charging admission for this viewing experience,” I quipped nervously, the words escaping before my brain could catch up with my mouth. “Or at least getting hazard pay.”

“Eli.” Madi finally broke the silence, her voice slightly higher than normal. “I’m so glad you’re joining us. I was just telling everyone about your rescue by Cole.”

Great. Just great. Now my humiliation had become dinner conversation. Next, they’d be passing around the naked baby pictures and discussing my most embarrassing childhood moments.

“It wasn’t a rescue,” I mumbled, feeling heat creep up my neck. “More like a mutually beneficial arrangement to avoid Michael Huntington.”

“Michael was being inappropriate?” George’s voice carried the quiet authority that seemed genetic in the Carmichael men, though his eyes kept darting curiously between me and his nephews with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” I said quickly, not wanting to cause trouble.

My mother appeared at my elbow with a tray of appetizers, her eyes widening slightly at my outfit before she schooled her expression. “Eli, why don’t you help me serve, then you can eat in the kitchen with your father and me?”

It was our usual arrangement—help with service, then eat separately as staff should.

I nodded gratefully, reaching for the tray, desperate for any excuse to escape the heated stares still fixed on me from three different directions.

I was pretty sure if those looks got any more intense, I’d burst into flames on the spot.

“Absolutely not,” Paul interrupted, pushing back his chair with a screech that made me wince.

Before I could process what was happening, he’d crossed to where I stood, plucked the tray from my mother’s hands, and deposited it on the sideboard.

Then, in one fluid motion that betrayed his athletic prowess, he lifted me off my feet—actually lifted me, like I weighed nothing more than a sack of flour—and deposited me directly onto his lap as he sat back down.

“Problem solved,” he announced to the table at large. “Eli sits with us.”

I froze, mortification reaching critical levels. My face felt hot enough to fry an egg. “Paul, what the actual—”

“Language,” my mother warned automatically.

“—heck,” I finished lamely. “Put me down, you oversized jock. I’m not a teddy bear.”

“But you’re so cuddly,” Paul grinned, completely oblivious to the death glares being directed his way. “And portable. Like a fun-sized human.”

I was acutely aware of three sets of eyes boring into me—or more accurately, into Paul’s casual arm around my waist. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Jace, Adrian, and Cole stared at us with expressions I couldn’t quite decipher but that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Jace’s knuckles had turned white around his water glass, which I was pretty sure would shatter at any moment. Adrian’s smile had frozen into something that looked more like a predator baring its teeth. And Cole—well, if looks could kill, Paul would be a smoking pile of ash on his designer chair.

“Paul,” Madi said with forced lightness, “let Eli have his own chair, please.”

“Why? He fits perfectly.” Paul grinned, completely oblivious to the death glares being directed his way. “Besides, we need to fatten him up. He’s nothing but bones.”

“I’m right here,” I reminded him, trying to wiggle free. “And perfectly capable of sitting in my own chair, thanks. Also, not actually a lapdog, despite what Sheena’s outfit might suggest.”

“Eli.” George’s voice cut through the tension. “You will join us for dinner. As family, not staff.” His tone brooked no argument, though his eyes were kind. “Tricia, please set another place.”

My mother hesitated, then nodded. “Of course, Mr. Carmichael.” She went to fetch another place setting. I remained awkwardly perched on Paul’s lap, wondering if spontaneous human combustion was actually possible through sheer force of embarrassment.

“Paul.” Adrian’s voice was deceptively light, though his eyes were anything but. “If you don’t let Eli go in the next three seconds, I’m going to tell everyone about that incident in Vegas with the showgirl and the flamingo costume.”

Paul’s arm dropped from my waist as if burned. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.” Adrian smiled, all teeth and no warmth. “I have pictures. And a very creative social media team.”

I scrambled off Paul’s lap just as my mother returned with an extra place setting.

The only available space was between David and Adrian, directly across from Jace and Cole.

