Chapter 7 Eugene Sanders

"There you are," Knox said, walking up to me. I could see his nercous glance towards the Princes's corner, as he grabbed me by the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly, biting down on my bottom lip. "I... just mistakenly used the other door and..."

"Did they do anything to you?"

I shook my head, then slowly turned towards them. Eros was leaning back, ome hand resting on his thigh, the other leisurely holding a glass of wine. His eyes were watching me through the glass, and for yet another second, I could feel it all over again.

The pull. The weakness in my knees. My inability to walk away or break free. It was like he had his hand around my throat, and he was holding me hostage. Like I couldn't escape.

He turned away, his eyes slowly closing as he drank from the cup, then gently dropped it on the table.

"Stop doing that," Knox said, turning me to meet him. "Stop, Kian."

I nodded. I needed to stop. I needed to. "I am sorry."

Knox gave a small smile. "Come here. There might not be much left, but we can share the food on our table. Okay?"

I nodded again. Knox was a true blessing. I am not sure how I would have coped without him. He pulled me towards his bench, where four others were already sitting. They looked nothing like him. Large intimidating dudes that barely even looked at me.

I sat opposite Knox, and he smiled at me before grabbing a plate.

"What are you doing?"

Knox stopped serving me, then looked up to the otber guy. "Serving the new guy."

The man turned to me, then turned away indignantly. "Isn't he an extra?"

"Yes, but..."

"Why the fuck are there so many extra admisssion these days?" The guy I was sitting next to suddenly yelled, then rolled his eyes and pushed his plate of food away. "I just lost appetite from the fucking stench."

I sat there as he roughly pushed me aside amd walked away, hissing under his breath.

I turned to Knox, who was still holding a half filled plate, his eyes slightly wide.

"I... I should let you eat," I said, then started to move.

"No," Knox said, holding my hand. "Sit the fuck down and let whoever is going to leave, leave."

"Are you into him or something?"

"It isn't your business, Chris." Knox said simply.

Chris and the other three rolled their eyes and stood up.

"Well, fuck you, Knox. You and your little fuck toy. And don't you fucking dare bring him into our room."

Knox said nothing, and the other two pushed off all of the food, making a mess of the food on the floor and clearing the table.

I gasped, my eyes wide, my hand covering my mouth. Knox was unfazed, and it seemed to me like he had seen this scene way too many times.

Kris grabbed the plate Knox was holding and flung it on the floor before they walked away, leaving us both just sitting on the table, all of the food splattered on the floor.

I met Knox's eyes, and he broke into a laugh. "Well, it seems like we both have to go hungry today."

"I am so sorry, Knox."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. They usually have a bit back there, so just wait a few minutes. I will go get something for both of us."

I felt a little guilty, watching him as he walked away to the kitchen. I sighed and dusted some of the food from my bag before I turned around, taking in my surroundings.

The place was loud, and I had never been in the midst of so many people at a time before. Much less men. They were rowdy, uncaring, and honestly unnerving.

I heard footsteps behind me, just as the noise started to die down. My brows furrowed, and I turned, my eyes falling on the same guy that had caught me in the private corner.

He was carrying a large oval plate that was covered with a stainless steel cover and was walking towards me.

I turned away, willing him to just go wherever he was supposed to go. I sat there, holding my breath, waiting for his scent to pass by me, but it didn't.

"You are the new guy, am I right?"

I opened my eyes and turned to him. He had a friendly smile playing on his lips, his eyes holding mine. He leaned and gently dropped the plate of food on the table in front of me, then opened it.

It was the most exquisite, diverse, and filled plate I have ever seen in my entire life. It held a little bit of everything, and I was sure Knox and I could make a whole meal out of this.

"I am Eugene," he said, his hand going behind him. "Eugene Sanders."

Oh. This is from the Sanders family.

"N... Nice to meet you. I am Kian."

He nodded. "Nice name. I hope we get along."

Get along? I turned towards their corner, and from the little I could see, I could see Eros there. He had his back to us, his head leaned back.

"Th.. thank you," I said, turning back to Eugene. "Thank you very much."

He smiled, then turned and walked away, leaving me dumbfounded.

I sat there, hardly able to believe it, but the plate sitting in front of me was a stark reminder of the rather strange interaction.

"Where did you get that?"

I turned back to Knox, who was holding two plates of food, a smile on his face as he let his eyes dart between me and the plate.

I swallowed. "Well... Eugene Sanders... he gave it to me."

His eyes widened. "That one?"

I nodded. "That one."

Knox seemed a little sceptical, but he shrugged and sat opposite me. "I don't know if I like this kindness. "

I collected the plate he was offering me. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I feel like I have read this book before, and I know exactly how it ends."

A sense of dread filled me at the thought of how Valerian died, and I slowly turned. Both Eros and Eugene were gone like they were never there.