Page 47 of Hunters and Prey

Hell Nah

Istared at Roxas and Aaron in disbelief, wondering if this was the one lucky moment I'd see them cooperating with one another.West tapped my nose, catching my attention as I moved my gaze to my left.

West was grinning while Alec, who sat next to him, looked intrigued. "You look as though you had an epiphany," West commented.

"Or saw a ghost," Alec suggested.

Rome came down the stairs, his hand covering his mouth as he yawned. He took the seat at the head of the table opposite of me, yawning one more time before his attention landed on me.

"Why does Alice look as though she saw some flying pigs?" Rome questioned. I blinked out of my shock before turning back to stare at Roxas and Aaron. "They're getting along," I whispered.

Roxas sighed, "I can hear you."

The other guys at the table chuckled. "I know you don't know us super well, but Roxas and Aaron only get along when it comes to cooking," Rome acknowledged.

"They put aside their differences and work together to create delicious masterpieces for us to eat in harmony and peace," West emphasized.

"Until it comes to washing the dishes," Alec smirked.

"Everyone hates washing the dishes." I smiled. The others nodded, as Aaron and Roxas began to serve all of us pasta with loads of parmesan on top.

Rome got up and helped pour our choice of apple or orange juice. After everyone was settled around the table, we said a quick grace and began to eat in comforting silence.

While I worked on eating, I observed each of them as they ate quietly. To be honest, it was the first time I'd seen our dining table so full.

After my dad's death, we never had anyone over for the holidays. Occasionally Aaron would come by, but that was really it. Seeing the five guys sitting around the table made me smile. Even though I barely knew anything about them aside from their names and them being reincarnations from the past, I wasn't afraid of their presence.

Though the whole situation was borderline crazy, I just had to take things slowly, which included these so-called powers I now possessed.

Or would gain in their entirety on my 18th birthday, which was less than two months from now.

The food was good; we ended up having seconds. It was a little surprising because I’d never seen Aaron cook before. It was also interesting to see how cooperative Roxas had been. Rome and Alec offered to do the dishes, and West and I moved to the living room.

Roxas and Aaron put the leftovers in a bowl and came into the living room. "How are you feeling, Alice?" Aaron asked.

"Full," I replied with a small smile. "Thank you, guys, for cooking dinner. I hadn't realized how hungry I was." I’d eaten a bit more than the others, and yet none of them had commented about it, which was really nice because I'd been famished.

"It's expected. You've been out for a total of five days," Roxas revealed.

"Five? Five days?!" I shrieked in shock.

"You didn't tell her that?" Roxas asked Rome, who was walking over to us with bowls of ice cream. I smiled happily, reaching out for one of the bowls. "Thank you."

"Your welcome," Rome replied, turning his attention to Roxas. "And nope. You said I should get to the point."

I ignored them, focusing solely on eating my ice cream. I could feel their eyes on me, but I didn't pay attention until the bowl was empty. With a sigh of contentment, I looked back up to see them all staring at me.

"I know you said she loved ice cream, but wow. You weren't playing," West commented to Aaron. "She really likes ice cream."

Aaron smiled. "Yup, and hot chocolate with marshmallows."

I nodded. "That is valid. Now that I'm done, what were you saying?"

"We're going to need to keep you safe until your mom comes back from seeing the Council," Roxas declared.

"Did she go on her own?" I questioned, feeling a bit worried. Obviously, my mom was an adult and could handle herself, but this wasn't like going on vacation or across the country to see relatives. This was her traveling on my behalf regarding something I knew very little about.

Alec walked over to where I was sitting and sat down next to me on the couch. "Don't worry, Alice. Roxas asked his parents to go with her."

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