Because of course it was. The universe wasn’t content with regular humiliation—it had to go for the gold medal in the Mortify Eli Olympics.

I slid into the chair, trying to make myself as small as possible. Not a difficult feat when you’re already the size of a malnourished hobbit compared to the Carmichael men, who all appeared to have been genetically engineered for maximum intimidation.

“So, Eli,” Sheena began with a wicked gleam in her eye that made me instantly wary, “tell everyone how you met Cole today. I hear it was very… hands-on.”

I choked on the water I’d just sipped, the liquid going down the wrong pipe and sending me into a coughing fit. “It wasn’t— I didn’t—”

“I found Eli at the café being harassed by Michael Huntington,” Cole supplied smoothly, saving me from verbal self-immolation. “He used me as a convenient escape route.”

“Convenient,” Adrian repeated, his eyes flicking between Cole and me with dangerous interest. “How fortunate you were there.”

“Indeed,” Jace added, his tone neutral but his gaze intense enough to burn holes through solid steel. “Almost like fate.”

I was missing something here. Some undercurrent of conversation that was flowing beneath the surface words. The three cousins kept exchanging looks that seemed loaded with meaning, while the rest of the family pretended not to notice the strange tension.

“Well, I for one am glad Cole was there,” Madi declared as Duncan began serving the first course. “Michael has always been too forward for my taste.”

“Forward is one word for it,” I muttered. “Creepy and entitled would be others. He’s like a walking red flag factory. Probably has them custom-made and monogrammed.”

That earned a genuine laugh from David, who had been quiet until now. “I love when you get snarky,” he said. "You're brutal when you want to be.”

“You have no idea,” Sheena said with a meaningful look at her cousins that I couldn’t interpret, but that made all three of them tense simultaneously.

Dinner progressed with Sheena dominating the conversation, regaling us with tales from Fashion Week and the celebrity gossip she’d accumulated.

I ate quietly, hyperaware of every glance from the three cousins.

Whenever I looked up, at least one of them was watching me—Jace with that smoldering intensity that made my skin feel like it was being licked by flames, Adrian with a hungry gaze that promised delicious trouble, and Cole with a predatory focus that made me feel like prey he was moments away from devouring whole.

It was unnerving. And, if I was being completely honest with myself, more than a little thrilling. Like being the sole focus of three spotlights, each a different color but all equally blinding.

By the time dessert arrived—Duncan’s famous chocolate soufflé that was worth selling your soul for—the storm outside had intensified.

Rain lashed against the windows, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the dining room in stark white before plunging it back into the warm glow of chandeliers.

“The news says it’s the worst storm in a decade,” David commented, scrolling through his phone. “Flash flood warnings all over the county.”

“Your father called,” my mother said, appearing at my side to refill water glasses. “He’s staying at the groundskeeper’s cabin tonight. The east road is completely flooded, and the path to our cottage is washed out too. Jenkins just checked and says it’s impassable.”

“You’ll both stay here tonight,” Madi declared immediately. “Tricia, we’ve prepared the staff quarters for those who can’t make it home.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Carmichael.” My mother nodded gratefully.

“And Eli can take the guest room in the east wing,” George added with the casual authority of someone used to making decisions for others.

I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it again.

The east wing was where the family suites were located, including those of the three cousins currently watching me with unsettling intensity.

Of course that’s where they’d put me. Why not just hang a neon sign over my head that says Available for Awkward Encounters?

“That’s settled, then.” Madi smiled. “Now, who’s up for games in the entertainment room? This weather is perfect for a family game night.”

Paul immediately perked up. “Eli, I’m going to destroy you at Mario Kart.”

“In your dreams, Carmichael,” I shot back automatically. “I’ve been practicing since you last got lucky. I’ll make you cry like a kindergartener who dropped his ice cream cone.”

“Ooh, fighting words.” Sheena laughed as she stood up. “This I have to see.”